Fjord Fika

Karl is currently the CEO and co-founder of nuTonomy, a software company that builds software for fully driverless vehicles. nuTonomy’s mission is to radically improve the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of transportation in cities worldwide. That means a future where driverless vehicles are available where people need them, when they need them, in cities from Singapore to San Francisco and everything in between. By eliminating accidents due to driver error and maximizing vehicle utilization, nuTonomy hopes to enable safer roads and a healthier planet. In this Fika break, we talk to Karl about transportation efficiency, the potential for reshaping cities, saving lives through autonomous vehicles, and creating a driving system on the road that is much, much safer than today’s human piloted cars.

ProPublica is a digital-only media company focused entirely on investigative journalism. ProPublica digs deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust, and follows those stories as long as it takes to hold power to account. And they do it as a non-profit. It’s an interesting business model for a media company, but one that has been successful for ProPublica in its 10+-year history.ProPublica and its staff of journalists have received four Pulitzer Prizes, three Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards and a National Magazine Award, among others, for their work. In this Fika break, we talk to Celeste LeCompte, ProPublica’s Vice President of Business Development, about combating the disinformation war, tackling the slow death of local media, and being champions of investigative and accountability journalism. We also talk about ProPublica’s business model, expansion plans and where journalism goes f

Many people know Charles Adler as one of the co-founders of Kickstarter, the ground-breaking crowdfunding platform (now the world’s largest) that revolutionized how independent creative projects are funded globally. Now, Charles has moved onto his latest venture for independent creatives: Lost Arts, a community workshop in Chicago. A new format of workspace for ambitious creators in the 21st century, Lost Arts aims to drive innovation through open support of creativity. In this Fika break, we talk to Charles about the future of work and alternative workspaces, how you build a new kind of community for ambitious creatives (hint: by making the invisible creative visible), and the legacy of Kickstarter.

Fjord’s Daniel Freeman talks to Carla Diana, a noted robotics expert, on how we use design to set expectations in our communications with robots and explores the moral and ethical obligations as our relationships with them grow.

As the author of three internationally acclaimed books on the digital revolution (Cult of the Amateur, Digital Vertigo and The Internet Is Not the Answer), Andrew Keen has plenty of opinions on the topic—and a lot of them are controversial. In this Fika, Keen and Fjord’s Mark Curtis discuss the progression of the digital age: the role designers have in mapping out the future, what it means to be a digital company, and possible solutions to some of the more damaging and disturbing outcomes of the rise of the Internet and digitalization.

Marc English is a designer, teacher and author based in Austin, Tx. In this Fika break, we talk to Marc about what made him want to be a designer, his work as a teacher, and his experience with the AIGA, which includes establishing the Austin chapter. We also explore the link between design, art and history, talk about his book “Designing Identity,” and discuss how month-long motorcycle trips help him learn how to do more with less.

Eduardo Aguilar is head of technology at the Helix Centre, a design studio based inside an NHS hospital. In this Fika break, we talk to Eduardo about his work at the Helix Centre, how to use technology to create better health products for both carers and patients, and how to use human-centered design to improve healthcare, reduce the pain of going to a hospital and improve end-of-life care.

Does talking about design make you a better designer? In this Fika break, we talk to designer Kevin Finn about his work as editor of Open Manifesto, an independent journal that focuses on the intersection of design with social, cultural, political and economic issues issues, what networking and investing in information exchanges can do for both designers and non-designers, and his years of groundbreaking design work, including designing the TV identity of SBS, Australia’s multicultural and multilingual broadcaster, and working with Edward De Bono on his portfolio of work.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher is the author of a new book Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech from W.W. Norton. In this Fika break, we talk about algorithmic bias in everything from products and services to search results and also tackle racial and gender bias arising from broken algorithms and human missteps, Facebook and Russian ads, and the nefarious side of digital companies focused on manipulating human behavior.

ProPublica is a digital-only media company focused entirely on investigative journalism. ProPublica digs deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust, and follows those stories as long as it takes to hold power to account. And they do it as a non-profit. It’s an interesting business model for a media company, but one that has been successful for ProPublica in its 10+-year history.ProPublica and its staff of journalists have received four Pulitzer Prizes, three Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards and a National Magazine Award, among others, for their work. In this Fika break, we talk to Celeste LeCompte, ProPublica’s Vice President of Business Development, about combating the disinformation war, tackling the slow death of local media, and being champions of investigative and accountability journalism. We also talk about ProPublica’s business model, expansion plans and where journalism goes from here.

