Discover how Anna Belhassen’s cross-industry journey is transforming industries like luxury beauty, biomaterials, and consumer technology, making her a global, multidisciplinary problem solver.In the world of design and engineering, creativity knows no boundaries. For Anna Belhassen, a biomedical engineer and product designer, the ability to adapt engineering solutions across industries has become her signature approach. Whether working on luxury beauty products, consumer technology, or even lighting design, Anna’s journey has taken her from London to Singapore, Stockholm, and across the United States, shaping her into a global, multidisciplinary problem solver who thrives on learning from diverse fields and bringing those insights to new challenges.
Throughout her career, Anna has navigated multiple industries, from medical devices to high-end product design, weaving together technical expertise, creativity, and business strategy in a way that’s both innovative and impactful. Each project, whether it involves designing a cutting-edge neural interface or a product for Victoria Beckham Beauty, reflects her ability to adapt engineering principles to fit the unique needs of the industry and its consumers.
A Global Journey: Engineering Across Cultures
Anna’s work spans a variety of industries, but it is her ability to adapt engineering solutions to each that truly sets her apart. Her international experience has exposed her to a broad range of cultures, ideas, and design approaches. From working with cutting-edge technology in London to engaging in design projects across Singapore, Stockholm, and the U.S., Anna has learned to speak the “language” of each industry she enters.
“Every field speaks its own language, but engineering gives you a way to translate ideas into something tangible, no matter where you are or what industry you’re in,” says Anna. This flexibility has enabled her to transition seamlessly between industries, learning from each and applying that knowledge in innovative, creative ways.
In her early career, Anna worked in various research teams that focused on biomedical engineering, where she honed her technical expertise. But she didn’t stop there. Her career took a notable turn when she transitioned into the design-focused world of luxury beauty with Victoria Beckham Beauty. There, she applied her engineering knowledge to help integrate high-precision engineering into the product development process, creating innovative, elegant beauty products with a deep understanding of user experience.
Luxury Beauty to Biomaterials: Engineering Creativity in Diverse Industries
In the world of beauty, design, and engineering might seem worlds apart. But for Anna, the ability to bridge these fields came naturally. At Victoria Beckham Beauty, she worked on integrating engineering principles into the design of beauty products, ensuring both precision and user-centricity. For example, Anna worked on the engineering of the hinge and magnetic snap mechanism of their Signature Eyeshadow Palette, a product that later won multiple beauty awards (Allure Best of Beauty Award and the NewBeauty NB100 Award) and became a global bestseller. According to the VBB product development team, her mechanism improved durability and sensory feel compared to previous designs. The experience taught her how to apply engineering logic to create products that not only performed flawlessly but also met the aesthetic and functional needs of consumers.
Yet Anna’s versatility didn’t stop with beauty. Her work in biomaterials and consumer technology continued to stretch the boundaries of how engineering can be used across industries. Whether designing a neural interface, working on the creation of innovative biomaterials, or developing lighting designs with Tom Dixon, she combined technical rigor with creativity, adapting to the unique demands of each field.
“Each industry, whether it’s medical devices or lighting design, has its own rhythm. I love learning how things work in one world and bringing those lessons into another,” Anna shares. For instance, her work with Tom Dixon, a British designer known for creating groundbreaking lighting pieces, allowed Anna to apply her engineering skills to design aesthetically pleasing yet functional lighting systems. This cross-industry experience highlights Anna’s talent for taking design concepts from one sector and applying them to another, solving complex challenges in the process.
Problem-Solving with a Multidisciplinary Approach
What truly sets Anna apart is her multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving. Whether she’s working on a neural technology project or a lighting design, her ability to view challenges from multiple angles allows her to create holistic, well-rounded solutions. By combining her engineering expertise with a deep understanding of design, business strategy, and consumer needs, Anna has become adept at approaching problems with a solution that spans industries.
Her work with Tom Dixon exemplifies this ability. Designing lighting solutions requires a balance of art and engineering, blending creativity with function. Anna ensured that the lighting systems met technical standards while also fitting within the sleek, sophisticated designs Tom Dixon is known for.
Similarly, her involvement in biomaterials projects involved not just technical innovation but also a keen awareness of how materials interact with the environment, sustainability, and the future of medicine. One example is her work on a bioluminescent safety textile, where she helped engineer an enzyme-embedded alginate hydrogel that could emit light without batteries. She designed this textile concept with the rest of her team of five to improve night-time visibility for pedestrians and cyclists while remaining fully biodegradable and ensuring safe interaction with human skin. Anna brought a designer’s perspective to the engineering challenges, ensuring that the biomaterials were not only functional but also sustainable and practical for real-world applications.
Innovation Through Cross-Industry Collaboration
Anna’s ability to work across industries is not just about adapting engineering solutions; it’s about understanding how industries interconnect and learning how to leverage expertise from each to drive innovation. Her time working for companies based in Singapore, Stockholm, and the U.S. has broadened her perspective, giving her a global view of how design and engineering can impact society on a larger scale.
In Singapore, she worked at a gut-microbiome research company studying how microbial ecosystems in dogs influence behaviour and disease progression. This approach provides rare, large-scale biological insight without breaching human data privacy, given the strong parallels between canine and human microbiomes. In Stockholm, she spent time at Teenage Engineering, the design studio behind the cult-favourite OP-1 synthesizer used by artists like Kanye West, Bon Iver, and Radiohead, where she designed speaker straps within a culture known for its meticulous precision, playful creativity, and uncompromising attention to material detail. Each location provided a new challenge, a new way of thinking, and an opportunity to collaborate with professionals from different sectors, pushing Anna to expand her approach and think outside the box.
“I’ve always loved working in different industries because it gives you new perspectives and the ability to take lessons learned from one field and apply them to another,” says Anna. This cross-industry, global mindset has made her a key player in a variety of sectors, positioning her to bridge the gap between engineering, design, and business strategy.
The Future: Continuing to Adapt and Innovate
As Anna looks ahead, her ability to adapt engineering and design to new industries will continue to be a cornerstone of her work. From advanced biomaterials to consumer tech, lighting, and beyond, Anna remains committed to finding creative, human-centered solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing industries today. Her approach, combining technical expertise, creativity, and business acumen, ensures that she’s not only solving problems but also paving the way for new possibilities across fields.
The future is one where multidisciplinary problem-solvers like Anna are at the forefront of innovation, creating solutions that cross boundaries and industries. With her diverse experience and global perspective, Anna Belhassen will continue to redefine what’s possible when engineering meets creativity.
Discover More:
To learn more about Anna Belhassen’s work across industries and her innovative approach to design and engineering, connect with her on LinkedIn. Stay up to date with her latest projects and insights as she continues to innovate across industries, shaping the future of design and technology.
