Director, Global Design Innovation, PepsiCo
Erica Eden is a strategic thinker—helping companies innovate for women by understanding what to make; why it matters; and how to connect with design. She sees each innovation challenge through the eyes of the consumer and guides ideas into scalable business opportunities across diverse industries.
Eden pushes the status quo, always exploring new methodologies to close the gap between what women want and what businesses need. She holds 20+ patents and has been featured in ABC News, Fast Company, The New York Times, Blueprint and other media. Eden earned her master’s degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute.
Women Are Not Robots: A Case for a Human Approach to Innovation
Erica Eden, director of global design innovation at PepsiCo, reports that a design audit of the consumer packaged goods category reveals what works (and what doesn’t) for women—from brand and packaging to food design and nutrition, and more.
Essentially, we treat women like robots—one-dimensional stereotypes that respond to quantitative and highly rational needs—a series of 0s and 1s. We’ve forgotten that women, unlike robots, make emotional decisions with their hearts and eyes, with rational benefits working hard in the background. Despite demand, human and holistic solutions for women are in short supply. Design can help! Looking outward, we see a series of oversights and opportunities.
The Femme Den
with Yvonne Lin
The Femme Den is here to save good women from bad products. They started as an underground collective of international women at Smart Design, searching for answers in a world that was not designed for them. Today, they are a leading team of design researchers, industrial designers, and engineers who are paving the way for a deeper understanding around design and gender. They speak around the world on the topic, working to stimulate positive change in the design and business communities.
Career Storytelling: Women in Design Panel Discussion
Moderated by Jill Hunt, IDSA, manager of Experience Design Group – Breastfeeding, Medela Inc.
Featuring:
