About

SOME QUIET FUTURE is home to the work of Nancy Smith, a designer, writer, and artist in Brooklyn, New York. This is where I collect my design projects, research, published work, and various tinkerings.

I am an Assistant Professor at the School of Information at Pratt Institute, where I teach in the Information Experience Design Program. My primary research is focused on understanding the relationship between digital technologies and the environment, which includes work in digital humanities, speculative design, critical making, and multispecies futures. I teach courses in visual communication design, digital storytelling, and data visualization. All of my research and teaching bridges design practice with arts and humanities theory, and I am interested in making connections between technology and the broader culture in which it is situated.  

I have worked in both print and interaction design for many years, and I've been lucky enough to work with an assortment of fine folks over the years including Chronicle Books, McSweeney's, Paper Magazine, The Rumpus, Causes, and Indiana University Press. I have a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction Design from Indiana University. I have an MA in Media Studies from the New School and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco. My BA is in Philosophy.

In my spare time, I am working on a novel and a collection of essays, and developing new approaches to data physicalization through textile and fiber arts.

I am part of the Inclusive Ecologies Research Group.