Industrial designer, lateral thinker—tinkering toward a better world with empathy
Hallo! Wie geht’s?
My name is Charlotte, and I’m an American-German industrial designer with roots in development economics and investigative journalism. I was trained to ask well-researched questions and probe complex systems—skills I now apply to medical design and biodesign challenges. Whether I’m prototyping a device or mapping a care journey, I look for the friction points, the latent needs, and the stories that don’t surface at first glance.
I see design as a tool for reshaping systems, challenging long-held assumptions, and spurring positive behavioral change. With an interdisciplinary mindset and a maker’s hands, I approach health and human challenges with curiosity, empathy, and a desire to actualize dreams.
Outside the studio, you’ll find me painting in the Presidio, running misty trails in the Headlands, or hanging out with senior dogs at Muttville—still tinkering, still observing.
My mission is to design with precision and humility—to uncover overlooked needs and build medtech solutions that feel as intuitive as they are life-changing.
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2023 U.S. National Winner and Top 20 International Shortlist for my graduate thesis, OriVa Port (formerly known as ‘Gutsy’). An ostomy care medical device co-designed with users and in tandem with talented surgeons from New York Presbyterian and Columbia Presbyterian. Our goal is to change the ostomate experience for the better.
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One of seven teams selected to participate in CERN Idea Square’s six-month “Challenge-Based Innovation” program for 2023. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world's largest and most respected centers for scientific research.
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One of six finalists for the 2022 Lexus Design Award, selected from among 1,726 entries from 57 countries/regions by a panel of design luminaries.
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Student team runner-up in an international design sprint competition run by Biodesign Challenge and Google’s Hardware team.
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Waste Management and the Slow Factory Foundation have joined forces to foster the next generation of designers. Focused on building regenerative fashion that is recycled and remade into new, we were one of six design teams engaged in a seven-month incubator.
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Winning team selected for Pratt’s 2021 Material Lab Prize for use of innovative and regenerative material. Project covered by Dezeen.