Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Climate technology fundamentals
Summary
Panelists: Dem Gerolemou, Neef Rehman; Moderated by: Alexis Oh
Key Insights
-
•
Trust is a foundational primitive in climate tech design, critical at both input and output stages.
-
•
Climate tech presents a unique challenge of high uncertainty and incomplete data, requiring new UX approaches to represent ‘best guesses.’
-
•
Design principles used in healthcare UX, like managing expert users and risk tolerance, are highly transferable to climate tech.
-
•
Effective climate tech design must cater both to expert users and make complex data understandable and approachable for the general public.
-
•
Engaging and including diverse stakeholders, especially local communities, is vital to designing responsible climate solutions.
-
•
Behavioral design in climate UX succeeds when it makes the sustainable option easier and aligns incentives rather than solely relying on user willpower.
-
•
Working in climate tech requires balancing urgency to act with thorough stakeholder involvement and sustainable long-term impact.
-
•
Newcomers bring valuable perspectives by asking naive questions and imagining ideal solutions unconstrained by existing technical or regulatory limits.
-
•
Technology in climate tech is an enabler within broader systems including policy, societal acceptance, and scientific validation.
-
•
Continuous learning and flexibility are necessary due to the fast-evolving nature of climate science, technology, and policy.
Notable Quotes
"AI is just a tool. If AI is just a tool, what is behind it? Technology working with complex data models."
"My ideal state would be to sprout like a potato. That explains everything else."
"Tolerance to uncertainty is a big thing in climate tech compared to other fields."
"Most of the primitives of how you do work are portable to climate tech from other industries."
"Asking stupid questions can lead experts to reframe their thinking and improve the work."
"Trust is something to build and maintain, not a box to check or a one-time achievement."
"You have to make the hard thing easier to do. Behavioral change must be lower friction."
"Design’s value is in asking meaningful questions and steering towards the right outcome, not getting bogged down in technical parameters."
"No one wants to use a calendar; they want to be organized. Protect users from having to engage with complexity."
"Climate tech means always learning more; the world is learning so much every year."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Many organizations silo data inputs and prioritize within categories before combining results."
Mark Interrante Harry MaxAI for Prioritization (3rd of 3 seminars)
July 11, 2024
"What if we are optimizing ourselves into relevance?"
Patrizia BertiniThe (r)evolution of designOps: It’s Time to Think (really) BIG
September 11, 2025
"The phrase card sort may not require translation itself, but the activity it represents certainly does."
Shan ShenTranslating UX Terms into Business Contexts
November 29, 2023
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth, said Mike Tyson."
Adam ThomasSurvival Metrics – Making Change in a Fast, Data-Informed, and Politically Safe Way
December 6, 2022
"Researchers have superpowers: deep listening, empathy, making connections, synthesis — capabilities everyone in business needs today."
Robin BeersResearch as a Catalyst for Organizational Transformation
March 12, 2021
"Either you need accessibility now or you will need accessibility in the future."
Sheri Byrne-HaberAccessibility at Scale
June 9, 2021
"Playbacks are stakeholder-focused meetings that sell the work’s story and drive buy-in, different from critiques focused on craft."
Joseph MeersmanSweating the Pixel: Scaling Quality through Critique
June 10, 2021
"Make a business case for yourself by bragging about your capabilities and making them applicable."
Deanna Washington Bria Alexander Jon Fukuda Saara Kamppari-Miller Farid SabitovConnecting the Ops: Plenary Panel and Closing Circle
September 9, 2022
"The equity executive order calls for a whole-of-government transformation—think about the scale of that."
Aaron Stienstra Lashanda HodgeLeveraging Civic Design to Advance Equity and Rebuild Trust in the US Federal Government
December 8, 2021
