Yasaman Sheri
Designer + Director
I am designer & director creating interfaces for new product categories utilizing emerging technologies such as Augmented & Mixed Reality, Intelligent Materials and Sensors, Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Autonomous Vehicles and Biotechnology.
With many awards and patents to creating novel interactions in UX Design and Interactions for Emerging Technologies beyond screens, I am also an educator, teaching designers at CIID, Graduate Industrial Design at RISD and have been guest lecturer / visiting professor at Art Center College of Design, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, ZhDK, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Parsons School of Design, University of Washington to name a few.
I was jury for IxDA Interaction Awards 2020 & Core77 Design Awards 2019. I gave the final graduation speech for Umeå Institute of Design, Speak at TED and am dedicated to empowering young designers & womxn. I have mentored XR teams at Mozilla, MIT AR VR hackathon, New INC, NASA Ames, Singularity University and am currently building the Synthetic Ecologies Lab for Serpentine Galleries R&D Platform.
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A selection of my work can be found below ↓
Design of Operating System
Gestural Interface
Microsoft Hololens
2012-2017
Design of all hologram manipulation including movement, scaling, rotation, scrolling, zooming, panning, body locking, body tagging, placement on surface reconstruction. 5 Patents awarded for novel gesture interaction for two handed gestural interaction, intuitive touch interface and fully articulated hand tracking applied in OS working with Senior leadership and CEO.
Cross Device MR Platform
Microsoft Mixed Reality
2016-2017
After the launch and shipping of Hololens, Microsoft Windows Holographic (Mixed Reality) moved on to cross device interaction. My work here was to not only think about Hololens Hardware AR headset inputs such as Gesture, Eye and Gaze input or Surface Reconstruction, but also to think about full virtuality of VR worlds with input devices such as 6-DOF, keyboard and game controller, teleportation.
Designing for consistency, while celebrating the differences of what each platform would offer, this part of the project was about the spectrum of virtuality across contexts.
In addition to directing design across devices and inputs, I was responsible for the “avatar” and “people” representation in online spaces, including social VR space. How are our bodies and intentions represented virtually and what interaction paradigms emerge as a result of online-together.
↑ Virtual Objects and Companions
↑ Virtual Objects & Human Avatars
↑ Virtual Objects, Human Avatars and Spaces
↑ Avatar Visualization highlighting input hotspots
↑ Augmented Object & Environment
↑ Augmented Objects & Avatar
↑ Augmented Objects — Real Environment
↑ Body Locking vs. World Locking Hologram
↑ Wall Magnetism on Surface Reconstruction
Googel (X)
Autonomous Robotics Interface
2018
Working in the Core Design team at Google X, I primarily lead Interaction Design and Art Direction to a large startup-esque project in stealth mode focusing on robotics and autonomous vehicles of various kinds. I was the only designer on the project directing the all up systems architecture, UX patterns, micro- interaction as well as the final visual assets for the Human Machine Interface (HMI) of self driving robotics, as well as fleet of robots.
I worked with “CEO” of the project directly to define and help shape the importance of trust by highlighting importance of affordances and feedback mechanisms via haptics, visual and sound for the variety of users. In addition I worked closely with engineers to instruct the design I proposed and implement the prototypes directly in the vehicle. The project focused on Machine Sensing & Perception, LIDAR and camera sensors, remote and near physical and digital input modalities.
↑ Manipulation, handling and interaction with environment
↑ Navigation of Robot in designated path, or freely in space
↑ Machine Perception and Human expectation of Robot
↑ Map of Robotics Space
Augmented Intelligence & AI Case
IKEA Design and Research Lab
Space10
2019 - 2020
Working with IKEA and Space10 internal team to lead the frontier work of Spatial Computing, Augmented Intelligence and AI, my work included directing and initiating strategic projects that bring digital platforms and technologies to IKEA as it is uniquely set up to focus on the context of Home and Interior Spaces.
