A uniform is designed to create unity. By definition, it means remaining the same in all cases and at all times. In sports, it symbolizes equity, shared identity, and belonging. But human bodies are anything but uniform. For decades, uniform design has mastered the art of creating visual unity. As our understanding of human anatomy, movement, and performance materials continues to evolve, it’s worth asking: What’s next for the uniform?
There is an inherent tension between a standardized product and the fluid, unpredictable reality of human anatomy. Rather than seeing today’s athletic apparel as a limitation, I see it as a foundation—one that invites us to rethink how performance products can evolve. The future isn’t about replacing the traditional playbook; it’s about expanding it to embrace human variability as a design opportunity.
The Clues in the Micro-Adjustments
Watching professional sports closely reveals a fascinating trend: elite athletes making subtle, intuitive making subtle, intuitive adjustments to their gear.
Professional athletes often make small modifications to their uniforms to improve comfort and performance. These adjustments can offer valuable insights for future sportswear design.
Soccer players routinely modify their team-issued socks to improve comfort and reduce pressure. Basketball players roll waistbands or adjust their collars during play. These aren’t acts of self-expression. They’re performance-driven adjustments that help athletes optimize fit, comfort, and movement while remaining visually united as a team.
Designing a uniform means balancing many priorities: performance, durability, manufacturability, and a shared visual identity. Yet no two bodies move exactly alike. As athletes sprint, twist, jump, and stretch, subtle differences in anatomy and movement naturally emerge.
Rather than seeing these adaptations as exceptions, we can view them as valuable design feedback. They reveal opportunities for apparel to better support the individual while preserving the collective identity that uniforms are meant to represent.
Designing from the Body Outward
An inspiring example of this mindset shift can be found in highly specialized performance gear—such as custom racing wheelchairs engineered for Special Olympics athletes.
High-performance adaptive equipment begins with the athlete’s body. Every component is engineered to support individual movement, comfort, and performance.
Here, the equipment adapts to the athlete—not the other way around. Because a project cannot start with a generic template, the engineering must begin entirely with the athlete’s unique body, posture, and movement patterns. Every decision—from the frame geometry to the seating angle—is tailored to an individual’s specific capability.
What makes these projects so compelling is how seamlessly hard and soft systems work together. While the rigid frame delivers mechanical speed, the athlete’s safety and endurance depend entirely on the softer touchpoints: pressure-mapped cushions, custom-contoured supports, and anatomical strapping. It proves that when design starts from the body and builds outward, it unlocks a completely different level of synergy between the user and the product.
An Unexplored Space for Future Possibilities
Wheelchair fencer in full protective uniform seated in a specialized sports wheelchair during training.
If complex performance equipment can be engineered to adapt so precisely, it opens up a largely unexplored opportunity for the future of team apparel.
The future of sportswear doesn’t have to mean a uniform that simply scales rigidly from XS to XXL. Instead, the “uni-form” can be imagined as an adaptable, modular system—one that maintains a shared team identity on the outside, while flexing to accommodate different body geometries and abilities on the inside.
That shift could lead to uniforms with modular paneling that accommodates different postures or prosthetics, adaptive seam placement that follows movement rather than symmetry, intuitive closures that support independent dressing, and material zones tuned for comfort, breathability, or sensory needs. The goal isn’t to change what a team looks like. It’s to expand how many athletes can perform at their best while sharing the same identity.
Belonging and Performing Together
Belonging to a team is an emotional experience, and the uniform is the visual anchor of that bond. True innovation in this space doesn’t mean sacrificing visual unity; it means evolving the underlying architecture so that the uniform supports every athlete’s peak expression.
Uniform design has always been about creating belonging. The next chapter isn’t about changing that purpose. It’s about expanding who that belonging is designed for. Perhaps the future of the uni-form isn’t one form at all.
It’s designing for every body.
The human body is the starting point for thoughtful design. Understanding individual form, movement, and personal needs opens new possibilities for the future of adaptive apparel and performance products.
Interwoven Design is a design consultancy that is positioned at the intersection of soft goods and wearable technology, creating products that function with the body and offer comfort as well as the superb performance that arises through the innovative incorporation of rigid, often electronic and responsive elements. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for design news, multi-media recommendations, and to learn more about product design and development!
Beyond Devices: The Future of Smart Textiles
Beyond Devices: The Future of Smart Textiles
For years, wearable technology has been defined by devices; watches, bands, clips, and sensors attached to the body. These products brought computing closer to us, but they remained distinct objects, layered onto daily life rather than fully integrated within it. Today, that boundary is beginning to dissolve. Advances in miniaturization, materials, and fabrication are enabling a new generation of wearable technology that is built directly into what we wear. Electronics are becoming so small, flexible, and adaptable that they can be embedded into fibers, yarns, and fabrics, transforming textiles into intelligent systems. In this emerging paradigm, clothing transforms from a passive to an active layer; capable of sensing, communicating, and supporting the body in real time.
