James Piatt

I studied Environmental design at the Art Center College of Design because it encompassed architecture, interiors, furniture, graphics and objects and explored how people interact with spaces. Over the past thirteen years I provided design leadership in a wide range of categories including Apple accessories, bathroom collections, furniture, architecture, interior design and fashion accessories. My work creating user-centered experiences grows from an innovative design process involving cross-functional collaboration. I have participated in conducting extensive research to help identify habits, and to test new ideas. While working in product development and architecture, I have also gained a detailed understanding of various manufacturing and construction processes from marble fabrication, ceramics, metal casting and fabrication to injection molding and cut and sew.

With my present employer, Speck Products, I have developed new design centers for tablet devices by working closely with others in design, engineering, and marketing. There I have earned recognition for generating innovative products with proven results. Extensive observation, research and identifying tablet use scenarios led to new-to-world esthetic and functional solutions. A modular folio case system and a new type of plastic closure both gained Speck two utility patents. My responsibilities span the entire process including brainstorming and presenting concepts, sketching, defining project briefs, prototyping and testing, 3d modeling and rendering and creating detailed specifications.

While at the Kohler Company I had the opportunity to rearrange and rethink the utilitarian elements in the bathroom to create unique interactions. I developed bathroom collections as environments that included furniture, cabinets and lighting that could be reconfigured to fit many different spaces and provide for universal accessibility and ADA compliance. Also, I had direct interaction with traditionally sculptural materials and processes such as slip cast ceramics, cast iron and brass.

Much of my involvement as an architectural designer has been with several projects in the LA area. Most recently I presented my design for a commercial property to the South Pasadena Design Review and received approval. This project consisted of the renovation of several existing structures and the addition of elements that would tie the entire scheme together. By appropriating the nearby context of Greene and Greene’s architecture, I added overhangs, shaded walkways, stone walls combined with existing brickwork and a centralized outdoor hearth. These changes essentially converted this large commercial complex into a scaled-up craftsman home.