Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
Our fifth Climate UX discussion dives into fundamentals in climate tech. What are the technical primitives that underpin climate tech? What should we consider when working with complex data models and math? What ethical considerations are we integrating into these foundations? How do we balance innovation with inclusion to ensure we are preventing harm? Join us for a conversation about first principles thinking in the climate tech space. Panelists: Dem Gerolemou, Neef Rehman; Moderated by: Alexis Oh
Key Insights
-
•
Trust is a foundational primitive in climate tech design, critical at both input and output stages.
-
•
Climate tech presents a unique challenge of high uncertainty and incomplete data, requiring new UX approaches to represent ‘best guesses.’
-
•
Design principles used in healthcare UX, like managing expert users and risk tolerance, are highly transferable to climate tech.
-
•
Effective climate tech design must cater both to expert users and make complex data understandable and approachable for the general public.
-
•
Engaging and including diverse stakeholders, especially local communities, is vital to designing responsible climate solutions.
-
•
Behavioral design in climate UX succeeds when it makes the sustainable option easier and aligns incentives rather than solely relying on user willpower.
-
•
Working in climate tech requires balancing urgency to act with thorough stakeholder involvement and sustainable long-term impact.
-
•
Newcomers bring valuable perspectives by asking naive questions and imagining ideal solutions unconstrained by existing technical or regulatory limits.
-
•
Technology in climate tech is an enabler within broader systems including policy, societal acceptance, and scientific validation.
-
•
Continuous learning and flexibility are necessary due to the fast-evolving nature of climate science, technology, and policy.
Notable Quotes
"AI is just a tool. If AI is just a tool, what is behind it? Technology working with complex data models."
"My ideal state would be to sprout like a potato. That explains everything else."
"Tolerance to uncertainty is a big thing in climate tech compared to other fields."
"Most of the primitives of how you do work are portable to climate tech from other industries."
"Asking stupid questions can lead experts to reframe their thinking and improve the work."
"Trust is something to build and maintain, not a box to check or a one-time achievement."
"You have to make the hard thing easier to do. Behavioral change must be lower friction."
"Design’s value is in asking meaningful questions and steering towards the right outcome, not getting bogged down in technical parameters."
"No one wants to use a calendar; they want to be organized. Protect users from having to engage with complexity."
"Climate tech means always learning more; the world is learning so much every year."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Don't think constraints are real. Executives see them as excuses for not delivering."
Jess GrecoClaiming your power: Practical tools for amplifying your unique voice
March 13, 2025
"Teams can thrive when iteration and responsiveness are normalized and psychological safety is present."
Mariesa LenzWhat Beekeeping Taught me about Product Teams
October 29, 2025
"Ideally it should say about collapsed and then you press enter and it says expanded, so you know more options are available."
Samuel Proulx Laur BaekInclusive Research: Debunking Myths and Getting Started
March 12, 2025
"Evangelism means crossing departments to show how design thinking can improve many parts of the organization."
Deanna Washington Tim Allen Jeff Courcelle John Maeda Matt Raw Erica TjaderScaling Success: Paving the Path from DesignOps to VP
October 4, 2023
"Prioritizing research questions is key because we can’t validate every single detail."
Anna AvrekhUser Research, Design, and Product - A Love Story
March 11, 2021
"Co-creation is where the meat of transformation happens; designers facilitate those who hold knowledge and make decisions."
Dharani PereraThe mandala of service design: unlocking alignment and action through service design
November 20, 2025
"Designers are uniquely entitled to critique—it’s a privilege to rigorously improve craft while others might envy that process."
Joseph MeersmanSweating the Pixel: Scaling Quality through Critique
June 10, 2021
"The fly on the wall approach is a myth; interaction between filmmaker and people is what makes documentary film interesting."
Bas Raijmakers, PhD (RCA) Charley Scull Prabhas PokharelWhat Design Research can Learn from Documentary Filmmaking
March 11, 2022
"People tend to support what they actively help create."
Laura WeissThere is No Playbook: Leader as Coach During Challenging Times
April 26, 2024
