James Duke

Currently design all hard side coolers and associated accessories. I've had the opportunity to work with various materials including plastic, wood, stainless steel, expandable foam and synthetic wicker. I also have designed soft side coolers which has increased my knowledge of cut & sew techniques. Tasked with forecasting colors and trends creating a CMF palate to guide next years cooler designs. I occasionally travel to China and attend trade shows as needed. I always push for fun concepts, new exciting forms and colors along with convenience features to support the well-known Igloo brand.

Designed enterprise computer servers for Hewlett-Packard. Primary goal was to maintain and evolve the overall object language of various computer server models. Designing computer servers challenged me to explore how to improve the user experience through thoughtfully designed touch points in a confined space. Responsible for establishing common touch points by collaborating with mechanical and human factors engineers. Easily identifiable touch points aids I.T. technicians in locating and servicing a failed internal component inside complex computing machines. Managed production of all project prototypes. Worked with the User Experience Ergonomics Lab to better understand the challenges and opportunities for future designs that will improve HP's enterprise business segment.

Desinged mechanical, electric, compact travel and high fashion time pieces for major clock brands Westclox, Seth Thomas and Spartus. Worked with plastic, wood, metal to design various designs that supported the different brands feature sets and overall look of the clock. Worked with mechanical design engineers to understand manufacturing feasibility of new forms and features driving product evolution and attractiveness to the end consumer. Several of my designs were produced for both mass and specialty high fashion markets.