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About
Growing up around Detroit’s automotive culture, I was fascinated at an early age by the potential of design. I recognized how visual storytelling can be used to bridge unrelated ideas from multiple disciplines to create both functionally inventive and aesthetically pleasing solutions.
The first decade of my career spanned the automotive, toy, watch and tech industries. The variety of design challenges I faced allowed me the opportunity to grow in skill versatility and awareness as a creative problem solver.
I currently lead a team focused on smartwatch and advanced concept design for Fossil brand. Design output, process definition and improvement, and team timeline management are central to my role.
For the next chapter of my creative career, I hope to explore sustainable solutions for topics that highlight some of humanity’s biggest challenges like “how AI and automated transportation will reshape civilization” and “how to provide basic necessities and shelter to the homeless in a dignified way.” By applying research and validation techniques like human-centered design typically used for UX, I aim to shatter the perceived limits of rigidly siloed design career paths. -
Education
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Certification, UX Design UXGeneral Assembly2016 - 2016This ten week certification circuit was an intensive crash course in UX for working design professionals wishing to grow skills through continued education. Throughout the course, we learned and applied the ideal process for UX designers and developed a functioning digital app concept.
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Bachelors Industrial/Automotive DesignCollege For Creative Studies2006 - 2009Graduated from the world-renowned automotive design program that CCS is most sought after for. I participated in multiple sponsored studios including Chrysler, Hyundai, General Motors and the highly publicized Ford Model T 100th anniversary project.
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Experience
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Senior Product DesignerFossilSep 2013 - Present (11 years 4 months)I am currently leading a team focused on smartwatch and advanced development design for Fossil brand. Design output, reviewing my team’s many projects, process definition and improvement, and timeline management are all central to my role. I had the pleasure of developing several products including quartz watches, athleisure inspired trackers and Wear OS Sport and LTE smartwatches.
Fossil Sport Smartwatch: First to market featuring both 3100 Qualcomm chipset and new Google Fit’s latest health and wellness metrics.
Fossil Accomplice: First slim 2-hand hybrid smartwatch geared toward women preferring a traditional vintage watch aesthetic . Includes step tracking, phone shortcuts like a “selfie”, and app notifications. -
Freelance DesignerRadio FlyerMay 2013 - Jun 2014 (1 year 1 month)Radio Flyer Cyclone: I Co-developed this ride-on toy in collaboration with the creative director, engineering and leadership team within the role of a freelance design consultant. I defined the design theme and challenged the pre-existing conventions of the project’s early stages. I currently co-own the patent for the design on the market.
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DesignerRoush, Formerly American Specialty CarsSep 2010 - Feb 2013 (2 years 5 months)For this early career role, I was an integral design team member for two production programs as well as multiple exploratory proposals to clients.
Electric car startup project: Lead role for exterior design including the body’s overall surface development, exterior lighting, wheels, finish scheme, badges, and presentation of full-sized clay model and product renderings to our client.
RV Studio Project: Exterior front/rear cap development for production design of the Monaco Knight including the initial theme direction, collaborating with clients engineering team, working with digital sculptors for early concept phase to completed production surface for this Navistar affiliated motor coach company.
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Industries
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Skills
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Elsewhere on the Web
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On Coroflot@daveowsen, member since 2009
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Following 189
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Followers 103
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