Sambuddha
Saha

Sambuddha
Saha

Sambuddha
Saha

Sambuddha Saha

+1.646.470.0868
[email protected]
linkedin

Experience
Design Strategy +
Creative Direction

Experience
Design Strategy +
Creative Direction

Experience
Design Strategy +
Creative Direction

Driving Innovation
in Complex Ecosystems

Driving Innovation
in Complex Ecosystems

Driving Innovation
in Complex Ecosystems

Driving Innovation
in Complex Ecosystems

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STRATEGY + WRITING

SYSTEMS + DESIGN

RESUME  »
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I am an Experience Designer and Strategist with a +20-year track record of delivering innovative solutions that make a difference.

I drive research, foresight, vision, and design work. And have led cross-functional teams building explorations, strategies and solutions for established & startup clients across a range of industries and audiences.

I believe that people do their best work in mission-driven, insights-led, collaborative, people-centric cultures. And I am motivated primarily by the urgent need for radically human– and planet–centered innovation & creativity to tackle the challenges and opportunities of our time.

I am currently writing a series on the transformative potential for digital ecosystems to drive new uses & value, increase sustainability, and mobilize new populations in the automotive & mobility sectors.

Also consulting. And looking for my next team opportunity.

SERVICES

Design Leadership
Research & Insights
Foresight
Vision & Concept
Strategic Direction & Roadmapping
Experience, Service & Product Design
Writing
Consulting
Workshop Facilitation

WORKED w/

Automotive & Mobility 
Volvo Cars, AutoTrader, Manheim
Energy & Sustainability  
GE Energy
Finance
Bank of America, GMAC
Retail & Consumer Goods
Target, Home Depot, Coca-Cola
Fashion & Apparel  
Prada, Mi Ola, Topology Eyewear
Travel & Hospitality 
OpenTable, Hyatt
Technology & Communications
Telenav, AT&T, Sprint
Media 
Esquire, Harper's Bazaar
Logistics 
DHL
Government 
UK Inland Revenue
Agency & Consulting  
Publicis Sapient, Digitas, Icon MediaLab
3130A140-9726-4670-9F3C-892DC3DBFAA6_1_105_c
004.1.02

DEFINING
VEHICLE
SOFTWARE
__

topics 
• Apple's panglossian Next-Generation CarPlay takeover • Android Automotive OS + Apps—are we car ready yet? • On a long and bumpy road to the Software-Defined Vehicle • Consumer ecosystems and the deep roots of personalization in automobility • Scale, interoperability, and software & services ecosystems

upcoming
• Can AI enable safer interaction on-the-go? • The emerging automotive software & services business • What's a legacy auto brand to do?
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UNLOCKING
THE
MOBILITY
REVOLUTION
__

topics 
• Innovations in product design

upcoming
• The 21st century mobility stack

IMG_0370

MODERNIZING
ENERGY
__

upcoming
 • Steps towards building a digital power grid • Gaslighters & fossil fools—Our 100yr long detour
001.05

REDESIGN
URBAN
MOBILITY
__

topics
• Is $15 a reasonable price to drive into Manhattan? 

upcoming
• Redesigning the car for an urbanizing world • Building discoverable cities

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AUTOMOTIVE
EXPERIENCE
STRATEGY
__

topics
• Strategies for more sustainable car use • Turn your lights on! Failures in automotive safety

STRATEGY + WRITING

2023–25

Somewhere amidst all the frenzy of moving fast, tossing around spaghetti, and staining all the things, we seem to have forgotten that ... 

designing
THE RIGHT THINGS

is just as important as

designing
THE THINGS RIGHT!

I believe that the only way for us to address the increasingly-destabilizing, polymorphic, and entangled changes that we are faced with—which are driven in no small part by our all-encompassing cultures of consumption—is by connecting technological & social research, lab & real-world experimentation, investment, and policy engineering to empathetic imagination, creative boldness, collective learning, and a deep understanding of human desirability—and due diligence for the n-order impacts of our proposed interventions. 
SEE MORE ›

