X, The Moonshot Factory (formerly Google X)

Tapestry is X’s moonshot for the electric grid.

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The electric grid is an engineering marvel: a vast and complex machine that connects us all and powers the devices that are now essential to our everyday lives. Designed more than a century ago to function like a one-way highway, with electricity flowing from fossil-fueled power plants to cities and towns, it’s grown increasingly complex. Today’s grid looks more like a multidirectional superhighway, with millions of devices—from home solar panels and wind farms to microgrids and electric vehicles—pushing and pulling energy across it at all times.

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Not only was the grid not built for today’s demands, but nobody currently has the tools they need to see, manage or plan it. Information is siloed between dozens of different organizations, and no one has a complete picture of the grid. To transition to a carbon-free, reliable electric grid, we need a shared understanding of how we make, move, and use electricity.

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Tapestry’s mission is to make the grid visible. By making the grid visible to everyone who works with it, we aim to make it greener, fairer, and more reliable for everyone who depends on it.

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Recognizing the complexities involved in decommissioning traditional energy sources like coal plants, I designed features that allow grid operators to run extensive simulations, modeling a range of scenarios that can extend decades into the future. This capability ensures that operators can assess grid reliability before making significant changes.

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My collaborative approach involves working closely with cross-functional teams, leveraging user feedback and insights from research and analytics to inform design decisions. This dedication to user-centric design ensures our products not only meet but exceed user expectations, driving efficiency and effectiveness in their interactions with complex energy systems.

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To solidify our visual identity, I standardized essential design elements, especially the color scheme for actions and data visualizations, which give our products a distinct and recognizable style. Additionaly, I developed a comprehensive component library of reusable UI elements—such as buttons, chips, text fields, and search bars—as well as essential design patterns like modals, popups, and tables. This library ensures a consistent look, feel, and accessibility across all products, reinforcing usability and maintaining a high standard of functionality throughout.

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