Hi, I’m Symone Fogg, a PhD Candidate in Design at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech.
I’m a Design Researcher and Strategist using strategic design for systems innovation. I’m interested in working with a team to design systems, institutions, and business models at the intersection of economic, social, environmental and political complexity.
Contact Me ↗
How do we design infrastructure that enables communities to navigate the polycrisis and build their own resilience for system-level shifts?
Today's urban challenges are shaped by the polycrisis: the convergence of climate change, urban growth, technological disruption, social inequality, and ecological collapse. Beyond these forces, family systems are evolving, relationship structures are shifting, and people's needs are changing over time. These shifts are experienced viscerally at the community level, where people experience the daily realities of infrastructure breakdowns and economic turns. The old way of doing things: centralization and top-down thinking, isn’t prepared for the emerging issues and their need for plural intervetnions. Bottom-up innovation requires collective, interdisciplinary collaboration. To foster this kind of change, communities need enabling environments that amplify their capabilities, connect their resources, and support decision-making in the face of complexity.
Designing for Uncertainty
Interconnected dynamics demand a fundamental shift in how we design; thinking beyond singular systems to the interplay of many. How can we design not just for humanity, but for the nonhuman systems that shape how humans live? Creating harmony between human systems and the ecological, animal and technological systems we're embedded within.
I'm interested in working with others to design new systems for our changing times. This means moving beyond what's worked to testing and prototyping new funding models, new ways of sharing information, and building structures toward regenerative, resilient futures, especially for the marginalized.
Work With Me
I approach problems as a scientist, entrepreneur, and humanist by combining rigorous research methods, action-oriented prototyping, and a deep commitment to human flourishing.
As a scientist, I use critical, intersectional, and systems thinking to understand complex problems, conducting research that maps the landscape of challenges and opportunities before moving to action.
As an entrepreneur, I prototype, develop, test, and measure solutions. I ask what value they create and for whom. I design the processes and frameworks that move us from analysis to viable options that create value.
As a humanist, I believe lived experience is valuable, I value design approaches that amplify community capacities, use accessible language and embed a respect for others.
Skills I Bring
Systems Thinking
Prototyping
Information Design
Facilitation
Community Engagement
Conceptual Framing
Business Model Innovation
Institutional Innovation
Please reach out if you’d like to work together, symfogg@gmail.com