Renee Shedroff

Renee Shedroff
Name	Renee Shedroff
Occupation	Designer, Author, Educator
Known for	Interaction Design, Narrative Design, Experience Design

Renee Shedroff is a designer, author, and educator known for her work in interaction design, experience design, and narrative-driven digital media. She has contributed to design practice through teaching, writing, and leading projects that integrate storytelling, user experience, and emergent technologies. Her career spans academia, industry, and independent consulting, engaging with institutions, corporations, and cultural organizations.

Early life and education

Shedroff studied in environments connected to California Institute of the Arts and regions of the San Francisco Bay Area that intersect with Silicon Valley, drawing on influences from practitioners associated with IDEO, Apple Inc., PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), and the Rhode Island School of Design. Her early training included exposure to curricula and workshops linked to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, and networks involving MIT Media Lab and Interaction Design Institute Ivrea. She developed foundations in visual communication, human-computer interaction, and narrative practice informed by predecessors at Bell Labs, NCSA, and museums like the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of Modern Art.

Career

Shedroff’s career spans roles in design firms, cultural institutions, and academic programs that intersect with Cooper Hewitt, Hasselblad Foundation, Adobe Systems, and technology incubators such as Y Combinator. She has worked on projects for organizations including IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Nintendo, PBS, and National Public Radio. Her consulting and practice connected with experiential companies like BrightLine, Frog Design, and Smart Design, as well as nonprofit entities such as the Getty Center, Smithsonian Institution, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Academically, she has been affiliated with programs that collaborate with New York University, Parsons School of Design, California College of the Arts, and School of Visual Arts.

Major works and publications

Shedroff authored books and articles addressing narrative, experience design, and ethics that appear alongside works from authors affiliated with O'Reilly Media, MIT Press, Routledge, Princeton University Press, and Wiley. Her notable books include titles that discuss storytelling practices, interaction design frameworks, and design strategy—works read by professionals connected to Nielsen Norman Group, ACM SIGCHI, Interaction Design Foundation, and academic libraries at Columbia University, Harvard University, and University of California, Berkeley. She has written articles that sit in conversations with texts by Don Norman, Brenda Laurel, Bill Moggridge, Terry Winograd, and Janet Murray.

Design philosophy and contributions

Shedroff advocates for integrating narrative with interaction, aligning her ideas with traditions from Joseph Campbell, Northrop Frye, and practitioners in narrative theory at institutions such as Yale University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. Her design philosophy emphasizes user experience as story-centric, resonating with movements in Human–Computer Interaction, Experience Design, and Service Design promulgated by figures associated with IDEO, Frog Design, and Cooper (design firm). She contributed frameworks used in projects alongside teams influenced by Agile software development, Design Thinking, and Participatory Design methodologies practiced in organizations like Atlassian, ThoughtWorks, and McKinsey & Company.

Awards and recognition

Shedroff’s work has been recognized by professional societies and institutions that award excellence in design and media, including acknowledgments from AIGA, Interaction Awards (IxDA), SIGGRAPH, Webby Awards, and exhibition inclusion at venues such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt. Her contributions have been cited in conference programs for CHI, SXSW, IBPA, and forums sponsored by UNESCO and World Economic Forum participants. Industry coverage has appeared in outlets like Wired (magazine), Fast Company, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.

Teaching and mentorship

Shedroff has taught courses and workshops in programs associated with Parsons School of Design, California College of the Arts, New York University, School of Visual Arts, and guest-lectured at institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, Berkeley, and Rhode Island School of Design. She has mentored students and emerging designers entering ecosystems populated by companies and organizations such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft Research, NPR, and cultural organizations including The Getty, MoMA, and Tate Modern.

Selected projects and collaborations

Shedroff’s projects include collaborations with technology firms, cultural institutions, and creative agencies. She has consulted on initiatives for IBM Watson, Microsoft Research, Adobe Systems, and interactive installations for museums like Smithsonian Institution, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Cooper Hewitt. Her collaborative partners have included practitioners from Frog Design, IDEO, Smart Design, and research groups at MIT Media Lab, PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), and Bell Labs. She has participated in interdisciplinary projects alongside professionals from NPR, PBS, National Endowment for the Arts, UNICEF, and corporate partners such as Sony Interactive Entertainment and Nintendo.

Category:Designers Category:Authors Category:Educators