A Workshop with Smart Design | Designing with AI: Tools, Tactics, and Workflows

A Workshop with Smart Design | Designing with AI: Tools, Tactics, and Workflows

***This is a free, in-person event hosted by Vivek Rao and the Design & Technology Innovation Masters Program @ Duke University. 

Event Summary

This workshop, hosted by Duke University's Master of Engineering in Design & Technology Innovation, and led by Smart Design, a leading NYC-based design and innovation consultancy, explores how AI can meaningfully integrate into human-centered design workflows, with real examples, honest reflection, and practical takeaways. We'll deep dive into Smart Design's own AI journey with case studies drawn directly from our experiments, showing where AI is genuinely changing how we research, ideate, prototype, and deliver. We'll focus on the tools, tactics, and workflows that are actually making a difference. We'll then lead a structured workshop where you'll reflect on what you've seen, discuss what resonates, pressure-test ideas with peers facing similar challenges, and start mapping how AI fits into your own team's way of working.

The workshop will be led by Cameron Hanson, Strategy Director at Smart Design, and John Anderson, Partner at Smart Design. The workshop is based on this one from Smart Design: https://go.smartdesignworldwide.com/designing-with-ai-tools-tactics-and-workflows

Our Speakers 

John Anderson is a design and technology leader whose work sits at the intersection of intelligent systems, human-centered design, and advanced hardware/software integration. As a Partner at Smart Design in New York City, he leads multidisciplinary teams across AI and machine learning, embedded systems, connected devices, and Physical AI product development—helping organizations turn ambitious ideas into manufacturable, market-ready products. 

Cameron Hanson is Strategy Director at Smart Design. He uses ethnographic research to uncover the underlying complexities of social problems and of organizations. With a human-centered and iterative design process, he helps clients understand what makes their customers tick and how to improve the customer experience. His business and design acumen equips him to take on the “wicked problems” of today.

Venue 

• JB Duke Hotel Conference Center, Duke University, 230 Science Drive Durham NC 27708. 

• JB Duke Hotel Parking Garage. The garage is next to the Hotel Conference Center. Attendees should validate their parking ticket with the hotel front desk.  

Sponsors

All of our events follow Triangle UXPA’s code of conduct.