Jolie Smets

Jolie Smets is an independent designer, maker, researcher and artist who creates playful technology to spark curiosity, exploration and connection. Working with the people who will use or experience her projects, she brings together design, research, art and interactive media to make complex ideas approachable and engaging. Her work spans installations, games, immersive experiences, education and care, and experimental research.

Projects include interactive games for an entertainment café, a collaborative installation, a web app featuring AI characters for vocational students, and branching virtual-reality training scenarios for healthcare students. She has also designed software for glasses-free 3D displays and interactive experiences that encourage children, students and other groups to communicate, play and think together. Across these projects, Smets uses technologies such as VR, AI and interactive displays as tools for human-centered experiences.

Her process is collaborative and iterative: she works with clients and participants to understand a challenge, builds prototypes early, observes people trying them, and refines the work based on what she learns.