Finding a sweet spot at the intersection of art and science
Karen Ingram’s career takes us on an inspirational journey, stopping us at places where art and science meet. A creative director, designer, and artist with a passion for synthetic biology, she uses her skill set to promote scientific awareness.
A veteran in the world of digital design, advertising and marketing, Karen is an avid curator of topics that explore the overlap of science and art, emerging biotechnologies, and their effects on society. You may have experienced her teachings if you’ve attended SXSW Interactive or the science cabaret, The Empiricist League, in her home town of Brooklyn.
As a juror for the 2019 IxDA Interaction Awards, and instructor of an entrepreneurial science journalism course in the NYU Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP), she also invests her time to help bring up the next generation.
Follow Karen on Twitter and Instagram, or visit her website.
How did you discover interaction design?
My formal introduction to “interaction design” was as a freelancer at a digital agency in NY, RGA. I think this was back in 2002 or 2003. Since then, my definition of “interaction design” has expanded from addressing interactions solely in the digital realm.
I now see interaction design as encompassing all types of interactions; between people of diverse backgrounds and different disciplines, as well as considering data points from science and nature. Digital can be a mechanic, but interactions can be mapped out to include so much more.
Your work educates society by simplifying complex ideas through design. Tell us about a few of your favorite projects.
I believe the best way to begin to build a better society or improve the human condition is to lead with collaborative efforts. With that in mind, I’ve embarked on several collaborative projects with people of different skill sets. In these collaborations, I share my strengths, but to also learn about their perspectives and areas of expertise. In my collaborations, my partners and I aspire to create something useful and unique. However, it’s not an easy endeavor; creating bridges between disciplines takes a lot of translation and patience.
In order to understand the impact of fallacies on our thinking, myself and Dr. Wieke Betten, a bioethicist made a game: Fallacy Bingo. We were initially inspired by fallacies present in emerging biotech, but we very quickly discovered that fallacies are everywhere; the game had a lot more range than we had anticipated, for better or worse. The game, based on regular bingo, has come to life in a series of events. We also have downloadable teaching tools for educators.
BioBuilder: Synthetic Biology in the Lab
The BioBuilder Foundation is a nonprofit founded by Dr. Natalie Kuldell. Natalie, who was a professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, shaped a series of iGEM (international Genetic Engineering Machinery competition) labs into teachable modules used globally by teachers and educators. After she saw a diagram I made after observing her class at MIT (by my own desire to “explain” it as a designer, to a designer), Natalie brought me on to do all the visuals on book, “Biobuilder: Synthetic Biology in the Lab (2015 O’Reilly Media, Inc).”
It was a team effort between Natalie, myself, and two other amazing women, Rachel Bernstein and Katie Hart. The book has recently been published in two other languages, Japanese (2018) and Russian (2019). Since the book has been released, Natalie and I have continued to collaborate on tools for the BioBuilder Foundation.
“Ideation to Actuality: Comparing the Creative and Scientific Process” is a volunteer research study that looked at the process by which Creative and STEM professionals develop, implement, and communicate their ideas. Dr. Christine O’Connell and I conducted a research study which explored three key areas: communication, collaboration, and idea development.
This study looks at best practices, similarities, and differences. The goal is to use this data to identify new techniques for art-science collaborations. We received IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval from Stony Brook University and the report has been published by the SciArt Initiative.
What far-reaching impact do you feel your work has made?
At SXSW in 2017, my partner in creating “Fallacy Bingo” and I were asked what the goal of our collaboration was. We jokingly answered “world peace.” A more practical answer is to create bridges between disciplines (for example, biotech, ethics, STEM), for a broader audience to have clearer understandings outside of those disciplines. I focus on using “science communications” as a vehicle for that, but it can apply to innovation as well.
Innovation is where collaborations in an interaction design capacity can be fruitful. It’s the best way to ensure the tools made with emerging technology don’t reflect the values and ethics of only a few.
What would you recommend to people who want to explore a career in interaction design?
Try to be conscious of ethics in your design practice. We’ve been in a place with tech culture where “move fast and break things” has been the motto. Now it’s time to make connections. Interaction designers can help with that.
Do your best to learn about engineering. Even if you don’t want to be an engineer, learn something about it.
It’s important to go beyond design to advance your career, practicing hard skills like public speaking, writing, and putting together proposals and hone in on the most critical soft skills: listening.
