Building for Better: Ghazal's Story
For those just discovering your work, who are you and what do you do?
I’m Ghazaleh Afrahi—a designer, strategist, and accessibility advocate based in Nova Scotia. I’m also a PhD student in Circular Process Engineering. My work lives at the intersection of user experience, sustainability, and inclusion.
I run two ventures. BuzzBronco helps organizations improve the accessibility of their websites and content. Shifting Shap3s is my cleantech startup, focused on turning plastic waste and agricultural leftovers into usable materials for 3D printing and small-scale manufacturing.
What motivates you most?
I’ve seen how much is built without considering all users. That’s what fuels me: making things clearer, more usable, and more inclusive—physically and digitally.
How did you get into this kind of work?
It’s was part lived experience, part curiosity. I live with an invisible disability and share my life with someone who’s also neurodivergent. I’ve also worked across product design, UX, cleantech, and sustainability. Over time, I started seeing the same gaps across disciplines—cumbersome processes, missed users, broken feedback loops, overlooked contexts.
That pushed me to focus on design that includes more people and solves the right problems.
What values shape your work?
Access, clarity, and real-world usefulness. I don’t care much for hype—I care about whether people can use what we’re building. I also believe in learning by doing, and in sharing what works so others can build on it.
Collaboration matters to me, especially across disciplines. No one field has all the answers. Good ideas come from friction and mixing perspectives.
What are you most proud of?
I’ve found a way to bring my lived experience and research into practical projects that make a difference. That includes helping teams rethink accessibility from the ground up, and building tools that support local manufacturing with recycled materials.
And I’m proud that I’ve stuck with it—even when I didn’t feel ready or qualified. I’ve learned that skills can be built, and that starting matters more than having it all figured out.
What’s next for you?
Finish my PhD. Pilot and test our materials and machines at Shifting Shap3s. And keep working with aligned clients at BuzzBronco. I’m also exploring ways to support underrepresented learners and makers—through open tools, partnerships, or training programs.
The goal is always the same: build things that fill real gaps and serve real people.
Any advice for people with non-linear careers or interests?
Don’t wait to be picked. If you see a problem and care enough to solve it, that’s enough to start. You can learn what you need along the way. Gaps exist because no one filled them—yet. That could be your role.