At Interwoven Design, we operate at the intersection of soft goods, wearable technology, and human-centered design. Our team brings together expertise in textiles, engineering, and product development to translate complex technologies into wearable solutions that feel intuitive and natural. In this Insight article, we explore how smart textiles are redefining wearable technology, and the design challenges that come with embedding intelligence into fabric. We also examine IARPA’s SMART ePANTS program as a case study in how next-generation textile systems are being developed and what they signal for the future of wearable design across industries.
From Wearables to Woven Systems
Early wearable technologies succeeded by attaching intelligence to the body. Devices were clipped, strapped, or adhered, creating a clear distinction between the user and the technology. While effective, this approach introduced friction, both physical and cognitive. Devices had to be managed, charged, positioned, and maintained.
Sensors, circuitry, and power integrated directly into the fabric. The electronics are not attached to the textile; they are part of it.
Smart textiles represent a fundamental shift away from this model. Instead of discrete objects, intelligence becomes distributed across the garment itself. Sensors, conductive pathways, and responsive elements are integrated into the fabric, allowing the entire system to function as a cohesive whole. The garment is no longer a carrier of technology; it is the technology.
This shift enables interaction that is continuous and embedded in daily life. Rather than engaging with a device, users inhabit a system. Clothing can sense movement, monitor physiological signals, respond to environmental changes, and communicate data without requiring direct input. At the core of this transformation is the rapid miniaturization of electronic components. Sensors, conductors, power sources, and processing units are shrinking to the point where they can be incorporated into fibers and yarns without compromising flexibility or comfort. Conductive threads can function as wiring, while micro-scale sensors can be embedded directly into the structure of a textile.
This evolution changes how designers think about materials. Electronics shift from separate components to be housed within a product to intrinsic properties of the material itself. A fabric can conduct, sense, heat, or transmit information, not because something has been added to it, but because it has been engineered to do so at a fundamental level. As a result, the role of design expands. Decisions about weave structure, fiber composition, and material layering become as critical as traditional considerations like form and enclosure. Designing a smart textile is not just about integrating technology, it is about orchestrating performance at the level of the material system.
The Challenges of Translation
For designers, the central challenge of smart textiles is not simply technical integration, it is experiential translation. Electronics and textiles are fundamentally different systems, governed by opposing constraints. One is rigid, precise, and sensitive; the other is soft, adaptive, and expected to endure constant movement, friction, and environmental exposure. Bridging these worlds requires more than embedding components into fabric; it demands rethinking how products are conceived from the ground up. Traditional product design often treats materials as a means of housing or protecting internal components. In smart textiles, the material is the system. Decisions about fiber composition, knit structure, layering, and seam construction directly impact not only comfort and durability, but also electrical performance. Stretch, for example, is no longer just a fit consideration, it affects conductivity, signal stability, and sensor accuracy. Similarly, the placement of seams or zones of tension can influence how reliably a system performs over time.
Inside view of an Interwoven concept garment for SMART ePANTS. Conductive channels follow the seams, making construction decisions inseparable from electrical performance.
Designing at this level introduces a new set of constraints that must be balanced simultaneously. A garment must stretch, but not in ways that compromise embedded circuits. It must be breathable, while still protecting sensitive elements from moisture. It must withstand washing, abrasion, and repeated wear cycles without degrading performance. Each of these requirements influences the others, creating a tightly interdependent system where small decisions can have cascading effects.
Durability and lifecycle are also notable challenges. Unlike traditional electronics, which are often treated as discrete, replaceable objects, smart textiles are expected to behave like clothing: washed frequently, worn in varied conditions, and maintained over time. Designers must consider how these products age, how components are protected or exposed, and what failure looks like. Does the garment continue to function if one element degrades? Can it be repaired, or is it disposable? These questions push design beyond form and function into systems thinking.
Equally important is the user experience. Smart textiles must feel indistinguishable from traditional garments, even as they perform complex functions. This requires careful attention to weight, drape, texture, and fit. Hard points, bulk, or inconsistencies in material can quickly break the illusion, reminding the user that they are wearing a device rather than clothing. The goal is to achieve a level of integration where the technology disappears; where the garment behaves exactly as expected while quietly delivering enhanced capability. Designers must also consider how to communicate functionality through material, form, and experience. Feedback may come through changes in temperature, pressure, or texture rather than visual interfaces. The product must feel reliable and intuitive, even when its most advanced features are hidden from view.
Designing smart textiles is an exercise in reconciliation. It requires aligning the precision of electronics with the fluidity of textiles, the demands of performance with the expectations of comfort, and the complexity of systems with the simplicity of everyday use.
Case Study: SMART ePANTS
A fit model session for an Interwoven garment developed for the SMART ePANTS program, where pattern and fit are refined to keep embedded technology comfortable and unobtrusive in wear.
One of the most ambitious explorations of this concept is the SMART ePANTS program, developed by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). The initiative focuses on creating fully integrated textile systems: garments that incorporate sensing, power, computation, and communication directly into the fabric.
