Insight Product Development is one of the largest and most respected design firms in the United States, and keeping it at the forefront of the industry required a strong design voice. As the design director, I worked internally with the other members of the senior staff to evolve the strategy for the company, support public relations efforts, and communicate the message to all. Always pushing for new ways to present, evaluation of the latest tools and techniques, and taking ownership of all deliverables to ensure a level of quality and professionalism raises the standards of the company
Selling design and winning contracts
It is vitally important to understand the strengths of the company and be able to show potential clients the value of Insight through capabilities and applicable case studies. But it goes beyond reading from a script to living the process and being able to adapt it instantly to the needs and flow of a client meeting.
Strengthening the business
Always looking to the bigger company view and how design is going to impact the financial stability is crucial to maintaining and growing the business. Having good margins is part of the equation, along with proper budgeting and resource allocation, tracking and reducing expenses, following up on accounting internally and with the clients, and setting corporate goals quarterly and annually.
MS Project scheduling PM
Resource allocation and project budgeting
Team Building and Collaboration
It is important to understand the secrets of building a balanced team of professionals who compliment each other’s strengths. Properly managing the staff requires subtle guidance and providing a clear example of what is expected. Acting by example inspires and challenges them internally. Good program management keeps projects flowing well and the staff happy to work towards realistic deadlines.
A variety of experiences
By working for so many different clients, ideas are made stronger through cross pollination and drawing from the lessons learned on other projects. Creative problem solving is a strength along with a continual drive for innovation. The following are some examples of past initiatives.
Moving machinery into the office
Printers were once kept in back rooms with copy machines and other unsightly equipment. Today, it would be difficult to imagine an office without printers being just around the corner from one’s desk.
This new line of 3D printers and rapid prototyping machines was designed to bring a clean aesthetic and approachable design into the office and around the corner, so engineers and designers could quickly access their creations.
Green Initiatives
This commercial flush valve for ZURN was designed to fit into existing installations as a replacement product. Using a turbine to generate its own power, it helped to reduce install time, reduce maintenance costs, and increase the usable lifetime of the device. The product allowed the company to move into a position of ecologically consciousness and made a dramatic impact on the market.
Smart Grid Solutions
This was an exciting initiative in an unusual product category. Smart grid energy and metering technology was gaining momentum and we helped establish Sensus as a leader in the market.
SENSUS iPERL® (North America) smart water meters use innovative magnetic technology to capture previously unmeasured low flow. iPERL water meters increase returns while maximizing operational efficiency.
With no moving parts, lead-free iPERL water meters maintain their accuracy over a 20-year lifetime. With Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) connectivity—as well as 14 condition, diagnostic and lifetime alarms—iPERL meters provide a quick resolution to issues in the field.
Joint Development Manufacturing
Sometimes a product can be purchased from a vendor and will only require branding application and packaging to save on cost sensitive products. Other times, a ground up design is made specifically for that company and all components are built to spec and exclusive to that brand. A middle ground, as shown here with the Oster cappuccino maker, is to keep the basic framework supplied by the vendor, modify the housings to be custom to a particular brand, and in this case, some of the mechanics. The simple 3 button interface was another aspect that had to have the interactions mapped out and communicated to the vendor in order to maintain the intuitive controls.
Human Factors
When designing a device, it is important to find the right combination of analog and digital controls that leads to a purpose built and intuitive user experience. This exploration of a portable gaming device for Alienware had better processors and graphics acceleration than a typical smartphone. Combined with good ergonomics, it was a compelling product solution for that particular vertical market.
Market Expansion Study
Blackberry was the leader for enterprise customers in 2004, but they wanted to expand their business into the consumer and prosumer spaces.
Overlaying the type of user/purchaser with their individual characteristics lead to a visual representation of distinct personas. We were able to identify several gaps in their target verticals and propose new opportunity areas. These in turn were used extensively by the internal design team at RIM to solidify positioning with marketing and offer inspiration to the designers. It ultimately lead to the development of the highly successful Blackberry Pearl.
Yacht Design
While a partner at the naval architecture firm, we had the opportunity to work on many yacht tenders and mega yachts. These were a couple of my favorites, a tender for Novurania and a 56 meter sailing yacht for Perini Navi.
