Industrial | Spatial | Experience | Craft
Industrial Design
While not professionally trained, I have always been inclined towards industrial design and manufacturing. During my free time (and later, upon request from the director of Engineering) I would spend time with the Mechanical, Electrical, and Industrial Engineers at BowFlex, sharing ideas and insight. I taught myself 3D rendering, using primarily Adobe Dimension, but have been attempting to learn SolidWorks to try to bring my own product ideas to life.
Spatial Design
Do you remember The Dress? That one picture that went viral on social media for being either Black & Blue or Gold & White? For me, that image marked the moment in my life when I realized I had a greater understanding of light than the average person. I have always had a strong passion for interior lighting, having built and rewired my own lamps and chandeliers, and thus have a deep appreciation for the ways reflection and diffusion affect our perception of color and space. While at BowFlex I was asked to share this passion during an HR “Lunch & Learn” series, where people with talents and hobbies outside their job roles were asked to present to the entire company.
Experience Design
During the lockdown of 2020 people at work were looking for ways to connect. Since there were no team outings, I created an outlet for some happy hour fun using two of our owned and operated apps. JRNY® and Explore The World™, when paired with a stationary bike, both feature a pedal controlled advancement through a real-world location. To enhance the magic of it, I curated a wine, beer, cheese, and chocolate menu with items originating in both of these locales, so people knew what to shop for when preparing. I also created a playlist that spanned the duration of the ride when taken at a leisurely pace, and hosted all of this on a website (XD File) that was accessible through a ticket sent out company-wide. It was called the Nautilus Wine Ride.
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Craft
I have always been an avid crafter with mediums running the gamut from wood to paper. One of my more memorable crafts was a spur of the moment SpaceX Starship pillow that I decided to create from scratch as a birthday present with 1 week notice. I started by building a template in Illustrator, using those pattern pieces to cut out the body panels of the ship in silver lamé fabric. The sewing process was tedious because at the time I was strictly a hand sewer and this project required a perfectly straight stitch to end up looking sharp and clean. In the end the whole thing came together and mimicked the then current (2020) Starship model that was being tested, complete with silver button raptor engines.
