Lea Stewart

Advanced Development, Commercial and Healthcare Products. Leading a strategic design team in developing “big ideas” through in-depth insights work, envisioning innovation platforms, building stronger, more meaningful brands, and creating ownable IP.

Research, compose, and format posts for blog that focus on eco design and practices. My digital photography is used for post topics and the site gallery on occasion.

I have developed products, graphics and other design related projects for a variety of clients.

Highlights of Previous Clients

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Radius PD http://www.radiuspd.com/
Ayer Lighting - http://ayrelight.com/
Urban Outfitters - http://urbn.com

GRAPHIC & WEB DEVELOPMENT
Friends of Triangle Park - http://friendsoftrianglepark.
Kinofilm Project - http://www.kinofilmproject.org/
Girls Rock Philly - http://www.girlsrockphilly.org/
Art Institute of Philadelphia PR Dept. - http://www.artinstitutes.edu/philadelphia/
Philadelphia Museum of Art - http://www.philamuseum.org/

Lead Designer in a studio that serviced 25+ corporate business units that specialize in manufacturing home building products. As the manager of a small design team focusing on Masco's Cabinetry business, I helped them grow through innovation, differentiation, and by meeting consumer needs. Beyond managing people and projects, I was heavily involved in the design and implementation. I have also worked with teams at Masco to develop plumbing fixtures, hand tools, lighting systems, storage accessories, cabinet hardware, and digital interfaces.

Non-profit group with the mission to develop site in South Philadelphia Neighborhood into a community park. Website development, management of web content and member announcement html formatted emails, park photography, graphic design for park signage announcements, and formal documents.

Design and development of innovative storage and lighting for the luxury bath market. Conceptual development, CAD, prototyping, sourcing, management of contractors, management of project schedule, leader of team action items and design integrity within a small team of engineers and marketing specialists. Developed select products for in-house manufacturer of aluminum and glass products, and also developed products with outside manufacturing companies domestically and in Asia. Working knowledge of kitchen and bath market, needs of luxury consumers, design for manufacture, and codes and standards (UL, energy efficiency, LEED, Title 24) for lighting and electrical technologies.

College level part-time Instructor of Industrial Design Technology. Created all course outlines, lectures and project planning for several classes ranging from 10-30 students per class. History of Design: Developed student research projects, city design tour, and interactive slide lectures regarding the history of product design from Arts & Crafts through modern design with a focus on renowned designers, world historic events, and design theory. Environmental Design: Developed projects focus on process, research, trial & error, use of technology, & teamwork. Students also collaborated with local companies to design stage sets, POP displays and exhibits. Business for Industrial Design: I created a series of lectures and in-class exercises to familiarize students with the basics of proposals, contracts, patents, client/designer relationships, and preparing to get a design job.

Duties included managing, prioritizing, and documenting projects for the office's largest national account. In addition to managing a team of designers, I conducted trend research, create display renderings and structures for corrugated and semi-permanent displays, and design print-ready art. My designs considered aesthetics, cost, ease of shipping, modularity, and brand recognition. Use of Strata, Photoshop, Illustrator, Artios Cad, and MS Office programs.

Trend development, concepts, 3D modeling & engineering, specifying plating options, and presentation renderings for zinc plated cabinet hardware.

Industrial designer in a small, full-service firm. The products developed include juvenile, mobility, tradeshow, packaging, industrial, storage, personal care, and house wares. Took part in ethnographic, trend, & materials research, concept development, computer modeling & engineering, renderings for client presentations, illustration, part inspection, mechanical drawing and many other duties of a mid-level product designer. Developed many injection molded plastic designs using Solidworks.

Duties included a wide range of graphic projects, marketing and management for a collection of designed products. I created the initial design and assisted in writing a book outlining the company's mission. Required extensive knowledge of the recent history of product design. Use of Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Excel, and Microsoft Access.

Computer modeling (Vellum Solids), drafting, prototyping, product development, graphic work. Design of home ware, gift items, kitchenware, furniture, lighting, as well as aided in company promotion.

Computer modeling (AutoCad), drafting, prototyping, product development, working with manufacturers and sourcing for the development of extruded and sheet metal high-end outdoor furniture.

Responsible for demolition and mechanical plans as well as cabinet and appliance layouts for high-end kitchens and baths.

Worked with foam & laser cut acrylic to create models for a variety of house wares and architectural projects based on mechanical drawings.