People Purchase Products, But Buy Stories.

The Next Era of Design is About Community & Stories That Connect With People.

ABOUT ME

Originally born in Mexico, then raised in the Pacific Northwest. Currently living outside of Salt Lake City with my wife and kids. I’ve been designing for over 12 years and managed design teams for the last 7. Getting to do it at private and public companies like Skullcandy, mophie, ZAGG, Gear4 and Blendtec among others. I’ve been able to lead teams of various sizes including team members in 5 different time zones: Utah, Ohio, London, California and Shenzhen at one point. Most recently at Skullcandy I was responsible for teams Industrial Design, CMF, Prototype Lab and Product Design for collabs with brands like Burton, Street Fighter and Pit Viper.

Having hundreds of products in market, my biggest joy is seeing products that started as a sketch being used all over the world. As a kid I was always doodling and drawing in the corner of my notebooks during class forgetting to pay to attention. That’s paid off years later as I’ve gotten to have products that started off as sketches on my notebook or iPad being sold all over the world at some of the coolest stores like Apple. I love traveling and have been to every Disney park except for Tokyo Disney, saving that one for when my kids are a little older, but so far my favorite is Disney Shanghai.

MY TAKE ON DESIGN

People purchase products, but buy into stories. I think a product should be as enjoyable as the process. Design can be fun, but also sophisticated and nuanced at the same time. My belief is that people “hire” products to accomplish a goal, but buy into brands because they connect with them at a deeper level than just the utility. Consumers are always loyal to convenience, but they will stand up for connection.

I love being a player/coach style leader, where I can be side by side with teams of creatives while also having the experience to communicate with exec teams and board groups. Always making sure to represent the business to creatives, and product experiences to the business. Over the last few years, I’ve focused on developing teams that focus on the complete end-to-end user experience. From research, trend mapping and traditional ID, to the connection of products to digital and app experiences and making sure to consider the impact of those experiences on the environment through sustainable design.

The work on this site is only some of the most recent work I’ve done. Most of it in production and some of it conceptual. I’ve been able to launch hundreds of products, many of which are still available at places like Best Buy, Williams Sonoma, Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Target and Skate Shops all over the world. Contact me if you’d like to connect.