The goal of SMART ePANTS is to develop clothing that can capture and process information about the wearer and their environment without relying on external devices. Sensors capable of detecting audio, movement, and location are woven into the garment, while conductive fibers act as wiring to connect these systems. Power is supplied through flexible, deformable energy solutions, and data is processed using ultra-low-power electronics embedded within the textile structure.
What distinguishes this program is not any single technology, but the level of integration. Rather than assembling components into a wearable device, SMART ePANTS treats the garment itself as a platform where every element, from fiber to system architecture, contributes to overall performance. The result is a product that maintains the look and feel of everyday clothing while functioning as a sophisticated technological system. This approach has significant implications for design. By embedding intelligence directly into textiles, the need for bulky hardware is reduced, and the user experience becomes more seamless. The garment can be worn naturally, without requiring adjustment or awareness, allowing technology to operate in the background.
From Research to Real-World Applications
While programs like SMART ePANTS are rooted in advanced research, their implications extend far beyond specialized applications. As these technologies mature, they will begin to influence a wide range of industries, from healthcare and wellness to performance apparel and everyday clothing, translating into applications that prioritize comfort, wearability, and seamless integration into daily life. The trajectory is familiar: high-performance, research-driven innovation gradually becomes refined, simplified, and accessible to broader audiences.
In healthcare, this shift is particularly evident. Garments designed for continuous physiological monitoring are moving away from rigid patches and adhesive sensors toward soft, wearable formats that can be worn over extended periods. For example, products like the Hexoskin Smart Shirt integrate sensors directly into the fabric to monitor respiration, heart rate, and activity without requiring additional devices. Similarly, platforms such as the Sensoria Smart Socks embed pressure sensors into knit structures to analyze gait and movement, demonstrating how everyday apparel can double as a data collection system without sacrificing comfort.
Performance apparel is another area where smart textiles are gaining traction. Brands are exploring garments that actively support the body through embedded functionality rather than external hardware. The Ralph Lauren PoloTech Shirt tracks biometric data and streams it to your device, while recovery-focused compression garments incorporate engineered fabrics that enhance circulation and muscle support.
In wellness and lifestyle applications, smart textiles are becoming increasingly discreet and intuitive. Sleep-focused products, posture-correcting garments, and stress-responsive wearables are leveraging soft, flexible materials to deliver benefits without introducing friction into daily routines. Early-stage innovations, such as textiles that can subtly adjust temperature in response to the body or fabrics that incorporate haptic feedback for relaxation, point toward a future where garments play an active role in regulating comfort and well-being.
In industrial and safety contexts, smart textiles are moving beyond rigid equipment toward more wearable solutions. High-visibility clothing with embedded sensors can monitor worker fatigue or environmental conditions, while military and first-responder gear is beginning to incorporate distributed sensing systems that enhance situational awareness without adding bulk.
Across these categories, a consistent pattern emerges: the most successful products are those that translate complex technology into familiar, wearable formats. Rather than introducing entirely new behaviors, they enhance existing ones, turning shirts, socks, and outerwear into platforms for sensing, response, and support. As the underlying technologies continue to mature, the distinction between “technology” and “textile” will become increasingly blurred, paving the way for products that feel less like innovations and more like natural evolutions of what we already wear.
The Future: Textile as Interface, System, and Platform
The future of smart textiles is one where the textile itself becomes the interface, the system, and the platform. Clothing will no longer be a static layer, but an active participant in how we experience the world: sensing, responding, and adapting in real time. For designers, this represents a fundamental shift in how products are conceived and developed. It requires thinking beyond objects and toward systems, beyond components and toward materials, and beyond interaction and toward experience. The challenge is to harness the potential of embedded intelligence while maintaining the qualities that make textiles inherently wearable: softness, flexibility, and comfort. The most successful solutions will not be those that showcase technology, but those that integrate it so seamlessly that it becomes invisible, leaving behind only the experience of wearing something that works effortlessly with the body.
At Interwoven Design, we partner with clients to navigate this evolving landscape, translating emerging technologies into products that balance innovation with usability. By integrating expertise in soft goods, textiles, and wearable systems, we help bring the next generation of smart textiles from concept to reality.
Interwoven Design is a design consultancy that is positioned at the intersection of soft goods and wearable technology, creating products that function with the body and offer comfort as well as the superb performance that arises through the innovative incorporation of rigid, often electronic and responsive elements. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for design news, multi-media recommendations, and to learn more about product design and development!
A Q&A with Dr. Candace Chan, Materials Scientist and Battery Researcher in Smart Textiles
A Q&A with Dr. Candace Chan, Materials Scientist and Battery Researcher in Smart Textiles
Spotlight articles shine a light on designers, engineers and scientists we admire, asking leaders in the field about their work and their creative journey. This month’s Spotlight interview explores the rapidly evolving world of Smart Textiles — a space where materials science, wearable technology, and garment design are beginning to blur together in fascinating ways. While wearable tech often focuses on sensors, data, and interfaces, one of the biggest challenges has always been power: how do you create energy systems that are small, flexible, safe, and comfortable enough to disappear into the garment itself?
Dr. Candace Chan, materials scientist and battery researcher based in Arizona and professor at Arizona State University.
To dig deeper into that question, we spoke with Dr. Candace Chan, a materials scientist and battery researcher at Arizon State University, whose work focuses on developing advanced energy storage systems, including flexible batteries for wearable applications.
Candace collaborated with Interwoven Design Group as part of the SMART ePANTS initiative — a multi-disciplinary research project exploring how electronics, conductive textiles, and embedded systems can be integrated directly into garments without compromising comfort or movement.
With a background in chemistry and nanomaterials, Candace brings a perspective that bridges fundamental science with real-world applications. What makes her especially compelling to talk to is the way she translates incredibly complex technology into ideas that feel surprisingly human and relatable.
Q:
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you first became interested in battery technology?
A:
My training is actually in chemistry. When I first went to college, I thought I was probably going to go to medical school like a lot of people do. But then I started taking chemistry courses and became really interested in materials science — especially nanomaterials. At the time, nanotechnology was becoming a huge area of research, and there was a lot of excitement around how materials behave differently at very small scales.
When I was a graduate student, I became involved in a research project exploring nanostructured materials for batteries, and what we found was that by making materials smaller, you could improve their mechanical properties, lifetime, and charge storage. That work eventually spun off into a startup company, which was exciting because it showed how fundamental research could become a real product.
I’ve always been interested in understanding the chemistry and fundamentals of materials, but also in figuring out how to leverage that understanding to improve everyday technologies. It just happened that batteries became the area where I could really see that impact.
Q:
In very simple terms, how does a battery actually work?
A:
In a nutshell, a battery is an energy conversion device. There’s chemical energy stored in the materials inside the battery, and through electrochemical reactions that energy gets converted into electrical energy that we can use.
Basically, the reactions allow electrons to move from one material to another, and the battery is designed so we can leverage those electrons by running them through a circuit to power a device.
What’s interesting is that different batteries work in different ways depending on the materials and reactions involved. Some batteries, like a typical 9-volt battery, aren’t rechargeable because the reactions happening inside them can’t easily be reversed. In rechargeable batteries, you can apply electricity to reverse those reactions and restore the stored energy.
There’s actually a lot happening at the atomic level inside a battery. It’s not just electrons moving around — in many cases the atomic structure of the materials themselves is changing during the reaction process. Sometimes those changes are reversible, and sometimes they’re not.
Q:
Most people picture batteries as hard, rigid objects. How do you even begin to make a battery small and flexible enough to live inside a textile or garment?
A:
That’s actually a really big challenge, and it’s one of the reasons this project was so interesting. A lot of traditional batteries are rigid because they’re designed to contain corrosive liquids and protect the materials inside. The hard casing is really there to keep everything sealed and stable.
The ribbon battery developed for the SMART ePANTS project.
But batteries don’t necessarily have to be rigid. If you look at lithium batteries — like the ones in phones or laptops — many are already packaged inside flexible polymer films instead of hard metal casings. So the question becomes: how do you take that idea even further and make something small and flexible enough to disappear into a textile?
A big part of it is balancing the power requirements of the device with how small you can realistically make the battery. In the SMART ePANTS project, we were fortunate to work with a team developing very low-power electronics, which meant we could design a much smaller battery, which we call a ribbon battery. That really opened the door to creating something that could integrate more naturally into the garment itself.
What’s interesting is that so much development has happened with sensors, wearable interfaces, and data systems, but the battery is still often the limiting factor. In a lot of ways, the battery has become the “ugly duckling” of wearable technology — everyone wants devices to be smaller, lighter, and more invisible, but power is still the thing holding many of those ideas back.
Q:
For people who may not be familiar with the field, how would you explain what smart textiles are and why people should be excited about them?
A flexible battery embedded into a textile swatch.
A:
For me, a smart textile is really a textile with improved functionality because it has embedded electronics integrated into it — including the power source. What’s exciting is that the possibilities are so broad. Smart textiles could support healthcare monitoring, athletic performance, mobility assistance, or entirely new types of wearable experiences that we haven’t even fully imagined yet.
Q:
The Smart ePants project brought together textiles, electronics, engineering, and garment design. What was most exciting or surprising to you about working in such a cross-disciplinary space?
A:
Everything about it was really interesting to me because I had never worked so closely with people from the textile and garment world before. I didn’t fully appreciate how much development had already happened in smart textiles — from conductive threads to knitting structures to the different ways electronics can be integrated into garments.
What was most exciting was seeing all these different disciplines come together around a common goal. It really showed how much innovation can happen when engineers, scientists, and designers are all approaching the same problem from completely different perspectives.
One thing I realized during the project was how valuable co-design can be. We initially approached it as, “Okay, we’ll make the battery and then figure out how to integrate it into the garment.” But I think if we had collaborated even earlier in the process, the battery itself might have evolved differently. I learned that the way a garment moves, stretches, and behaves on the body can actually influence how you design the technology inside it.
