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Industrial Design Manager
Chicago, IL
Jan 2013 - Present (11 years 11 months)
Managing a design team for the core portfolio projects, including Liberty’s #1 selling core category- Cabinet Hardware, under the Brainerd, Liberty and Peerless brands. Influencing design strategy and leading ideation sessions for white space and new product launches.
Design Manager- coaching and mentoring a team of designers, fostering their impact within design and at Liberty.
Communication expert, presenting Design Style and Trend concepts to our internal and external customers- accelerating Liberty's value proposition and design thinking.
Driving Design and Trend research influencing innovative ideas for Core Category and NCD roadmaps. Participating in Strategic Initiatives for the company, prompting how design innovation drives a culture for innovation. Partnering with product marketing to develop Omni product strategies for Cabinet Hardware, connecting the dots with research to create breakthrough ideas.
Product design and development for all other current and New Categories, including Delta and Peerless bath hardware, hook and hook rail, Closets by Liberty, Delta shower doors, and Delta Mirrors.
Selected in 2019 and 2020 for Liberty Talent Assessment's High Potential/ High Perfoming employee; completed the Executive Education "Managing Product Design and Development" program at Northwestern University
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FREELANCE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
self
Chicago, IL
May 2007 - Jan 2013 (5 years 8 months)
A range of experience and expertise in the housewares and
consumables industries, with comprehensive knowledge of
materials and manufacturing processes and limitations. Provided
services for product design + development, ideation and group
brainstorming, housewares design, brand strategy, & product
design. Companies: Schawk! Inc. | NeatNix Inc. | Rive LLC. | Joss Design Group
Inc. | Radius Product Development | forteos product development | TJW Product
Development LLC. | Sierra Housewares | ELKAY Manufacturing Inc.
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Industrial Designer
Chicago Display Marketing Corp
Chicago, IL
Feb 2010 - Jan 2012 (1 year 11 months)
Assisted retailers and brand marketers by providing innovative
design solutions with an emphasis on manufacturability and cost
effectiveness. Specialized in POP displays and signage for retail
programs that attracted customers to achieve marketing goals.
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Industrial Designer
Kohler, WI
Feb 2008 - Feb 2009 (1 year)
Designed and developed products for the Sanitary and Kitchen
platforms. Worked as a design lead in cross-functional efforts of
engineering, marketing, and manufacturing from project scope to
product launch. Established brand strategy and product
roadmaps as part of new product planning. Generated concept
sketches, renderings and foam models, prototypes for human
factors testing and presented projects for Design Reviews to the
Board & Chairman.
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Junior Designer
Home Products International Inc.
Chicago, IL
Mar 2007 - Feb 2008 (11 months)
Contributed at every stage of the design process including:
project definition, market research, initial concept ideation,
sketching, rendering concepts for presentation, working with
overseas sourcing for materials and manufacturing, instruction
manuals and packaging.
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Industrial Designer | Student
MOTOROLA | IPD Program with UIC
Chicago, IL
Aug 2006 - May 2007 (9 months)
Demonstrated leadership and competence on a 7-member
interdisciplinary team from marketing research to design
completion. Produced the final visual prototype model and
presentation. Demonstrated communication skills by representing
the team in design reviews with the client.
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Industrial Design Intern
Euforia Design
Jan 2006 - Sep 2006 (8 months)
Designed and developed concepts for products in the LeEuforia
home line as well as conceptual project work.