I directed the initial ideation and , briefs which were later handled and executed by producer, prototypes, topics of interest for projects and set the vision for internal and external collaborators consistent of brand studios, technologists, partner companies and organizations, designers, copywriters and project managers who would shape the Everyday Experiments platform to be launched early spring. The platform explores several tracks in technology explorations at the intersection of Machine Sensing & Perception, AI, Home and Interfaces of Trust. The Visual and technical execution by partner studios — All information found on the platform website.
↑ UX of Trust in Augmented Spaces & privacy
Biosensor Archive
Ginkgo Bioworks
2018 — Ongoing
Biosensors are invisible to human perception and require scientific apparatus to view, capture, and interact with. The graphical visualizations below demonstrate the captured geometries of proteins whos structural shape aid in sensing variety of chemicals such as aroma and flavor molecules, toxins and hormones. Through on-going conversations with scientists and utilizing physical and digital scientific tools, the representation of these abstract sensors were collected as part of the project to demonstrate visibly, floureshing a common ground for communication in the world of arts and sciences.
↑ Anthology of collected geometries of different biological sensors 
Paper Biosensor — Material Intelligence
Ginkgo Bioworks Lab
Life Sciences + Health
2018-2019
I worked with the world’s most cutting edge and advance biotechnology company Ginkgo Bioworks to direct and create paper based biosensors. Working with Wyss Institute for Biological Engineering, and with guidance from MIT, Purdy Lab and Director of BiosensorI created a set of affordance “analog” sensing wearables that through biosensor proteins can detect the presence of stress and hormone molecules, smell molecules, flavor molecules and toxins. History of analog based biosensors is vast, spanning transportable diagnostics. While building specialized biosensors in the lab with the help of scientists and synthetic biologists, I designed series of intelligent paper forms that explore the context beyond hospital in to the body as interactive surface, home & urban landscape as a relationship to the collective.
Space10 Design Debates
Curation + Direction
2019 — 2020
Another project I directed at Space10 was centered around knowledge building around emerging technologies, specifically in the context of well being around emerging technologies. By curating experts to engage in dialogues and workshops, I directed several studios, writers, thinkers, designers. The goal was alongside building and creating design, to actively question our own assumptions & biases. Specifically this project was also important to bring knowledge around machine learning, mixed reality, biotechnology, sensors with self, community, home and planet in mind. The project has gotten recognition from IKEA as to push the Augmented Intelligence and AI case forward and high level, as well as helped internal teams at Space10 educate, and finally build local and global connections by hosting in New Delhi, New York and Copenhagen securing collaborators such as Pioneer Works, Copenhagen Contemporary & CPH:DOX.
First I defined a technology stack, and then I turned it upside down to challenge the design thinking around sensor systems that have become so ubiquitous. I curated and directed conversations here in the following topics.
→ Inclusive Inputs ✳︎Context of India✳︎
→ Virtual Celebrities ✳︎Lil Miquela✳︎
→ Data as Reality? ✳︎Altered Meaning✳︎
→ Interfaces of Ecology ✳︎Non-human Scales✳︎
→ Materials as Sensors ✳︎Afforded Intelligence✳︎
→ Alternative Platforms of well being ✳︎Are.na✳︎
I run Studio.Gesture and work with clients & collaborators* to imagine and create novel interactions that are used by many.
✱ Toyota, Hyundai, Zoox, Yeast Lab, Sinoveda, Renault & the work remains confidential until publicly announced.
✲ I also work with variety of Education institutions to teach design for emerging interfaces at the intersection of technology & science.
My students are incredibly hands-on, and I push them to test, fail and repeat. Below is a selection of projects and workshops with students of Copenhagen Institute for Interaction Design highlighting sensor based interfaces below ↓
I am humbled to have been asked to speak & share my thoughts on Design as my practice expands.
Umeå Graduation Speech 2019
TED Conference 2012
Penn State University 2019
Core77 2019
United Nations 2016
Digital Design Days 2019
Stanford University 2017
IxDA Interaction Jury 2020
TED 2012
BioFabricate 2018