To Sheila Pontis, creativity, imagination, and collaboration are the foundation for understanding the past and reimagining the future. She is an educator, researcher, and practitioner blending information design, cognitive science, and field research with creative problem solving. She has a deep interest in focusing on solutions that address people’s needs and behaviors.
During more than 20 years in higher education, Sheila has worked at universities in her native Argentina, Spain, the UK, and the U.S. Prior to MIT, she taught information design and human-centered research at Princeton University, Parsons School of Design, Rutgers University, and University College London. Sheila’s research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, and she is the author of Communicating Knowledge Visually: Will Burtin’s Scientific Approach to Information Design (RIT, 2021) and Making Sense of Field Research: A Practical Guide for Information Designers (Routledge, 2018).
Sheila also is a partner at Sense Information Design, a New York-area design consultancy. She has produced work around the world for diverse industries and organizations that include Pfizer, Transport for London, NHS, Elsevier, and Unilever.
Sheila received a Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from University of Buenos Aires, Postgraduate and MRes degrees from University of Barcelona, and a PhD from the University of the Arts London.