Many people know Charles Adler as one of the co-founders of Kickstarter, the ground-breaking crowdfunding platform (now the world’s largest) that revolutionized how independent creative projects are funded globally. Now, Charles has moved onto his latest venture for independent creatives: Lost Arts, a community workshop in Chicago. A new format of workspace for ambitious creators in the 21st century, Lost Arts aims to drive innovation through open support of creativity. In this Fika break, we talk to Charles about the future of work and alternative workspaces, how you build a new kind of community for ambitious creatives (hint: by making the invisible creative visible), and the legacy of Kickstarter.

Sara M. Watson is a writer and technology critic. She writes and speaks about emerging issues in the intersection of technology, culture and society, and she advocates for a constructive approach to technology criticism that not only critiques, but also offers alternatives. In this Fika break, we spoke to Sara about the the current state of technology coverage and criticism, why it matters now more than ever and why tech critiques often carry negative connotations when other types of culture criticism (books, TV, etc.) don’t. We also discuss micro-targeting, self-determination and agency, and how we move the tech critical enterprise forward.

Marina Lvova is the Director of Client Engagement at Fast Forward Group, a leadership development company that ignites people to take ownership of their business, career and life.  An avid traveler, Marina is an alumna of Remote Year, a program designed for digital nomads to travel the world while working remotely. In this Fika break, we talk about leadership coaching, travel and the joy of working remotely.

Tim Stock is the co-founder of scenarioDNA, a strategic foresight consultancy that marries consumer anthropology with data science to measure and understand the ideological dynamics impacting society. He is also the co-inventor of a patented methodology called Culture Mapping, which helps companies develop strategic frameworks that support their growth and sustainability. In this Fika break, we talk to Tim about about culture, ideology and the impact on innovation, organizational design and the importance for companies to be “living,” and how cultural trends are affecting companies today.

The future of design education.

Dan Ward served in the U.S. Air Force for more than 20 years where he specialized in leading rapid innovation project. Today, he’s a consultant and writer, best known for his book, “F.I.R.E.: How Fast, Inexpensive, Restrained, and Elegant Methods Ignite Innovation.” In this Fika break, we talk to Dan about his time in the military, the concept of “stormdraining” (the opposite of brainstorming), and how being fast, inexpensive, simple, and small is the secret to innovation.

Karl is currently the CEO and co-founder of nuTonomy, a software company that builds software for fully driverless vehicles. nuTonomy’s mission is to radically improve the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of transportation in cities worldwide. That means a future where driverless vehicles are available where people need them, when they need them, in cities from Singapore to San Francisco and everything in between. By eliminating accidents due to driver error and maximizing vehicle utilization, nuTonomy hopes to enable safer roads and a healthier planet. In this Fika break, we talk to Karl about transportation efficiency, the potential for reshaping cities, saving lives through autonomous vehicles, and creating a driving system on the road that is much, much safer than today’s human piloted cars.

Abby Covert is a staff information architect at Etsy and the author of “How to Make Sense of Any Mess” a book about information architecture for everybody. She says that it is not uncommon to see semantic arguments and legacy decisions drive the information architecture of products and the organizations that make them. This can negatively impact organizational efficiency and user experience. In this Fika break, we talk to Abby about the messes made of information, how she helps companies arrange and structure all the parts of their experience into a cohesive whole for their users, and how language gets in the way of understanding one another.

Carey Russell is an internationally-recognized filmmaker, photographer, writer and naturalist. A frequent collaborator with director Terrence Malick, Carey’s recent work includes directing the 10-part documentary web-series, “Tibetan Stories,” and a soon-to-be released book of photography about summer camps and scouting titled, “The New Arcadians.” In this Fika break, we speak to Russell about photography and videography and cultural identity, storytelling (and unintended consequences), and the importance of mindfulness.

What if you can create sustainable, clean energy just by taking a walk? Well, you can, thanks to Laurence Kemball-Cook. His energy harvesting startup, Pavegen, has pioneered a flooring tile that converts wasted kinetic energy from footsteps into renewable electricity, which has the ability to transform smart cities of the future, entirely through footfall. In this Fika break, we spoke to Kemball-Cook about energy harvesting, fighting climate change, and weathering the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.