Many design methods strive to help designers better understand their users’ needs, such as ethnographic research and participatory design.

Matt Cottam put these approaches to the ultimate test: while working on a project for the healthcare industry--Matt trained to be a certified paramedic. This gave him a whole new perspective into the needs of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Matt will share his experiences and how they allowed him to identify truly innovative design opportunities.

Both co-founder and Creative Director at Tellart.com, Matt works closely with clients using information architecture and design to research challenges, discover opportunities, build strategies and innovate tactics for design intervention.

Matt received Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Industrial Design degrees from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Since 1999 he has been a member of the Part-Time Faculty at RISD, and is also a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the Design Institute in Umeå, Sweden, where he teaches "Experience Prototyping."

Matt is an Emergency Medical Technician - Cardiac, a National Ski Patroller, and is federally employed as a Medic for the National Disaster Medical System. He has chaired conference sessions, lectured, published, and led workshops internationally on topics including information design, physical computing, collaboration strategies for engineers and designers, design for extreme environments, and design for emergency and disaster medicine.

Matt will be leading a full day workshop on "Sketching Physical Devices" the following day at the Paramount hotel.

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