Designer and Technologist Jessi Baker (b.1984) creates user-centered experiences. She is particularly interested in the relationship between individual and collective decision making and emerging technologies. Jessi studied Engineering at Cambridge University (2003-2007) receiving sponsorship from Arup Consulting engineers throughout her degree. During her time at Cambridge, she won numerous awards for entrepreneurship and design, notably winning the top prize at the Varsity Entrepreneurs competition and the NGEF international competition in Monaco (2006).
Since graduating from Cambridge she has worked in Business Strategy for both global brands and start-ups in London, UK and the USA (2007-2008) and was a Strategy Consultant for a top French firm in Paris, France (2008-2009). She joined the Royal College of Art Innovation Design Engineering course in 2009 with the ambition of designing more socially and environmentally empathic systems and experiences for consumers, sponsored by the Royal Exhibition for the Commission of 1851.
Graduating with Distinction from the Royal College of Art in July 2011. She is now embarking on a career as an Experience Designer. Her main interests lie in emerging and future technologies (particularly the ‘Internet of Things’) for creating intelligent systems and interfaces; new dimensions of experience, particularly to foster participation, transparency of information and sustainability.
Jessi Baker Is Driven By | Solving a problem. I worked for quite a few years working for large brands and I realised working to strengthen their bottom line wasn’t helping anyone, apart from a few people somewhere get very rich. I quit my job and founded social enterprise Provenance in order to contribute to solving a problem I care deeply about: Making supply chains more transparent so us shoppers can make choices that are better for the environment and society.
The Difference Between Good And Great | Commitment to being great. For a long time I worked across a lot of different fields, testing the waters in different areas I found interesting. It’s made my good a few things, and realise what I am rubbish at too. One thing I have seen when visiting and chatting to the hundreds of makers of products I have encountered through Provenance is the greatness achieved through dedication and commitment. Whether it’s mastering a craft skill or perfecting a brand message – committing to doing one worthwhile thing well is very powerful. But remember, there’s no greatness without goodness.
A Key Talent | The strength that’s helped me most, is one I have had to learn: The strength of focus. You can do anything, but not everything. Pick your problem to solve or fight to fight and follow it through, because most of the time a project or startup fails when the founder decides to give up. If you exist to solve a problem – and one problem only, you’re more likely to find a way because you’ll see it everywhere. If you change focus a lot, it’s hard to do anything meaningful, I think.
The Meaning Of Life | I guess I am still figuring this out. But I do believe it’s important to be in the service of something greater than ourselves: To progress humanity, even just a tiny bit. I think inspiring empathy and understanding so we might enable fairness for everyone brings meaning to my life.
Stuart Turner is hoping he’ll soon be able to see the more of the world from his bedroom. The quadriplegic computer expert is helping to develop technology that will open up new vistas for those unable to travel by projecting what he calls “the extensible self”. Flying a camera mounted drone using just his head […]
Simeon Oriko is a young entrepreneur, who is the founder and Executive Director of The Kuyu Project, which is a digital literacy initiative aimed at teaching African high school students how to use social media and other digital tools to effect social change in their communities. Another project Simeon is involved in is Jamlab which […]
Sterling Hawkins is out to break the status quo to create what’s actually possible for humanity in our time. He has spent his career igniting new views and inspiring people to act on them. He went on to be involved with the launch, growth or investment in over 50 companies. Today, Sterling reviews over 1,000 […]
Janet is co-founder and managing partner of Charlotte Rhys, South Africa’s leading luxurious bath, body and lifestyle range. Within 14 years the brand expanded from a single product to over 100 luxury products. Today they supply leading hotels across the world. My Definition Of Success | Success means achieving the goals you set, and it is inevitable […]
Our dream when we started CA Connect was to be the first private SAICA[1]-accredited CTA[2] in South Africa that offered contact education to students who were not able to study on a full-time basis. We wanted to run a programme that was founded on inclusion, support and genuine care taking a fresh look at education, […]
David is one of the co-founders at Sanergy. David has worked at Ignia Fund in Mexico and at Endeavor. He was the Deputy Chair for Poverty Alleviation at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005-2006, and taught in China for two years. David holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BA with distinction from Yale […]
Stuart Turner is hoping he’ll soon be able to see the more of the world from his bedroom. The quadriplegic computer expert is helping to develop technology that will open up new vistas for those unable to travel by projecting what he calls “the extensible self”. Flying a camera mounted drone using just his head […]
Some entrepreneurs are so ridiculously prolific, talented and ‘out-there’ that they get to take on the status of ‘celebrity’ entrepreneur. In my opinion, David Donde is one of those. I know this for a fact because I get to experience both the brand and the products that David brings to the market almost every day […]
There are no results matching your search
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME