Jonathan Chinen
Alumnus
Peace be the journey.
Jon is originally from Hawai‘i with a background in visual design, mechanical engineering, and interaction design. After completing a Master of Engineering degree with a focus in human-centered design from the University of California, Berkeley, he worked in Singapore as an Interaction Designer. Upon returning to the US, he worked as an Interaction Design Engineer at the Renault-Nissan Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley, where he designed and prototyped novel experiences for future mobility and smart city contexts. Jon joined the 2024 Master in Design Engineering cohort at Harvard to explore how to scale design strategies at the intersection of design and technology in urban contexts. Since coming to Harvard, Jon has worked as a Researcher at Harvard Business School and metaLAB at The Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. His research interests also include design justice, designing for the margins, and methodologies towards decolonizing design.