Elisa Vargas

Elisa Vargas is an adjunct lecturer at the Segal Design Institute, part of the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. She co-teaches DSGN 401-3: Service Design and leads the global user experience design practice as Design Director at Motorola Mobility. Her expertise lies in the interplay between physical and digital design in mobile environments, with focus on mobile devices, connected home systems, and companion products.

Education: MDes in Design Planning from the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, and AB in Art History from the University of Chicago. Prior to her design career, she worked in arts advocacy and administration for organizations like the Art Institute of Chicago.

Research interests include UX design, mobile trends, cellular technologies, software frameworks, and localization strategies. She has also taught at the Institute of Design, IIT, and contributed as a guest lecturer on mobile and interaction design.