Product research, strategy, & design for technology in the public interest
sal·tern |ˈsôltərn| noun
A plot of land laid out in pools for the evaporation of seawater to produce salt.
ORIGIN Old English: sealt 'salt' + ærn 'place, building.'
"How do we reach activists in low-connectivity environments?"
We'll help you hone in on target participant criteria and outreach channels, crafting bespoke messaging, including for niche and hard-to-reach populations.
"Can someone jump in to help?"
We'll hop on to an existing project to serve as an extra set of hands for interview moderation or analysis, either using your team's preferred tools, or we can recommend our own.
"We know we need research, but where do we even start?"
Not sure where to start? We can design a research program from scratch based on your questions, goals, and timeline. We can execute methods ranging from interview studies, surveys, rapid AI-assisted prototyping, usability studies, and more.
"How do we get our team aligned?"
Want to bring together your team, stakeholders, or new user groups together for ideation and codesign activities? We can help design and carry out an in-person or remote workshop agenda to meet your needs.
"What does the research already say about this?"
Trying to upskill on a domain and want to go deeper than an LLM's "deep research" report? We can help write reports ranging from quick memos to systematic literature reviews and publishable white paper reports.
"Can we show this, not just tell it?"
Drawing on our network of documentarians and ethnographers to help bring a user group to life for your team, in a way that's more memorable and meaningful than any persona-generator.
"How do we reach activists in low-connectivity environments?"
We'll help you hone in on target participant criteria and outreach channels, crafting bespoke messaging, including for niche and hard-to-reach populations.
"Can someone jump in to help?"
We'll hop on to an existing project to serve as an extra set of hands for interview moderation or analysis, either using your team's preferred tools, or we can recommend our own.
"We know we need research, but where do we even start?"
Not sure where to start? We can design a research program from scratch based on your questions, goals, and timeline. We can execute methods ranging from interview studies, surveys, rapid AI-assisted prototyping, usability studies, and more.
"How do we get our team aligned?"
Want to bring together your team, stakeholders, or new user groups together for ideation and codesign activities? We can help design and carry out an in-person or remote workshop agenda to meet your needs.
"What does the research already say about this?"
Trying to upskill on a domain and want to go deeper than an LLM's "deep research" report? We can help write reports ranging from quick memos to systematic literature reviews and publishable white paper reports.
"Can we show this, not just tell it?"
Drawing on our network of award-winning documentarians and ethnographers to help bring a user group to life for your team, in a way that's more memorable and meaningful than any persona-generator.
Other ideas? Maybe a zine on making AI art responsibly, or a sonified sourdough bread installation? Let's brainstorm :-)
Saltern brings flexible, human-centered design to today's most wicked problems, online & offline.
We respect expertise, but we're not strict disciplinarians.
We help you figure out which questions need which approach.
We care a lot about technology in the public interest, journalism & new media, and civic technology. But we're curious cats, we always want to learn new things!
Emily has spent over a decade leading research on technology in the public's interest, from misinformation labeling and responsible AI practices, NLP & AR experiences at the New York Times R&D Lab to digital peacebuilding and online communities on Google's Jigsaw team. She's served as part-time faculty for Parsons' Design & Technology MFA, published at top AI & HCI conferences, and holds a Master's in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University.
Most recently, she completed a documentary program at the Salt Institute (no relation), where she directed a short on Maine's town meeting traditions. In her spare time, she hosts a bog-themed radio show called Discobog on WFMU. She's based in Brooklyn, NYC.
We're taking on new clients for 2026, and we'd love to discuss whatever projects you have in mind.