Q:
One of the biggest goals in wearable technology is making the technology almost invisible to the user. How close do you think we are to smart garments that truly feel natural and comfortable?
A:
I think we’re getting much closer. One of the really interesting things about the SMART ePANTS project was that so much of the testing focused on comfort and durability, asking whether the garment still felt natural once the electronics and battery were embedded inside it.
Testing the battery for performance and durability.
Our team really tried to make the battery as small and non-detectable as possible rather than simply integrating an off-the-shelf component. We customized the battery specifically around the low-power devices the electronics team was developing, which allowed us to make it much smaller and more flexible.
I was actually really proud that we exceeded the comfort and durability metrics. Even after aggressive bend testing, the battery still functioned and the stiffness change in the fabric was less than 10%, which was far better than the project requirements. That was a big moment for us because it demonstrated that these systems really can begin to integrate naturally into textiles.
Q:
Where do you think smart textiles and embedded power systems are going to have the biggest impact first, healthcare, sports, military, consumer products, or somewhere else entirely?
A:
Historically, military applications are often the first place these technologies gain traction because that’s where a lot of the early funding and development happens. There’s still a huge need for better embedded power systems for soldier-worn devices — in some cases, people are carrying nearly 30 pounds of batteries to support different equipment.
That said, I think healthcare and consumer wellness are going to continue pushing the field forward as well. Right now there’s enormous interest in wearable technology for monitoring health, exercise, recovery, and performance, but almost everyone is still struggling with the same issue: the battery. I was at a flexible electronics conference earlier this year, and it felt like every company had a battery problem. There’s clearly a lot of opportunity — it’s just a matter of finding the right applications first.
Q:
Looking ahead five or ten years, what excites you most about the future of smart textiles, wearable technology, and flexible batteries?
A:
What excites me most is that it finally feels like all the different pieces are starting to come together. The electronics are getting smaller, the textiles are becoming more advanced, and there’s a much greater understanding now of how to integrate these systems into something people can actually wear comfortably.
Candace Chan in the lab, where her research focuses on advanced energy storage and flexible batteries for wearable applications.
From the battery side, there’s still a huge opportunity. Everywhere I go, whether it’s healthcare, flexible electronics, or wearable technology conferences, people are still talking about the same challenge: they need better power systems. It almost feels like everyone has a battery problem right now.
That makes me optimistic because it means there’s still so much room for innovation. I think the future will come from much closer collaboration between scientists, engineers, and designers. The more these technologies are developed together — instead of as separate parts added at the end — the more natural and invisible wearable technology is going to become.
–
Speaking with Candace was a fascinating reminder that some of the most important innovations in wearable technology are happening behind the scenes. While sensors, interfaces, and data often get the attention, our conversation highlighted just how critical — and challenging — power systems really are. Her perspective as a materials scientist brought a completely different lens to the SMART ePANTS project and revealed how much thoughtful engineering goes into making technology feel seamless, flexible, and almost invisible on the body.
At Interwoven Design Group, collaborations like this are a huge part of what makes our work so meaningful. Many of the projects we work on exist at the intersection of design, engineering, material science, healthcare, and emerging technology. Working alongside experts like Candace not only pushes the work further technically, but also expands how we think about problem solving, comfort, usability, and the future of wearable systems. It’s this cross-disciplinary exchange that continues to make the field of smart textiles such an exciting space to work in.
A Q&A with Cordy Swope, Designer and Strategist in MedTech and Human Experience
A Q&A with Cordy Swope, Designer and Strategist in MedTech and Human Experience
Spotlight articles shine a light on designers and engineers we admire, asking leaders in the field about their work and their creative journey. This month’s Spotlight explores MedTech through the perspective of designer and strategist Cordy Swope — whose career has moved from automotive and consumer products into healthcare innovation, global consulting, and corporate leadership.
Cordy Swope, designer and strategist at Seven19 and Pratt Institute graduate.
From IDEO to Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, BMW, Toyota, and now Seven19, Cordy has spent decades navigating the intersection of design, systems thinking, and human experience. In this conversation, we discuss the complexity of designing for healthcare, the realities of bringing human-centered design into large organizations, the influence of living abroad, and why optimism may be the defining trait of every designer.
Q:
Your career has spanned IDEO, healthcare, automotive, consulting, and international work. How did you first find your way into MedTech?
A:
I wouldn’t say that I’m a MedTech or healthcare native by any stretch. I grew up personally terrified of hospitals and anything to do with doctors until I was well into my thirties. Then, when I was working at IDEO and got assigned to a pharma project for Eli Lilly. Part of the project involved developing injection devices, but the part I was leading focused on adherence — how to help women in their late sixties stick to a treatment that required daily self-injections and refrigeration. We built prototype kits with fake pens and visited patients in their homes in places like Georgia and Florida. We’d interview them, leave the kits with them for about ten days, then come back to see what actually worked for them — not necessarily what they liked, but what worked. Up until then, I had mostly worked on projects centered around desirability — BMW, Coca-Cola, consumer brands. This was different. These treatments had the potential to prolong life or significantly improve quality of life. That’s really when I fell in love with healthcare and MedTech.
