Profile
Carissa Carter (she/her) is a designer, author, geoscientist, and a faculty member at the Stanford d.school where she serves as Academic Director. In this role she guides the development of the d.school’s pedagogy, leads its instructors, and shapes its class offerings.
Carissa teaches design courses on data, emerging technologies, and climate change. Her research and design work spans data visualization, inspiration, analog emerging tech, and beyond. She was a co-leader of Stanford 2025, a multi-year d.school project that envisioned the future of higher education. Her work on designing with machine learning and blockchain has earned multiple design awards. Carissa previously worked as a geologist, and she continues to pursue projects at the intersection of design and science. She is an alumna of Williams College, UC Santa Cruz, and Stanford University.
She is the author ofThe Secret Language of Maps: How to Tell Visual Stories with Data and co-author of Assembling Tomorrow: Harnessing the Hidden Forces of Design to Shape the Future.
Carissa is available for select speaking engagements centered around her books and design work. Please reach out on LinkedIn for more information.
Books
Assembling Tomorrow
Scott Doorley and Carissa Carter
In Assembling Tomorrow, authors Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley explore the intangible forces that prevent us from anticipating just how fantastically technology can get out of control, and what might be in store for us if we don’t start using new tools and tactics. Despite our best intentions, our most transformative innovations tend to have consequences we can’t always predict. From the effects of social media to the uncertainty of AI and the consequences of climate change, the outcomes of our creations ripple across our lives. Time and again, our seemingly ceaseless capacity to create rubs up against our limited capacity to understand our impact.
The Secret Language of Maps
Carissa Carter
Maps, data and infographics help us make sense of the world...but this is not your average book about data visualization. In this book, you'll unravel a murder mystery to pull back the curtain on the features inherent in all maps and infographics, and use them to solve the crime. Employing an incredibly engaging approach, this practical guide not only teaches you how to read and design maps, but it also gives you the tools to interpret the daily infographics you see in the news, in business, and literally everywhere. After reading this book, you’ll look for the agenda behind every map and the hidden messages lurking within data in a world full of misinformation.
Media inquiries
For speaking engagements, podcast requests, or interviews please message me on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn