Tristan Christianson

Principal and co-founder of a team design start-up in the San Francisco Bay Area with ties in overseas and local development and manufacturing. Developed a successful Kickstarter campaign and expanded that into a specialty pet design arm of our company and we also assist in start-up design and project management.

Development and design services from concept to shipped product working with both US developers, and Asia sourcing and production in a variety of project categories and stages.

• Product design and packaging projects with Asia-based factories and independent US developers building concepts out for manufacture.
• Involved in the design and planning of a multi-project launch with a US/Asia development group through online crowd-funding, coordinating overseas engineering and production.

Investor-financed wholesale to retail in-house product development and manufacturing. Started in 2008, the retail product development group was formed to design and produce a wide range of projects for wholesale distribution, as well as plans for direct-to-retail with branded product lines targeting hardware & tools, to home & outdoor, health & wellness, small electronics, and pet care & toy products categories.

• Ideated, designed and managed multiple projects while working to help develop simultaneous in-house brand categories including hardware & tools, home & garden, health & wellness, with a recent focus on pet care & toy products for several national retail chains, building out targeted product line portfolios to promote and expand private label sales.
• Produced and co-managed project research and presentation media for in-house design team and investor meetings, retail sales development, and trade show materials.
• Worked with ANI Retail Development Team to focus on identifying consumer product categories, ideating new concepts into project proposals and building out product line families, researching for untapped opportunities in various retail arenas.
• Worked directly with major national in-house retail development groups and category buyers to build the presented concepts into finished product, coordinating with them to cover required needs at store level from color and graphic selection to packaging and display.
• Coordinated engineering development and production planning with Asia suppliers maintaining a multi-project pipeline in various states of development from concept to delivered product working with fast-paced time lines to meet rigorous retail schedule demand.

Direct to retail in-house product design, development and manufacturing accessing two hundred stores, catalog and internet sales with original, San Francisco founded, TSI Corporation. Internally developed projects for company-branded sales with a corporate design focus on consumer-based homeware, health and wellness, audio and a variety of gadgets, gizmos and toys.

• Ideated and developed more than 50 projects with the SI Design in-house Product Team, managing two industrial designers, as well as teaming with two mechanical and electrical engineers, and two department development and logistics heads.
• Involved as primary designer in key project successes from the company’s first 150k unit production success in 1998, to the hugely successful air purifier lineup through 2007-08.
• Co-developed and coordinated private label and OEM projects with the TSI Buying Team, generating product recommendations, modifications, color and graphics, media and packaging.
• Produced visual and other needed materials, co-planned and held project discussions directly with the CEO, CFO, Design, Art and Retail VP's and department management heads covering details and issues twice weekly or more.
• Planned and designed product graphics, material/color/finish selection and instructional media, and coordinated with the TSI Art Department for needed promotional materials for packaging, internet and catalog.
• Coordinated, managed and produced in-house, as well as, independent contractor-built models, engineered CAD materials and overseas prototyping.
• Routine trips into Asia to assist with and coordinate product design, engineering development, and packaging through final production. Familiar with vendor compliance needs, required product testing, including UL and ETL, as well as various logistics issues.

Interactive kiosk and display design and interior planning for museum installations and exhibitions.