Design Director, Frida
Monica has over 12 years of design experience. Her design background is highly diversified, with experience in the toy, medical, consumer and soft goods and manufacturing industries. In her work she utilizes international consumer research through co-creation workshops and collaborative design, and analyzes this research to unpack the underlying consumer needs and trends. She serves as a leader and mentor to designers, and is a consumer and brand strategy specialist. Monica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Cincinnati Chapter
Monica Tournoux, IDSA is Chair of the IDSA-Columbus chapter and a senior industrial designer at Design Central in Columbus, OH. With Cori Rowley, IDSA, Monica co-emceed IDSA’s virtual Women in Design Deep Dive in October 2020 and was a leading force behind several other events that brought designers together online this year.
With IDSA-COL Vice Chair Romina Barrera Enciso, IDSA, Monica co-hosted the third annual and first virtual edition of Taboo Schmaboo: an IDSA-COL event focused on confronting stigmas and breaking down barriers in design, with the 2020 theme “High Tides, Rising All.” Monica and Romina also worked with the leaders of IDSA’s other professional Ohio chapters, IDSA-Cincinnati and IDSA-Cleveland, on the virtual event Blurred Lines, which explored the intersections of ID, UX, and UI. And if that wasn’t enough, Monica served on IDSA’s Education Council in 2020, helping with the IDSA Student Merit Awards and other educational initiatives in IDSA’s Central District.
Looking back on this whirlwind year, Monica is full of gratitude. “I have been extremely motivated by being surrounded by so many talented and passionate people who want to continue to push forward, go beyond, and do what we can for our communities and others,” she says. “Special thank you to my co-chair Romina Barrera for helping make sure Taboo Schmaboo 3.0 happened this year. Thank you to Caterina Rizzoni and team from the IDSA-Cincinnati Chapter, and Joanna Celestina and team from the IDSA-Cleveland Chapter, to make the Ohio cross-chapter Blurred Lines event happen.”
Although originally planned to be an in-person gathering in Columbus, OH this spring, the switch to a digital Women in Design event in the fall for the sake of public health ended up being an “amazing opportunity for the event to reach many more people around the globe,” Monica says. “All in all, being a part of this organization that has opened the doors to connecting with many more talented and amazing creatives doing the best and most inspiring things, in and outside of their careers, keeps me motivated and excited to always be doing more.”
For now, Monica plans to lay low and let people enjoy their downtime this holiday season, while also promoting other IDSA chapters hosting their holiday events this year. “Next year, we plan to have even more cross-chapter collaborations, working smarter to build a network of creatives, and utilizing the online format in new ways to build engagement and inspiration,” Monica says. “The thing I love most about our chapter is that it is a blank slate: a powerhouse platform that we use to highlight people doing incredible things, and sharing that out to the world.”
