Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman

Working at the intersection of design and technology, Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman is an expert in human interaction, wearable products and smart textiles. With a background in performance apparel, product design and interior architecture, she is a pioneering researcher in design methodologies and smart materials, and is Professor of Industrial Design at Pratt Institute. She is the author of Smart Textiles for Designers: Inventing the Future of Fabrics; has published many articles; and speaks internationally on design, innovation and the future.

Rebeccah brings over 25 years of corporate designing experience in residential interior design, medical, wearable and consumer product design and has held positions as Design Director for Fila, Champion and Nike. She is founder of Interwoven Design Group, an interdisciplinary design consulting practice that creates innovative, thoughtful and efficient products, and one of the founding partners in SEArch+, where she works to apply her design theories and practice to extraterrestrial environments. She was named one of IDSA’s (Industrial Design Society of America) 20/20 for both her work promoting diversity in design and Interwoven’s design work on the APEX exosuit which was recognized with a SPARK Platinum Design Award.