HANNAH SECKENDORF

  

Research | Strategy | Design | Navigating the design challenges of emerging mediums and emergent ideas.




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ABOUT



A SHORT BIO
Hannah works in and between the disciplines of research, strategy, and design. Her approach is grounded in a commitment to understanding the intricacies of living systems and ensuring those insights make their way into design decisions. Her current focus is on interdisciplinary projects with design sensibilities that consider human needs alongside the needs of the ecologies and species around us.

Hannah currently works with Grow on NSF-funded research and development of biomimetic underwater infrastructure products that support human and aquatic life symbiotically. Outside of Grow, Hannah collaborates with Ariel Sim on Beyond Human-Centered Design, researching methodologies for designing with and for other species. Hannah also collaborates with Michael Bass on the Earth Action Index, designing information ecosystems that reconnect us with the living ecosystems we inhabit.

Previously, she has worked with and for the wonderful teams at Meta Immersive Learning, BBC Interactive, National Geographic’s Impact Story Lab, Schneider Electric, SuperLA, The Museum of Art & Photography Bangalore, Corona, UNIT9, Erria, Mimecast, Lifeshop, Framework, Brown Multimedia Labs, and Ivy Film Festival.

Hannah’s work draws from a deep well of love for the curiosities of the living world. She has lived past lives as a cognitive neuroscientist at Brown and a research diver on a sailboat in the British Virgin Islands. She seeks to be on increasingly intimate terms with the world around her and has studied Biodesign & Biomimicry at Pratt, Earth Stewardship at Esalen, and Regenerative Design with the Regenesis Institute. She — like the ancient whales — would trade life on land for the ocean and spends her free time testing the upper limits of how long a human can spend on a surfboard. She is the daughter a psychologist and chiropractor who each instilled in her an ethos of care for our animal vulnerabilities — a sensibility she now invites into the world of design.



TRAILHEADS

Resume — For a concise overview of my work experience.
Writing — For deeper dives into how I see design intersecting with the mind.
Influences — For my running archive of others’ thoughts I’ve found formative.
Email  — For freelance inquiries, possible collaborations, or just to say hi! — really!
CURRENTLY
Biking around Venice, CA

Working for the oysters 

Designing the field guide of the future


PREVIOUSLY
2024 | SUMMER
Biodesign & Biomimicry Intensive @ Pratt
Earth Stewardship Residency @ Esalen
2022 -> 2024
Experience Design Strategist @ UNIT9

2020 -> 2022First Hire @ Framework

2019-2020Creative Technologist @ Brown Multimedia Labs

2018-2020New Media Team Lead @ Ivy Film Festival

2017-2020Providence Team Lead @ Sofar Sounds 

2019 | SUMMERImmersive Media Intern @ National Geographic

2017-2019VR+X Teaching Assistant @  Brown University

2018 | SUMMERVR Intern @ EVENT Lab

2018 | SUMMERVR Intern @ Here Be Dragons









 
©Hannah Seckendorf*Site is actively under construction, please pardon any jankiness!