Sophie Adams-Foster

Bio:

Sophie is Business and Strategy Director at Realise Design in Bristol, an industrial design agency that has won multiple industry awards for its work. With more than 15 years of experience in the design and engineering industry, she possesses an in-depth firsthand understanding of the product design development process, including electronic design, certification, prototyping, manufacturing, and 3D printing.

She specializes in commercialising products for a diverse range of clients, including inventors, entrepreneurs, large corporations, and the defense sector. Sophie has overseen the development of various products, such as home appliances, industrial equipment, connected IOT devices, and specialized industry equipment.

Her career has taken a unique and non-linear path, given her creative arts background, which includes an MA in Multi-disciplinary Printmaking. Previously teaching at The University of Twente in the Netherlands and Swansea Met University, she current serves as a Business Panel Review Member at the Engine Shed Bristol and Co-Founder of Zebera by Design.

Sophie is deeply committed to responsible design, which extends beyond how a product is made. Concerned about the impact of board room decisions made which ultimately effect the entire supply chain and whether a product should exist at all, she is interested in sustainable design, ethics, and data.