Q:
What separates a medical product that simply works from one that truly improves a patient’s life?
A:
The design process in healthcare is a multistakeholder ecosystem. To put it another way — it’s damn complex. There are layers of competing needs between doctors, patients, caregivers, payers, manufacturers, regulatory requirements, and business concerns. You have to disentangle those competing needs and reformulate them into something workable. In a way, it’s the ultimate design problem. I’ve always been attracted to problems that are greater than any one person’s ability to solve. In healthcare, every project requires a team of people who know more than you in different areas. Otherwise, you’re going to be very limited in what you can do. There’s real satisfaction in producing something that gets into the hands of doctors, patients, and caregivers and genuinely changes someone’s experience — even if you’re not the person inventing the medicine itself.
Q:
IDEO is famous for design thinking and human-centered design. What changed when you moved into large corporations like Johnson & Johnson and Novartis?
A:
A patient journey map exploring the realities of self-injection therapy.
The hardest adjustment was around access to users and patients. At IDEO, we had systems around how data was collected, protected, and managed. We could do deep ethnographic research because the patient owned the data and we owned the process. Inside a corporation, especially a pharmaceutical company, everything becomes much more regulated. You’re really limited in your interactions with patients, so we had to hire outside researchers or find workarounds.
The other big shift is that in consulting you’re judged on the impact you create for the client and the customer. Inside a corporation, success depends much more on internal relationships. You have direct access to the means of production, which is amazing, but getting things implemented requires relationship-building. From the outside, people might call it politics. Inside, it’s how things move forward. One executive once gave me a piece of advice I’ve never forgotten. She said, “I want you guys to do the work. I don’t want you teaching marketers and engineers how to do design thinking because they’ll learn just enough to crash the plane into the side of a mountain — and then they’ll blame you. She was absolutely right.
Q:
We’ve seen a huge rise — and now some backlash — around design thinking, AI, and innovation culture inside corporations. From your perspective, what happened?
A:
Cordy Swope presenting the fundamentals of design thinking.
I think there was a period where companies were falling all over themselves to bring in designers and redesign their processes and workflows. But a lot of it was poorly managed. You had people halfway learning design thinking, claiming to be experts, selling services, and often misunderstanding what design actually is. There’s a reason there’s been backlash over the last few years. The way designers work is fundamentally different from how corporations work.
Corporations are often in the business of being inevitable — wanting to own everything, standardize everything, reduce risk. Designers are exploratory. Designers are trying to figure out a preferred future. That tension is always going to exist. In some ways it’s productive because it defines where designers add value, but it also creates friction. Now with AI, people are asking whether design itself is going away. Personally, I don’t think so. Some days it feels overwhelming, but other days AI just feels like another tool in the toolbox. I still remain optimistic despite all the turmoil.
Q:
You’ve now gone full circle — from consulting to corporate and back into consulting again. How has that changed your perspective?
A:
Going back into consulting feels a little bit like coming home. A lot of the methods and practices I used fifteen years ago were still there like muscle memory, even if I had to work the kinks out. It’s liberating in some ways because you don’t have to constantly compromise or go along with things you know are going to be mediocre — which everybody does in the corporate world at some point. I once heard someone say that when you go from consulting to corporate, you’re trading insecurity for frustration. And when you go back to consulting, you trade frustration for insecurity. That’s pretty accurate. In consulting, you’re always thinking about the pipeline. But you also get the excitement of solving new problems and working across industries.
Q:
You’ve also spent significant time living and working abroad. How did those experiences shape your approach to design?
A:
One of my first jobs was at Toyota. I had lived in Japan before that, and the role involved future-focused storytelling for designers — looking at culture, architecture, fashion, and behavioral trends and translating them into inspiration for automotive design. Later, at Continuum, I worked extensively with BMW in both Europe and North America. A lot of the features we developed back then are still in BMWs today because the work was so deeply human-centered. Eventually, I met my wife through that work, moved to Munich, and lived in Germany for years. I think you can learn a language relatively quickly. But learning a culture — the unwritten rules, the mentality, the references — can take a lifetime. It’s similar to learning the culture inside a corporation. You have to understand the invisible systems. People often focus on the linguistic challenge of living abroad, but I think it’s really the cultural challenge that gets you.
Q:
As fellow Pratt graduates, I have to ask — what stayed with you from your Pratt education throughout your career?
A:
I came into Pratt from an English literature background, so I felt like a bit of a black sheep. But one thing that stayed with me forever was the fearlessness of prototyping. At Pratt, there was this mentality of: what if we just build something immediately? It might be mostly wrong, but maybe it’s not all wrong — and we can use it to ask better questions. Later at IDEO, I recognized the same philosophy. “Build to think.” Using a physical prototype or mockup to ask better questions is still one of the most valuable design tools I know. You don’t always need the perfect words to formulate the perfect question. Sometimes you just put something in front of people and learn from the reaction.
