Jennifer Kolstad is the first Global Design and Brand Director at Ford Motor Company, and the first design leader to establish a vision for environmental design.
Since joining Ford in 2019, Jennifer has envisioned the future of workplace, retail, hospitality, and community at Ford. Introducing the legacy brand to research-led design, she pivoted the design team toward a human-centered methodology collaborating with external luminaries, product design, UX, technology, and global brand.
Jennifer has spent her career systematically advancing the design industry by challenging best practice, disrupting institutionalized expectations, and introducing new thinking to every project category she plays in. Integrating complementary core competencies to expand the value of design provides greater opportunity for professionals to impact complicated problem sets involving business, community, social justice, and human productivity.
She is the recipient of the 2023 ASID Luminary of Distinction award honouring the advancement of the design industry through innovative contributions.
Jennifer is past-chair of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), co-authoring a strategic plan to pivot the profession toward human-science and collaboration. She served on the ASID National Board from 2015-2021.
Jennifer is a Doctoral candidate at the School of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary (’26), achieved a Master of Architecture degree from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and was a recipient of the SOM Graduate Fellowship. She has undergraduate degrees in Interior Design, Art and Art History. Prior to Ford she designed at SOM, Gensler, HKS, and ALDAR in the United Arab Emirates.
Jennifer is an invited NASA Luminary teaching her “Brain to Building Framework” as a design tool for off-planet habitation. She has appeared on PBS Newshour, NBC News, Fortune’s 2022 Brainstorm, and Microsoft Envision, speaking on human-centered design. She is a member of the Health Advisory Council at the School of Design and Creative Technologies at Dell Medical School’s Design Institute for Health at UT Austin, has presented at the ANFA/Salk Annual Conference, IDEC’s Annual Conference, and The Design Museum Everywhere Innovation Summit. Jennifer has been an invited keynote, lecturer, and juror at the Darden School of Business, Utah State University, UT Austin, University of Michigan, and National ASID Conferences.
