• Napkin Labs is starting strong!

    Napkin Labs is starting strong!

    It was great to see this post about Napkin Labs today. Last year I consulted with founders Riley Gibson and Warren Ng on the right positioning and strategy that a new an online crowdsourced design firm could take. Clearly we knew from the get go that the current winner-take-all method was harmful to both the [...]

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Napkin Labs is starting strong!

It was great to see this post about Napkin Labs today. Last year I consulted with founders Riley Gibson and Warren Ng on the right positioning and strategy that a new an online crowdsourced design firm could take. Clearly we knew from the get go that the current winner-take-all method was harmful to both the creative participants as well as the client. It’s very unlikely that excellent work will be generated consistently from the current crowdsourced model.

We developed a basic idea that an online community could slot right in between the traditional full service firm and the untouchable spec work model. It’s great to see some recognition for what I think is a fantastic opportunity for freelancers and students to participate in big projects and collaborate outside their normal spheres. In a later post, I think I’ll delve a little deeper into the initial ideas we developed that’s turning Napkin Labs into what it is a year later.

As a side note, I’ve been participating in the beta projects and I’m very happy with the quality of participants and the ideas being generated!

Lavatory sketchbook

A collection of my thought process for the Skylight Lavatory.
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Detroit and the Dunes

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Sketchbook

Close to a final concept

Working on a concept lav. Passengers should have to suffer in florescent pod-hell. This example would be in a wide-body aircraft, in the center. (Think A380)

Calphalon Outdoor Cookware

Client Studio Project: Calphalon, 2005

In studio at Carnegie Mellon, I worked with Calphalon to explore new markets and products to expand their cookware line. Calphalon provides high quality cookware to several market segments. How can this level of cookware be brought to the grill? Through user interviews, I concluded that a cooking aid is not something gourmet grillers want or need. My direction focused on where I could enhance the experience of eating grilled food, rather than trying to change it.

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Racing at the Shoreline Road Course


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Applying Cutting Edge Materials to Existing Products

Sometimes its a useful thought experiment to see what conceptual and cutting-edge materials can be used to give new and interesting uses to existing products. When asked to apply unconventional materials to a conventional product, I chose the Kelty Mantra 6.

With Lumalive LED fabric, the tent could provide integrated light sources for the interior and exterior, creating a soft light that is much better than harsh flashlights.

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In the Alley

Recently, I shot a roll of film while exploring the alleys around the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. I’ve been making my way through Ansel Adams’ excellent manuals on photography. I bought a #8 yellow filter and used it in this series; it darkens the sky and increases contrast.

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Solar Decathlon 2007 (blast from the past)

I’m adding some additional projects to my portfolio online. In addition to traditional industrial design and some interaction work, I’ve done environmental projects like solar decathlon, which turned out to be extremely research intensive.

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