Q:
Final question. From Pratt to Germany, from IDEO to Seven19 — what’s the thread that connects everything you’ve done?
A:
I think it’s dissatisfaction with the current state combined with an optimism that the future can be better. About eighteen years ago, when my first child was born, I realized that since I had the privilege of working as a designer, I wanted to help design the kind of world I’d want my kids to live in. So I look around, and usually I’m dissatisfied with what I see. Then I use the tools of design — prototyping, visualization, whatever tools my team and I have — to build momentum toward some kind of preferred future. Designers are uniquely equipped to visualize what could be before most people can. And honestly, I still remain optimistic.
At the end of our conversation, Cordy and I found ourselves reflecting on something that feels increasingly important right now: optimism. Despite rapid technological change, AI disruption, corporate upheaval, and the growing complexity of the systems designers work within, there remains a shared belief that things can be improved. That belief may ultimately be one of the defining characteristics of design itself. As Cordy put it, designers are in the business of “figuring out the preferred future.” And perhaps that ability — to imagine something better before it exists — is exactly what makes design such a powerful force within healthcare, technology, and beyond.
Beyond the Portfolio: Starting a Career in Industrial Design
Beyond the Portfolio: Starting a Career in Industrial Design
Product design is evolving rapidly. Across industries, the boundaries between physical products, digital experiences, and wearable systems are becoming increasingly fluid, creating new opportunities for designers. Designers today are expected to think beyond form alone, considering how products function within broader systems of manufacturing, interaction, human behavior, and experience.
For new graduates entering the field, this moment is both exciting and challenging. The range of possible career paths has expanded dramatically, but so have expectations. Many emerging designers find themselves asking the same questions: How do I stand out in a competitive market? What kind of portfolio do design firms actually want to see? How do I gain experience when most opportunities seem to require it already? Navigating the transition from school to industry can feel uncertain, particularly as the profession itself continues to evolve.
At Interwoven Design, we seek new industrial design interns every year, giving us a firsthand perspective on what differentiates successful candidates in today’s hiring landscape. In this Insight article, we explore what studios are actually looking for in new graduates, and how emerging designers can position themselves more strategically as they search for internships and full-time roles. We also examine the power of a point of view, and how to develop meaningful industry connections.
Develop a Point of View
A quality that immediately distinguishes strong emerging designers is the presence of a clear point of view. In a highly competitive hiring landscape, portfolios can begin to look visually similar, featuring comparable software skills, renderings, and project structures. What often separates memorable candidates is a visible sense of curiosity, direction, and intellectual engagement with the kinds of problems they want to solve.
Developing a point of view does not mean locking yourself into a narrow specialty early in your career. One of the advantages of being a new graduate is the freedom to explore different industries, methodologies, and interests. However, employers are often drawn to candidates who demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for particular areas of design, whether that involves wearable technology, medical devices, soft goods, sustainable packaging, furniture, transportation, consumer electronics, or emerging material systems.
A point of view is often communicated subtly through project choices, research topics, material explorations, and even the way a portfolio is organized. A student who consistently explores human-centered healthcare solutions, for example, signals a different perspective than someone focused heavily on speculative consumer electronics or sustainable systems. Neither direction is inherently better, but each tells a story about what motivates the designer and how they think about the role of design in the world.
Developing a point of view is not the same as building a personal brand around aesthetics alone. While visual consistency can be valuable, firms are often more interested in conceptual consistency; evidence that a designer is asking meaningful questions and engaging thoughtfully with a set of ideas over time. This could involve an interest in emotional durability, accessibility, wearable systems, manufacturing innovation, circular design, or the relationship between digital and physical experiences. These through-lines create coherence across projects and help transform a portfolio from a collection of assignments into a reflection of a designer’s perspective. Candidates who can clearly articulate what excites them about design tend to create more engaging and memorable discussions. Employers are not simply hiring for current projects; they are hiring people they can imagine growing alongside future opportunities and challenges.
Understand the System
Once a designer has developed a point of view and a body of work that reflects how they think, the next challenge is often not capability, it is visibility. Many strong candidates struggle because they are unclear about where opportunities exist and how to position themselves within a highly fragmented hiring landscape. Unlike more centralized industries, product design opportunities rarely exist in a single, predictable place. While large companies and well-known studios do post openings on public job boards, many roles are filled through more direct or informal channels. Studio websites remain one of the most consistent sources of opportunities, particularly for internships, where smaller teams often manage hiring directly. Alumni networks also play a significant role, as many designers enter studios through personal or academic connections that extend beyond formal application systems.
For emerging designers, this shifts the application process from reactive to proactive. Rather than waiting for the “right” posting to appear, successful candidates often identify studios whose work aligns with their interests and reach out directly. In these cases, specificity matters. Generic applications tend to disappear quickly, while targeted outreach that demonstrates an understanding of a studio’s focus—whether that is soft goods, wearable technology, consumer electronics, or medical devices—immediately signals intent and relevance.
