product design

I majored in Product Design at Stanford which was pretty cool. I did most of the Mechanical Engineering curriculum, but took art classes instead of thermodynamics. A lot of my time was spent in the shop making stuff and I was able to learn a lot about the way things are made—and how to use manufacturing process to inform design. I also discovered that I really enjoy working with how (and for what purpose) people use products.

It actually ended up being a very good background for working in printing. I have been able to get into the nitty gritty of how things are printed and use that to inform my graphic design. I have also discovered how interactive the printed page is and how much thought is required (but rarely performed) to properly design and layout a piece.

While I was working in the shop, I realized that I much prefer the intimacy of working with wood or sheetmetal. Machining metal involves clamping the metal in place and then cranking on dials (or pushing a button on the computer). Working in wood or sheetmetal requires you to hold either the stock or the cutter—giving a much different feel to the experience. My favorite piece in wood is the nut box (above) which is really more an art piece than an actual product.

My senior project was a walker for the elderly (above). I have detailed the whole design process which serves as a pretty good example of what the Stanford Product Design Program teaches. The only thing I’m really missing is user testing because I didn’t want to risk hurting someone’s grandmother. Anyone browsing the design process should also be able to see why my room was an absolute mess. Everything I made and all my materials were stored there.

The rest of my portfolio consists of my favorites of my school projects. There are many more which I used to have online and which I’m considering reposting, but they feel more like juvenilia now.