Dipali Aphale
Dipali Aphale
 
 

Having lived across America, Europe, and Asia, I enjoy bringing together multiple perspectives and learning from experiences outside of my own. I leverage my interpersonal & technical skills to work with diverse, empowered teams.

My passion is to ultimately drive positive change for marginalized communities through thoughtful and inclusive work. When I’m off the clock you can find me building brand identities for small businesses, mentoring young professionals, or dissecting socio-political events with my friends abroad 🤠

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Experience

 

IBM
Lead Design Researcher, AI New Product Development (Hardware and Software) | 2023 — Present
Lead Design Researcher, Platform Management (On-prem and Cloud) | 2022 — 2023
Design Strategist, IBM Garage (Pre-Sales Consulting) | 2021 — 2022

OMNI STUDIO™
Founder, Creative Direction & Design | 2017 — Present

See 5 more on LinkedIn

 

Awards

 

Recognition for Technical Contributions (Top 1% Performers across Company)
2024 | IBM

Sustainability Jam: Supply Chain Pitch Finalist
2023 | IBM

Entrepreneur Award: Streamlining Accessibility for Designers
2022 | IBM

Innovation RCA Shortlist (Thesis project: Ova)
2019 | Royal College of Art

Mega Hack Finalist
2019 | Mettle Studio x GE Healthcare

Walter P. Baermann Award: Excellence in Design Profession
2017 | NC State College of Design

Sustainable Packaging Design Winner
2016 | WestRock

 

Eminence

 

Future Fest Event Coordinator and Co-Facilitator
2024 | IBM Strategic Foresight Guild

Strategic Foresight Coach
2024 | Carnegie Mellon Service Design College

Design Challenge Judge
2023 — 2024 | IBM @ SF Design Week

Behavioral Design Guild Leader
2022 — 2023 | IBM

Design Thinking Coach
2023 | Advancing Minorities Interest in Engineering

Emoti-Con Virtual Judge
2022 | NYC Youth Digital Media & Tech Challenge

Diversity & Inclusion Speaker
2020 | UXify Eindhoven

Global Grad Show Exhibitor
2019 | Dubai Design Week

Great Exhibition Road Festival Exhibitor
2019 | Dyson School of Design Engineering

SHOW Exhibitor
2019 | Royal College of Art

Plenary Show Exhibitor
2018 | Keio Media Design

 

Education

 

Master of Art, Global Innovation Design
Royal College of Art — ranked #1 Art and Design University worldwide

Master of Science, Global Innovation Design
Imperial College London

+  GID is a unique, transnational initiative that brings together design, culture, and enterprise. My thesis project (Ova) focused on closing the healthcare inequality gap for women by designing modern and accessible public health initiatives through better visual communication and integrated care delivery systems. My advisory board and collaborators were made up of public and private clinical professionals, reproductive endocrinologists, service designers, design researchers, and entrepreneurs.

+  Spent 4-month residencies abroad at Keio Media Design and Pratt Institute

+  Concentrations: participatory design, UX, brand identity, design engineering, entrepreneurship, product development, design research

Bachelor of Industrial Design
North Carolina State University

+  IDSA Student Chapter Co-President
+  Concentrations: user research, rapid prototyping, manufacturing, CMF, human factors, experience design

 

Publications

 

“The Art of Isolation” | My Liveable City 2021

“Inspiring Product Urbanism” | My Liveable City 2020

“The Modern Medical Era” | IDSA Innovation Magazine 2020

“Reconfiguring the Manifestation of Heritage” | My Liveable City 2020

 

Skills

 

Design 🧠

  • Design thinking

  • Participatory design

  • Journey mapping

  • Prototyping

  • Product design

  • User research & testing

  • Design systems

  • Branding + identity

Business 💼

  • Stakeholder alignment

  • Business framing and opportunity identification

  • Roadmapping and prioritization

  • Qualitative and quantitative analytics

  • Social entrepreneurship

Interpersonal 🤝

  • Clear communication

  • Collaborative problem solving

  • Feedback-driven

  • Process-oriented

  • Leadership

  • Culture building

  • Self-starter

  • Public speaking

Software 🤖

  • Product: Figma, Sketch

  • Graphic: Adobe Creative Suite

  • Research: Airtable, Google Analytics

  • Collaboration: FigJam, Mural, Miro

  • 3D: Solidworks, Keyshot, ZBrush

 
 

Reviews

 

“Dipali is a thoughtful, curious, and effective design researcher. The level of care she exhibits in her work galvanizes those around her, as she effectively balances her responsibilities as a researcher with her responsibilities as a team member and collaborator. I had the pleasure of managing Dipali for a year and a half — during which time she seamlessly developed familiarity and expertise in multiple domains, modeled maturity and effectiveness to those around her, and earned a solid reputation across our design organization and with cross-functional partners. In short, she is a shinnying example of a great researcher, in word and deed!“

Sean Warsaw
Senior Design Manager, IBM

 

“Dipali is a rare balance of creative and pragmatic — she cares deeply about the aesthetics, just as much as she values functionality. I had the pleasure of working with her on the same team at Everlaw. Dipali has a strong attention to detail - whether she was designing a simple pitch deck or new components for our website, she made sure that our brand language came through in nuanced and scalable ways. A genuine collaborator, Dipali leverages her ability to empathize with stakeholders to co-create the deliverables she designs, from concept to production. Dipali would be an incredibly valuable asset on any team.”

Sumitra Naganathan
Technology Marketing Leader, Google

 

“I genuinely couldn't recommend Dipali more highly. She's a true partner in the design process, brings a wealth of experience both in strategy and visual design, pays meticulous attention to detail, but also works quickly and knows how to deliver on time. She takes immense pride in the quality of her work and embraces feedback wholeheartedly. I've worked with her on multiple projects for my company, and she has fundamentally shifted the perception of our brand for good.”

Ali Maggioncalda
CEO and Founder, Lovewick

 

“Dipali is extremely bright and possesses that rare and valuable combination of creative problem solving and compelling story telling. During the course of her tenure with WestRock, Dipali exceeded my expectations by inventing a new packaging design, and designing a prototype that was later developed into a cast tool for market trials. Dipali is a quick study and routinely demonstrated an ability to pick up new skills. By the end of her tenure on my team, she had become a genuine contributor of meaningful ideas to projects. She was also able to seamlessly weave herself into the fabric of our design team culture. As a department lead, cultural fit is a big deal and everyone on the team genuinely enjoyed working with Dipali.”

Brad Walling
Sr. Director, New Product Commercialization

 

“I have known Dipali for 3 years, and I can state without reservation that she is a rare and exceptional student, and a true joy to teach. Dipali’s creative talent, dedication to excellence, and enduring self-motivation have been a valued influence on our entire program. Dipali has demonstrated a willingness to push herself beyond the already demanding curricular requirements, and to seek out opportunities that challenge her to grow beyond her ‘comfort zone’, developing both her communication and leadership skills. She greatly exceeds her peers in her ability to gracefully face adverse circumstances. Moreover, Dipali applies her strength of intellect and understanding of interpersonal dynamics in order to pull together a diverse team that is able to focus on respectful and positive outcomes. She is an ‘eyes-open optimist’ who recognizes the value and necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration, and has the experience and maturity to anticipate and embrace the challenges that such work includes.”

Bryan W. Laffitte
Distinguished Professor, NCSU College of Design, Industrial & Graphic Design Department

 
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Services

Let’s dream together

Want to work together? Have any questions? Or just want to catch up over a coffee? I’m always interested in meeting new people and talking about big ideas 🚀