Design x Technology Lecture: Alejandra Castelao

In today’s interconnected world, design is more than just creating beautiful objects or interfaces—it’s about crafting experiences that seamlessly blend the physical, digital, and immersive. Over the past 15 years, my career has evolved from tactical, hands-on design in furniture and interiors in Mexico City to leading multidisciplinary teams in creating consumer electronics, healthcare experiences, and spatial design in San Francisco.

In this lecture, we’ll dive into the lessons I’ve learned along the way—how an iterative and flexible design process can unlock new opportunities, how to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, and how collaboration across disciplines drives innovation. Whether your passion lies in crafting tangible objects or shaping new user experiences, this session will inspire you to thrive in an ever-changing design and tech landscape.

This lecture will provide practical takeaways to help students tackle real-world challenges in design and tech. I will focus some of the topics on how to save time by applying iterative design processes that bring teams together and shorten timelines, finding ways to collaborate effectively across disciplines to break silos and unlock innovation, navigating uncertainty and ambiguity by learning to bridge the gap between strategy and tactical execution and finally how to position yourself for success in a multidisciplinary career by mastering skills that align with emerging industry trends in an ever-changing environment.

CEU: This lecture equals 1 professional architecture credit.

This lecture is free and open to the public. As part of CoAD's Design x Technology Lecture Series, guests may watch online or on campus. Register for the location/viewing details.Your on-campus registration includes a pizza lunch.

About Alejandra:

Alejandra is a Senior Experience Design Lead at Dolby Laboratories with over 15 years of experience in design, technology, and innovation. Specializing in Industrial and Interdisciplinary Design, she creates transformative experiences that blend physical, digital, and immersive realms.

Starting her career in Mexico City designing boutique hotels and restaurant interiors, Alejandra later transitioned to San Francisco, focusing on consumer electronics and emerging technologies like AR/VR. At Dolby, she leads multidisciplinary teams in delivering user-centered experiences, from creative direction and workshop facilitation to immersive spatial audio experience design.

Alejandra’s expertise spans healthcare UX, consumer hardware, spatial design, wearable products, and immersive experiences. Her design process is adaptable, emphasizing collaboration and leveraging emerging technologies to connect the dots between strategic thinking and tactical execution.

Outside of her professional work, Alejandra is passionate about mentorship, particularly for women in the design and tech industries. As the former Chair of the Women in Design IDSA SF Chapter, she has advocated for more opportunities for women to excel in these fields.

When not designing, she enjoys painting, whittling wood carvings, playing with the latest tech toys, and outdoor activities like fishing, crabbing and mussel harvesting.

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