Designing from the Inside: The Able Made Story
Filmed on October 19, 2016 at the 2016 AIGA Design Conference
A personal tragedy led Suzanne McKenzie to start Able Made, an active lifestyle fashion brand that promotes healthy living and gives back to city youth through soccer. In this video, she talks about how design can solve the biggest problems, inspire, and promote a connected humanity.
Suzanne McKenzie is founder and CEO of Able Made, an active lifestyle brand that inspires healthy living and combines bold design with responsible manufacturing and community outreach. An award-winning creative director/designer, she is passionate about using design and collaboration to better the world. Prior to launching Able Made, McKenzie spent 17 years in the advertising and design consultancy worlds, and worked on projects for MoMA, Tom Ford, the Olympic Games, AIGA, and more.
In 2015, McKenzie was selected to attend President Obama's Emerging Global Entrepreneurs event at the White House. A teacher of design and social entrepreneurship at SVA, she runs The Ucal McKenzie Breakaway Foundation, a nonprofit that gives city youth access to soccer and health education. In 2010, the organization received a Sappi Ideas that Matter Grant. McKenzie’s work has been featured in “Businessweek,” “Vanity Fair,” “Graphic Design USA,” and “WWD,” and has been recognized by ADC, the Hatch Awards, The One Show, WebAwards, and Mobius Awards.
