Paul Kramer

Background

About Paul Kramer

I became a designer to help people at scale. My work has impacted millions of lives around the world. Recent project with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was recognized by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas. In my consulting practice at Upstream, I help leaders think creatively about difficult business, organizational, and societal challenges. Together with their stakeholders, we figure out what is happening, why it’s happening, and what to do about it. Then we co-create, pilot, and iterate high impact solutions until ready for downstream implementation. Experience: Over 2 decades of successful collaborations with leading private and public organizations tackling some of the world’s most urgent problems. Recent challenges include:* Diabetes management * Housing insecurity and homelessness * HIV prevention in South Africa * Alzheimer’s early detection, care and support * Global social media content moderation My work has earned numerous international design awards, patents, and has appeared in television and film. I am inspired by partnering with courageous leaders willing to do things differently to improve the lives of the people they serve. Expertise (here come the buzz words): Human-centered design (HCD), Innovation strategy and process, social innovation, design thinking, mixed methods behavioral research, visual sense-making, co-creation facilitation, stakeholder engagement, concept development, customer journey mapping, personas, creative problem solving, foundational & generative UX research, experience design, design for behavior change, framework development, multi-disciplinary project leadership, teaching topics above Speaking: University of Texas at Austin (LBJ School of Public Affairs and McCombs School of Business), HealthTech ATX, Austin Design Week, Smart Cities Innovation Summit, Healthcare Innovation by Design, Episcopal Health Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Industrial Designers Society of America, and Medical Design & Manufacturing new product innovation conferences