Product Design Manager
Chelsea is a product design manager at Oculus / Facebook AR/VR leading the team defining the future of work and productivity.
Klukas is also a founder of two wearable technology startups (MakeFashion and Lumen Couture) that brings high tech and high fashion to the runway. Her “Lumen Couture” projector hat, a hat that includes real-time projection mapping and visual inputs to display video on a dress, has gained international attention as the first of its kind.
Prior to Facebook, Klukas was a UX design manager at Amazon focused on social consumer innovation products including Amazon Spark and Echo Look. Before Amazon she was the creative director of BeauCoo, a social shopping startup that helped women find clothes that fit, and design lead at Poynt, a cross-platform location-based app with 20M users that pioneered augmented reality features in the early days of iOS.
Early-career I worked as a visual/web designer in telecom and at agencies, and ran a freelance design business (Chelsea Klukas Creative) for 7 years. I’m a published writer on tech and creativity and have contributed to the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and FashNerd.
Did you come here looking to buy, rent, or book Fashion Technology garments?
Jump to my wearable technology fashion design website (Lumen Couture) here.
Quick Facts:
I’m currently a Product Design Manager at Oculus, based in Seattle.
I’m a keynote speaker who presents regularly on the future of design careers, and the future of fashion. Full list of speaking engagements.
I recently received my Doctorate of Fine Arts h.c. at Watkins College in 2019 and hold three patents.
Previously, I was the UX Manager for “Social UX” within Amazon’s Engagement Design Group, shipping products including Amazon Spark and Echo Look.
Before that, I was the Creative Director for a BeauCoo, a women’s fashion social network aimed at solving fit and sizing issues for all body types.
I co-founded and am the Chief Creative Officer for MakeFashion, a wearable tech nonprofit that brings technology and high fashion to the runway. I’ve branched out to design my own ready-to-wear FashionTech line inspired by the runway.
In Calgary I was a director of Digital Alberta, a board member of Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre Company, and contributed as a designer and brand manager for a number of nonprofit arts organizations. As a result, I was awarded with ACAD’s 2016 Community Service Alumni Award.
Work
Oculus
Product Design Manager at Oculus.
Facebook
Product Design Manager at Facebook.
Amazon
Manager, UX/Design, Engagement Design Group, for the world’s largest retailer.
MakeFashion
Co-Founder of Runway Wearable Technology Nonprofit
BeauCoo
Creative Director for Social Shopping Startup
Poynt
UX Design and Marketing Design Lead for Location-Based Service App
Keynote Speaking
As a tenured speaker with experience addressing audiences of 1000+, I am available for bookings into 2020. I tailor each talk specifically to the audience and event, with a focus on how emerging topics including wearables, AR/VR, voice, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are changing our world and the tools and processes designers use today.
As an serial tech entrepreneur and design leader who started my journey as a fine artist, I have firsthand experience of inventing, building, and shopping products with compelling case studies to reference.
Play
Lumen Couture 2.0
A dress with real-time projection mapped video.
Super Awards Bonus Bot
A twitter bot built for the gamification of everything.
Wearable Tech Bot
A twitter bot built to predict the future.
Illustration
Sketches and doodles for fun and profit.
Lumen Couture
Self-contained projector wearable technology.
Fiber Optic Fashiontech
Fiber optic lighting integrated into wearables.
In The Media
Artist of the Week: Chelsea Klukas
Seattle Refined | Gyna Wynkoop | April 6, 2019
First Evening Fashion Tech Wear Collection Launched By Chelsea Klukas
FashNerd | Muchaneta Kapfunde | Feb 18, 2019
Creative Technology: A Seven Step Process for Inspiration, Execution, and Reflection
ARM Community Blog | Louise Paul | July 12, 2018
Fashioning the Future With: Chelsea Klukas
Style Engineers Worldwide | Kristen O. Bobst | July 2, 2018
Chelsea Klukas on Designing the Future of Fashion
Electric Runway (Podcast) | Amanda Cosco | June 11, 2018
Chelsea Klukas on Fashion Tech: Arm Innovators Series
Hackster.io | Alex Glow | April 18, 2018
A Facebook Product Design Manager Outlines the Future of Working in UX
Course Compare | Shane Schick | April 16, 2018
Introducing the Newest Arm Innovators
Hackster.io | Hackster Staff | Feb 22, 2018
Top 100 Women in Wearable and Consumer Tech
Women of Wearables | Marija Butkovic | Jan 11, 2018
MakeFashion Unveils StitchKit: an interview with Chelsea Klukas
Hackster.io | Rex St. John | Dec 13, 2017
Radio Interview: What She Said! with Chelsea Klukas
What She Said! | Kris Abel | April 1, 2017
Smart Clothing Won’t Take off for a While: Here’s Why.
