e m b e d d e d n a v i g a t i o n presented in a collapsed 'toggle' view by default on the pages listed and linked below:
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(a)vocation *
more de zein
I can provide and/or create case studies for particular projects of interest upon request. The intent of this iteration of my personal portfolio website is to act as an overview of the work I've done and the work I'm doing. You’ll find a high-level synopsis of my (a)vocational experience here, please reach out to me to dive deeper into particular types of work + projects I've engaged in.
* (a)vocation is a nod to my desire "to unite my avocation and my vocation as my two eyes make one in sight" as penned by Robert Frost in Two Tramps in Mud Time
^ ~ image glitched using PhotoMosh
Adam Zeiner: a very curious human based in Asheville, NC
I’m a persistently curious generalist (parading as a strategic designer, facilitator, and organizer) attempting to wrangle complexity. Currently enthralled by “soft” human action systems, networks* in the broadest sense, integrating futures literacy into design practice, information architecture + visualization, and engaging w/ intimate and less formal communities of practice and the people who comprise them.
* "Like organisms, social systems contain intricate networks of feedback processes, both self reinforcing (positive) and self-correcting (negative) loops. However, studies show that people recognize few feedbacks; rather, people usually think in short, causal chains, tend to assume each effect has a single cause, and often cease their search for explanations when the first sufficient cause is found." — John D. Sterman, Learning from Evidence in a Complex World
dezein: the persistent practice of considered creation, facilitation, and organization
Also a moniker i like to use online for myself and for my independent studio practice → dezein.studio, LLC.
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currently:
contract (Strategic) Design Lead → Expedia Group
applying Systems Thinking + fostering Futures Literacy via an emergent mix of Design Strategy, Service Design, Facilitation, and some Experience Design on the Platform Design XD team
Founding Board Member → Design Futures Initiative
a volunteer-led nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
Chasing literal waterfalls → in and around western North Carolina
w/ my partner Taryn and our dogs, Django + Archie, in my ‘02 4Runner
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formerly:
regarded as a radical collaboration between the Dell Medical School and the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin
Strategic Design Advisor → Socialroots
acted as a fractional Design Partner in an advisory capacity to help the core team bring the Socialroots beta experience to fruition
Lead Organizer → Speculative Futures Austin
focused on Design-oriented Futures programming and Futures-oriented Design programming; excited to see what directions the new Lead Organizer Jiabao Li ushers our community towards
Founding Member → vurv.co
a recently shuttered avocational tech-based arts collective turned intimate community, sometimes of practice and sometimes not, that still persists as a loosely moderated Slack workspace
Continued Learning Director → fresh2design
led the #Advance pillar of the organization which encompassed most educational programming
Design Partner → WholeSplit and Tapr
both start up ventures are now defunct, but served as invaluable learning experiences
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Indigenous Land Acknowledgment
I was born and raised in 🏗 Austin, TX 🏗 and moved to ⛰️ Asheville, NC ⛰️ in August 2021.
Modern day Asheville, as colonized, occupies the land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. Modern day North Carolina, as colonized, occupies the lands of the Coharie, Eastern Band of Cherokee, Haliwa Saponi, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Band of Saponi, Sappony, and Waccamaw-Siouan. _ You can learn which indigenous tribe's colonized lands you now occupy through this map.