Masaki Iwabuchi

Strategic Design Futurist | Author | Innovating at the Intersection of Design and Business

Masaki Iwabuchi is a New York-based Design Strategist and Futurist with a passion for transforming complex challenges into innovative solutions. Currently at JPMC, Masaki leverages expertise in design thinking and user experience to drive strategic transitions and foster business growth. As the author of "Strategic Transgression through Design," Masaki explores the dynamic interplay between design and strategy, advocating for forward-thinking approaches in today's evolving landscape. With a rob…

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Experience

JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Lead Strategic Design Futurist
Aug 2021 - Present
J.P. Morgan is a global leader in financial services, offering solutions to the world's most important corporations, governments, and institutions in more than 100 countries.
- Envisioned mid-term futures of finance and society through design.
- Bridged abstract future concepts with concrete business strategies.
- Utilized emerging design theories like Speculative Design and Transition Design.
- Facilitated cross-departmental collaboration to create innovative products and services.
Tohoku University
Visiting Associate Professor
Apr 2021 - Mar 2025
In the more than 100 years since Tohoku University was founded in 1907, the constant goal has been to become one of the world's great research universities. We take great pride in the past successes of our students and faculty. Their innovations in science and engineering have helped make the world a better place in which to live.
- Researched emerging design theories to speculate on future human values.
- Focused on social dreaming through design to envision a positive future.
- Supported the Tohoku region in imagining a future post-earthquake and tsunami.
- Collaborated with Prof. Makoto Takahashi to promote regional recovery and innovation.
Teknikio
Principal Service and UX Designer
Jan 2020 - Jul 2021
- Teknikio's mission is to enable people of all backgrounds and genders to build creative confidence through engineering and technology. We design STEM/STEAM kits and custom electronic modules that are easy to integrate with everyday materials such as paper and fabric.
- We are now developing a new educational web-based product and my responsibility is the following two:
- Led research and organized the design system and product roadmap for children’s STEAM education considering business opportunities, user scenarios, and technological feasibility in collaboration with the CEO Deren Guler.
- Build all front-end web service using React, MongoDB, and Google Blockly with working closely with a senior design engineer and assured the quality of the service by conducting user testing.
The Design Futures Initiative
Chapter Founder & Organizer, Tokyo Speculative Futures
Dec 2019 - Mar 2025
The Design Futures Initiative is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that produces events and workshops focused on speculative and critical design.
- Founded and organized Speculative Futures Tokyo chapter.
- Hosted events and meetups on Speculative & Critical Design and Futurism.
- Facilitated networking and discussions on future challenges and opportunities.
- Promoted the practice of futurology and foresight methodologies.
KYOTO Design Lab, Kyoto Institute of Technology
Visiting Lecturer / Design Research Fellow
May 2019 - Aug 2019
- Conducted three design symposiums and evoked the discussion about Transition Design for the first time in Japan, gathering over 1000+ audiences through physical place and Youtube streaming.
- Structured a workshop & lecture of Speculative Design for 30 students from Eindhoven University of Technology.
Parsons School of Design - The New School
Experience Design Tutor Specialist
Jan 2019 - May 2020
The New School is a progressive university that is committed to fearlessly pushing the boundaries of education. With a rich history and a strong focus on social justice, The New School is at the forefront of academic excellence.
- Tutored over 100 students in UX/UI design processes and implementation.
- Guided students from UX research methods to programming techniques.
- Supported students in realizing creative ideas using tools like Adobe, Maya, and Unity.
IBM
Product Design Lead
Apr 2016 - Jul 2018
- Focused on bridging technologies to reach the market. Designed a creative and sustainable business ecosystem to solve customer problems by utilizing design and business methods.
- Chanoma: iOS App for working mothers to strengthen family bonds
- Transformed complex quantitative and qualitative research data into viable solutions
- Managed the entire product design process using methodologies of Design Thinking and Lean Startup
- Orchestrated a project team consisting of two designers, six engineers, and two business strategists
- IBM Design Thinking Coach
- Facilitated IBM Design Thinking Workshops to 15 enterprise clients to generate disruptive solutions
- Trained all 800 new hires of in IBM Design Thinking and communicated a design philosophy of IBM
IBM
Senior UX/UI Consultant & Designer
Apr 2013 - Mar 2016
- Formulated a UX/UI of an enterprise application in collaboration with IBM Watson and AI researchers, and reduced the time taken by the worker's task by 30% as a result
- Led two visual designers to redesign a UX/UI of a manufacturing industry client’s responsive website
- Defined personas and developed concepts, sitemaps, wireframes, and prototypes using the human-centered approach.
IBM
Junior UX/UI Consultant & Designer
Apr 2009 - Mar 2013
- Reformed UX/UI for an education industry client's website.
- Collaborated with project managers to enhance user experience.
- Increased customer applications by three times through design improvements.