Rachel Arredondo
Designer · Researcher · Strategist
About
Participatory Design · Speculative Futures · Co-creation · Designing 0→1
I visualize complex systems to ready them for transformation. Across a decade of experience designing and shipping complex products and services across AI, healthcare, medtech, robotics, and scientific instrumentation, my expertise is defining how emerging technology can fit naturally into people's lives, and shift the future.
San Francisco, CA · rachelarre@gmail.com · linkedin.com/rachelarre
Experience
2026 — Now
Co-Founder & Head of Design Strategy
Futurekind, San Francisco, CA
An innovation strategy & design consultancy helping organizations build for what's next.
2024 — 2026
Senior Product Designer
Headspace, San Francisco, CA
Reimagining the care experience for patients and providers.
2022 — 2024
Senior Experience Designer
Whipsaw, San Francisco, CA
Designer working across digital × physical products with a participatory design approach.
2021
Design Researcher
Morphing Matter Lab, CMU HCII, Pittsburgh, PA
Design researcher working on restoring seagrass meadow ecosystems.
2018 — 2020
UX & Visual Designer
Calendly, Atlanta, GA
Early design hire working across the marketing website and core product.
Education
2020 — 2021
Master of Human-Computer Interaction
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Writing
2023
2022
Essay
Publications
2022
Creativity & Cognition '22, Pictorial, Venice, Italy
2022
CHI '22 Extended Abstracts, Late-Breaking Work, New Orleans, LA
2022
IASDR 2021, Workshop
Speaking
2026
Future London Academy
2025
Whipsaw, San Francisco, CA
2022
Evoking the World You Want to Build: Engaging People in Future Visions
24th Annual Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit, Workshop
2021
Morphing Matter Lab, Pittsburgh, PA
2021
RSD10, TU Delft, Netherlands
2020
Ceramics x Product: Design Through Iteration
AMUX (UX Meetup), Atlanta, GA
Service
2026
Elected Board Member
Sequoia Fabrica (community makerspace), San Francisco, CA