My name is Anita Wilhelm.  I am a designer, strategist, and researcher.  I enjoy working with young teams and research labs to design and create future digital concepts and services. Most of my work spans across different kinds of devices (phones, tablets, cars, consoles, tv’s) and explores innovative interactions through new interfaces. Playful components are largely present. Some of my recent corporate clients include Samsung UX Innovation Lab; Design Research Lab – University of Arts, Berlin and Deutsche Telekom Laboratories; Volkswagon R & D; HP/ Palm; and Nokia R & D.

I was a founder of a company called Caterpillar Mobile where I created a mobile social game which uses mobile media to explore urban environments. We received funding from an early NSF grant looking to explore uses of mobile technology in learning environments, so we placed the game in the Liberty Science Center to extend in-museum experiences into the classroom and beyond. After recently living in Berlin, Germany, my experience there inspired me to think differently about repurposing, recreating, and recycling urban artifacts. While exploring what it might mean instead of destroying these things to add to them, i’m currently playing with some of these ideas, along with some friends, in a project called pLAYHAUS, where we hope to continue to pursue the use of playful mechanics to inspire casual learning, media creation, and positive community interactions.

My background academically stems from the field of Human Computer Interaction, where I focused mainly on mobile device interface design (yes, before the iPhone).  I hold a masters degree from the iSchool at University of California Berkeley, where I worked under Marc Davis and Garage Cinema Research.  I also held advisorship from Peter Lyman, who helped influence and guide the inception of my Caterpillar Mobile.  Since, I’ve held titles that include design strategist, experience designer, service designer, usability specialist, speaker, and product manager.  I like wearing many hats and working with small teams.  In the end, I want to create new products that helps the world enjoy their lives more!  Agility with vision, I’ve learned is key.

I am particularly inspired by games, especially those played socially and the simple ones we all used to play as children. I’m excited by how play mechanics help to spark imagination, ignite creativity, form social connections, and inspire us to engage in our environments more fully.  I like to play, learn, explore cities, dance, build things (some digital; some not), and listen to other people tell their stories.  I enjoy translating from one medium to the next and it’s through the things I create that I believe my own story is told.