Question-led
Let meaningful human questions guide the choice of concepts, methods and collaborators.
About OmnidoraLab
Inquiry, evidence
and human dignity.
An independent, multidisciplinary research initiative in California dedicated to understanding the human mind and human experience.
Founder, OmnidoraLab
Mahdi Fakhimi
Interdisciplinary Researcher
Designer · Educator · Author
Mahdi Fakhimi is an interdisciplinary researcher, designer, educator, and author whose work explores the relationships between human behavior, cognition, designed environments, and emerging technologies.
With 15+ years of professional and academic experience, his career spans architectural and interior design, research, university teaching, and the leadership of design practices. He has authored three books, contributed to numerous scholarly publications, and developed a substantial portfolio of design projects, including internationally recognized and award-winning work.
Fakhimi holds a Master’s degree in Architecture and pursued doctoral research in Design at the University of Minnesota, with interdisciplinary graduate study in Cognitive Science. His research has addressed human-centered design, environmental experience, accessibility, aging, digital health, and the implications of emerging technologies for human well-being.
His published research includes work in Frontiers in Digital Health, the Journal of Ageing and Longevity, and the CDC’s peer-reviewed journal Preventing Chronic Disease. His contributions span interdisciplinary conceptual research, research methodology, design frameworks, and scholarly writing.
Through OmnidoraLab, Fakhimi brings together his experience in design, cognitive science, human behavior, and technology to advance independent, interdisciplinary research.
His current intellectual work includes Human in the Realm of Mind, an evolving research and book project examining how human beings construct, interpret, and experience reality through mental models, and how these processes shape emotion, behavior, relationships, and the human condition.
His broader research interests include human-centered AI, psychological well-being, aging, accessibility, veterans’ experiences, and the relationship between cognition and designed environments.
Academic formation & teaching
Fakhimi earned his Master’s degree in Architecture at Azad University, Iran, in 2009. His subsequent doctoral research in Design at the University of Minnesota and graduate study in Cognitive Science brought questions of cognition and human behavior into his design research. Earlier in his career, he taught architecture and interior design at Iranian universities, connecting design practice with academic inquiry.
Research & design contributions
His published work on smart-home technology examines usability, accessibility and older adults’ mental well-being. The selected papers bring together conceptual frameworks, literature synthesis and human-centered design; their article types and individual contributions are presented in the publication records.
His professional history includes co-founding and leading AKAD Design Group and Maan Honar Armani. International recognition includes A’ Design Award honors, alongside design work and teaching documented in his professional profile and design recognition record.
Three authored books
- Recognition of Iranian Architecture, Concepts and Examples
- Interior Design from Architecture to Interior Decoration
- Tele-Democratic Architecture and Urban Design
The three books span architectural concepts, interior design and urban design. Explore the books and publication catalogue ↗
Our purpose
Understanding people.
Informing possibilities.
How do people perceive, mentally model and interpret themselves, others and the world—and how do those processes shape behavior, emotion, well-being and society?
OmnidoraLab brings cognitive science, psychology, human-centered design, philosophy and emerging technologies into a shared conversation. Its flagship project explores mental models and lived experience, while its wider research agenda addresses aging, human–AI interaction, well-being, resilience and inclusive environments.
Our contribution is to connect published scholarship with conceptual inquiry: clarifying questions, developing frameworks and opening dialogue across disciplines. We aspire to turn deeper understanding of human experience into research and design that support well-being, agency and dignity.
Principles for the work.
Evidence-aware
Connect published scholarship, theoretical inquiry and future investigations through careful reasoning.
Human-centered
Respect dignity, lived experience, accessibility, cultural context and privacy.
Independent Research Initiative
OmnidoraLab advances independent research, scholarly dialogue and public understanding through an interdisciplinary, human-centered approach.
A shared pursuit
Better questions.
More humane futures.
We welcome thoughtful dialogue across disciplines, institutions and communities.
Explore collaboration