Pilcrow Magazine | Rob Boffard | Nov 29, 2016
Women of Wearables WoW Women: Chelsea Klukas
Women of Wearables | Michelle Hua | September 10, 2016
Designing for Smart Fabrics: Deciding What to Design
FashNerd | Jonathan Kohl | Aug 8, 2016
Shine Bright Like a Projector with This Tech-Savvy Hat
The Creators Project | Vice Media | Francesca Capossela | July 2, 2016
18 Thought Leaders Speak Up About Overcoming Failure
Tenfold | Patrick Hogan | June 28, 2016
Six Questions With Chelsea Klukas, Co-Founder of MakeFashion
Calgary Herald | Jon Roe | Mar 30, 2016
Fashion Gets Technical at MakeFashion
Avenue Magazine | Sarah Comber | Mar 1, 2016
Machine chic: Can wearable technology actually look good?
The Walrus | Haley Mlotek | Jun 25, 2016
Meet Calgary’s Up and Coming Entrepreneurs: Chelsea Klukas
The Globe and Mail | Katherine Scarrow | Jun 6, 2012
YPDaily: Chelsea Klukas
Notable | Dec 26, 2011
Public Speaking and Keynotes
Ermerging Technologies and the Creative Process
Presentation | FashionTech Week NY | High Achool of Fashion Industries, New York City | Sept 14, 2019
Opening Keynote and Women in Tech Panelist | SF TECH Fashion Week 2019 INNOVISION “Fashion Matrix” | Shopify Kit Office, San Francisco | April 16, 2019
The Future of Design and Marketing
Keynote Speech | iMedia Conference | MacEwan University, Edmonton | March 9, 2019
Beyond Screens: The Future of Design Careers
UX Speaker Series | Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering | University of Washington, Seattle | March 1, 2019
Beyond Screens: The Future of Design Careers
FITC Amsterdam | Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam | Feb 19, 2019
Projection Mapped Fashion: Real-Time Body Tracking on the Runway
FITC Amsterdam | Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam | Feb 18, 2019
OSLA Spotlight: The Future of Libraries and Learning
Ontario Library Association SuperConference | Intercontinental Hotel, Toronto | Feb 1, 2019
Force of Fashion Ep. 2 with Chelsea Klukas
The Catalyst at FCAD | Ryerson University, Toronto | Jan 29, 2019
Beyond Screens: Design Careers of the Future
Closing Keynote | Thought at Work | Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Rochester | October 20, 2018
The Future of Fashion: How Fashion Will Change How We Shop, Create Outfits, and What We Wear
Presentation | Wonder Women in Tech | Long Beach Convention Centre, Long Beach CA | Oct 6, 2018
Beyond Screens: Design Careers of the Future
Presentation | CAMP | Calgary, AB | Sept 11, 2018
Opening Keynote | Fashion Tech Week NY | New York City | Sept 8, 2018
Beyond Screens: Design Careers of the Future
Presentation | FITC | The Hilton, Toronto | April 9, 2018
Getting Started with Wearable Electronics
Presentation | Seattle Mini Maker Faire | EMP (MoPop) Museum, Seattle | Sept 17, 2017
Full Workshop | Chic Geek Geeky Summit | Telus Spark, Calgary AB | Nov 16, 2016
Panel Discussion | Seattle Maker Faire | EMP Museum (now Museum of Pop Culture), Seattle, WA | Sept 18, 2016
Fashion and Technology Lecture
Lecture to exchange students from Fukuoka University, Japan | Seattle University | Seattle, WA | Aug 26, 2016
Panel Discussion | Seattle Maker Faire | EMP Museum (now Museum of Pop Culture), Seattle, WA | Sept 18, 2016
User Experience Empathy for Artists
PechaKucha Style Speaker | Alberta College of Art and Design Alumni Awards Night | Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary AB | Mar 30, 2016
Peer Influence, Pop Culture, and the Power of Human-Centred Design
Conference Speaker | Style & Class Conference | Goldcorp Centre for the Arts | Vancouver BC | Dec 13, 2014
Coach (UX) | Startup Weekend | Assembly Co-working Space | Feb 8, 2013
Ladies Learning Code: Intro to Photoshop Course
Instructor | Ladies Learning Code | Assembly Co-working Space | Oct 5, 2013
Workshop | Digital Alberta | Endeavor Arts | May 28, 2012
Interactive Design Introduction and Portfolio Review
Seminar and Student Portfolio Review | UofL New Media Program | University of Lethbridge | Oct 19, 2012
World of Choices Career Ambassador
Interactive Design Career Ambassador | Junior Achievement Southern Alberta | Calgary, AB | Jun 1, 2011