+20YRS

2024–25
Writing & Consulting

2018–24
Lead Experience Design Strategist
Volvo Cars

2014–18
Startups & Consulting

2014–15
Experience Designer & Strategist
OpenTable

2011–13
Director of Experience Design
Telenav & Digitas

2005–10
Creative Director
Publicis Sapient & Coca-Cola

5 PRINCIPLES

facts have a context » peel the onion  •  all chambers echo » work the white space  •  analogies are cheap » reason from first principles  •  talk goes only so far » work reveals the pathways  •  interpretations diverge » draw together every day
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SOME HIGHLIGHTS

+ Initiated the strategy practice in the experience design team at Volvo Cars

+ Built, (co-)led, and mentored global design teams of 20 to 40—research, interaction, visual & motion, content, prototyping—across locations & time zones

+ Defined and executed cross-cultural user research programs

+ Collaborated with companies at every scale—from 0–1 startups to global leaders, with varying degrees of maturity in digital practices

+ Co-founded/partnered two startups in apparel retail & marketing

+ Panel speaker at SxSW on the adoption of electric vehicles

SYSTEMS +
DESIGN

Through my career, I have worked on a variety of challenges at the cutting edge of consumer, employee and citizen engagement experiences • Omnichannel retail in fashion & automotive • Customer creativity in food & fashion • the Software-Defined Vehicle • Digital government services • Service workflow design
SEE MORE ›


AUTOMOTIVE
__

Volvo Cars
Customer Lifecycle Vision
2020–22

From 6 months of research & deliberation to driving a Volvo within a week

virtualShowroom_1

Scout
Personal Navigator
2011

Early integrations of place discovery, navigation and daily movement across mobile, car and web
A phone and laptop with an image of a car.
A car dashboard and the driver 's view of a city street.
A car dashboard with the sun setting in the background.


CONNECTED
RETAIL
__

Prada
Epicenter NY
2001–02

Content development process for a seminal deployment of multi-channel retail with high-touch customer service
A drawing of a woman in a dress
A woman in white and red jacket walking.
A table with several different types of shoes.
A flowchart of the different stages of a project.
A woman in white jacket touching screen on atm machine.
A computer screen with various images of clothing.
A woman is putting money into an automated coke machine.

Coca-Cola
Freestyle Dispenser
2008–09

Enhancing the classic soft drink pouring experience for an entertainment-oriented generation through variety & choice
A bunch of different logos on some buttons
A silver background with six different diet coke logos.
A collection of soda and other drinks are shown.
A close up of the coca cola buttons
A bunch of soda pop buttons are shown.
A bunch of buttons that are on the screen


COMMUNITY +
CONTENT
__

Cult Collection
2014–16

Co-founded and designed a community to allow fashionistas to discover and shop their individual style

A page of fashion related posts with photos.
A collage of women 's clothing and accessories.
A woman wearing jeans and white shirt with pink embroidery.

Taco Bell
Omnichannel Strategy
2011

Connecting fans and food across digital & retail channels
revised spheres
A woman with her hand painted in the shape of a heart.
A black background with various images of people.


SERVICE +
OPERATIONS
__

OpenTable
Restaurant Solutions
2015

Expediting product trial, smoothing adoption, and improving learning, utilization & retention of the “Guest Center”

A black and white infographic with arrows pointing to different types of business.

DHL Business Customers
2006

Efficiency solutions for high-volume shippers
dhl
dhl_state
dhl_concept

Home Depot
First Phone
2007

Enhancing inventory management & analytics on-the-floor to empower staff with varying degrees of tenure with the brand
A screenshot of the app showing various items.
A chart showing the trend of wood flooring and the change in price.
A table with an overview of the sales, inventory and gross margin.
A table with three columns and two rows of data.
A person holding an electronic device in their hand.


STORYTELLING +
ADVOCACY
__

Mi Ola Surf
Brand Strategy & Design
2015

High-performance swimwear line for active lifestyles 
A woman in pink bikini holding a surfboard.
A group of women in bikinis hanging on ropes.
A woman in a bikini standing on the beach.
A woman in a bikini standing on the beach.
A woman is surfing in the ocean on her surf board.
A woman is doing an exercise on the ground.
A series of photos with different people in the background.
A woman in pink bikini and orange bathing suit.
A woman riding the waves on top of a surfboard.
A woman is diving into the water with her surfboard.

GE Energy
Smart Meter Rollout
2009

Customer awareness, education and activation to support infrastructure deployment
A picture of some different types of energy meters.
A group of four different colored boxes with the words
Four different pages of a website with various colors.

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