Timing also plays a role. Many studios operate on flexible hiring cycles, especially for internships. Applying early, even when positions are not formally advertised, can be advantageous, as teams often keep strong candidates in mind when future projects arise. In some cases, opportunities are created in response to interest rather than pre-existing job postings, particularly in smaller or mid-sized practices. Translating work into opportunity is not just about applying widely; it is about applying strategically.
Design Your Outreach
While the portfolio is important, even strong portfolios can go unnoticed if they are not introduced effectively. The reality is that most studios are not short on capable applicants; they are short on time. What often determines whether a portfolio is reviewed in detail is not its quality alone, but how it first enters a studio’s attention. The initial email, message, or application note is a filter that determines if your work is reviewed at all. A well-crafted introduction does not need to be long or overly polished, but it does need to be intentional. Studios are looking for signals of clarity: who you are, what you are interested in, and why you are reaching out to them specifically.
Effective outreach in design is itself an act of design thinking. It requires editing, prioritization, and an understanding of your audience. A strong message typically introduces the designer in a few sentences, highlights one or two relevant projects, and clearly explains why the studio’s work is meaningful to them.
The goal is not to summarize an entire portfolio, but to create enough alignment and curiosity for the reviewer to click through. What tends to weaken applications is not lack of talent, but lack of specificity. Generic messages sent to dozens of studios often read as disconnected from the work they reference. In contrast, even a short message that references a studio’s recent project, design focus, or material approach immediately establishes relevance. This demonstrates that the applicant has taken the time to understand the practice they are engaging with, which is often as important as the work itself.
Outreach does not need to be formal to be effective, but it should be professional, direct, and respectful of the reader’s time. Studios are often reviewing applications between project deadlines, so clarity and brevity are not just stylistic choices, they are practical advantages. This activity, done well, is an extension of a design practice; it requires understanding context, communicating intent, and guiding someone through an experience in a way that feels effortless and considered.
Network for Exposure
While networking can feel transactional at its worst, it should be about building visibility, familiarity, and trust over time. In product design especially, hiring is rarely a single-moment decision. Studios tend to hire people they have seen before, heard about through peers, or encountered multiple times in different contexts. This means that networking is less about one perfect interaction and more about becoming a recognizable presence within the design ecosystem. Exposure, consistency, and clarity of interest matter more than any single conversation. For emerging designers, this shift in perspective is critical. Instead of approaching networking as a performance or a pitch, it becomes an opportunity to engage with the industry in a more natural and ongoing way.
Here are some practical ways to build meaningful exposure:
Attending portfolio reviews hosted by organizations such as IDSA, universities, and design festivals.
Reaching out to alumni who are working in studios you admire, particularly those a few years ahead in their careers
Engaging in informational conversations with junior and mid-level designers, who are often more accessible and candid about their experiences
Participating in design events, talks, and workshops where informal conversations can lead to longer-term recognition
Maintaining a consistent presence on platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram by sharing process work, sketches, or project thinking rather than only final renders
Contributing to student exhibitions, competitions, or collaborative projects that extend your visibility beyond your immediate academic environment
Signing up for the mailing lists of studios and companies you admire and watching for open houses and studio events
Over time, these actions build familiarity. A studio may not respond immediately to a message or application, but repeated exposure to a designer’s name, work, or ideas can create recognition when opportunities arise later. In many cases, hiring decisions are influenced by this accumulated awareness as much as by formal applications. Networking in design is about showing up consistently within the spaces where design conversations are happening, contributing meaningfully when possible, and allowing your perspective to become part of the broader dialogue.
Build Momentum Over Time
Unlike fields with clearly defined entry points, design careers often unfold unevenly; shaped by timing, exposure, relationships, portfolio development, and a degree of persistence that extends beyond any single application cycle. For emerging designers, this can feel uncertain at first, especially when comparing their progress to seemingly more direct success stories. In reality, momentum matters more than a perfect starting point. Each project, conversation, internship, and piece of outreach contributes to a broader trajectory. Designers who remain engaged—continuing to refine their portfolios, explore new ideas, and participate in the broader design community—tend to create more opportunities for themselves over time.
For new graduates entering the field today, the opportunity lies not in finding the “correct” path, but in actively creating one—through work, relationships, and a continued commitment to evolving as a designer. Studios are looking for evidence of how candidates think, collaborate, communicate, and solve problems. Technical skills remain important, but process, adaptability, trustworthiness, and curiosity often determine which candidates stand out. At Interwoven Design, we find that the most compelling designers are rarely defined by a single aesthetic or specialty. Instead, they distinguish themselves through clarity of thought, engagement with the design process, and the ability to communicate ideas effectively.
Interwoven Design is a design consultancy that is positioned at the intersection of soft goods and wearable technology, creating products that function with the body and offer comfort as well as the superb performance that arises through the innovative incorporation of rigid, often electronic and responsive elements. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for design news, multi-media recommendations, and to learn more about product design and development!
