# Jutta Friedrichs

> Jutta Friedrichs is a German-born designer and co-founder of Soofa, the Cambridge, MA company that makes solar-powered digital signs for city sidewalks. Before Soofa she ran the MÜ furniture studio in Shanghai, co-founded Xindao's in-house design team, won two Red Dot Awards, an iF Design Award and an Elle Decoration Award, and earned a Masters at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She mentors at the Harvard Innovation Lab and works at the seam of hardware, human-centered design, and the civic public realm.

- **Role:** Co-Founder at Soofa
- **Organizations:** Soofa, MÜ Furniture, Xindao, Harvard Innovation Lab, Kubikoff
- **From:** Germany
- **Nationality:** German
- **Education:** BA, Product Design, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, Master in Design Studies (MDes), Harvard Graduate School of Design
- **Known for:** Two Red Dot Design Awards, iF Design Award, Elle Decoration Design Award

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Earned BA in Product Design from Central Saint Martins, London
- **2005** — Recruited by Dutch retailer Xindao to co-found in-house design department in Shanghai
- **2007** — Started MÜ Furniture studio in Shanghai
- **2008** — Won Red Dot Design Awards for solar torch and laptop bag
- **2009** — Elle Decoration Design Award
- **2011** — Won iF Design Award; runner-up at the Harvard Business Plan Competition for 'Ubiquitous Energy'
- **2012** — Master in Design Studies at Harvard GSD
- **2014** — Co-founded Soofa in Cambridge, MA with Sandra Richter and Nan Zhao
- **2017** — Soofa raised Seed funding; covered by MIT News for smart city fixtures

## Achievements

- Two Red Dot Design Awards
- iF Design Award
- Elle Decoration Design Award
- Harvard Business Plan Competition runner-up (2011) for 'Ubiquitous Energy'
- Co-founded Soofa, the leading solar-powered communication tool for US cities
- Mentor at the Harvard Innovation Lab

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Soofa attended Smart City Expo USA 2024, continuing to position its solar-powered signs as core infrastructure for sustainable cities.

## Links

- Website: https://soofadigital.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jutta-friedrichs-54ba1a13/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mysoofa

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/jutta-friedrichs
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-30