Jon Kolko
Jon Kolko is the founder of Austin Center for Design, a progressive educational institution teaching interaction design and social entrepreneurship. He was also a partner at Modernist Studio, and is now a partner at Narrative. Kolko has held the positions of Vice President of Design at Blackboard and at MyEdu; Executive Director of Design Strategy at Thinktiv, a startup accelerator in Austin, Texas; and both Principal Designer and Associate Creative Director roles at frog design, a global innovation firm.
Jon Kolko
Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Jon Kolko
- Born
- 1978
- Birthplace
- Rochester, NY
- Occupation
- Designer and Author
- Education
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Spouse
- Jess Kolko
- Nationality
- United States
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Jon Kolko is the founder of Austin Center for Design, a progressive educational institution teaching interaction design and social entrepreneurship. He was also a partner at Modernist Studio, and is now a partner at Narrative. Kolko has held the positions of Vice President of Design at Blackboard and at MyEdu; Executive Director of Design Strategy at Thinktiv, a startup accelerator in Austin, Texas; and both Principal Designer and Associate Creative Director roles at frog design, a global innovation firm.
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wikidata · Q6271076 · wikipedia · Jon Kolko
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Biography
Biography
He was also a professor of interaction and industrial design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Kolko has also held the role of Director for the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), and Editor-in-Chief of Interactions magazine, published by the ACM. Kolko is the author of the following books: • Thoughts on Interaction Design (Brown Bear Press, 2007; Morgan Kaufmann, 2011) • Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner's Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis (Oxford University Press, 2011) • Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving (Austin Center for Design, 2012) • Well Designed: How to Use Empathy to Create Products People Love (Harvard Business Review Press, 2014) • How I Teach (Brown Bear Press, 2017) • Creative Clarity: A Practical Guide For Bringing Creative Thinking Into Your Company (Brown Bear Press, 2017) • This Chainsaw Cannot Fly: The power of storytelling to shape and drive product roadmaps (Brown Bear Press, 2022) • Cashing Out: A handbook for selling your creative services company, and a million reasons not to do it (Narrative, 2023)
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jon Kolko • Born — 1978 • Birthplace — Rochester, NY • Occupation — Designer and Author • Language — English • Citizenship — United States • Education — Carnegie Mellon University • Genre — Non-fiction • Subject — Design • Notable Works — Creative Clarity; How I Teach; Well-Designed; Exposing the Magic of Design; Wicked Problems; Thoughts on Interaction Design; • Spouse — Jess Kolko
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1978
Jon Kolko born at Rochester.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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