J. Makai Catudio
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About
I am an accomplished, skilled, thoughtful Industrial Designer and New Product Development Engineering Specialist, experienced in designing products which are aesthetically pleasing and highly functional while meeting efficient manufacturing goals. I have worked on many unique products and entire product lines with a quick turn around throughout my career in product design. I am a hands-on, self-motivated problem solver with a positive outlook and strive to bring an encouraging, forward-looking energy to everything I do. I am excited to have been involved in every aspect of product design, working directly with internal and external clients, while accomplishing symbiotic goals with cross-functional teams from every level of the companies I have worked with.
I was fortunate to design and bring several products to market for Target, Kohl's, and other customer-owned brands as Senior Industrial Designer and Product Design Engineer at Northland Aluminum Products, primarily for the Nordic Ware brand. In my multifaceted role at Nordic Ware, I moved ideas from initial market and trend research, to hand-sketching and digital ideation, to 3D CAD and hand-made practical modeling, through basic to realistic 3D printed, sand-cast or machined prototypes, to functional pre-production prototype evaluation and testing, to new material and manufacturing partner identification, to tool design specification and purchasing for in-house manufacturing or contract manufacturing, to material sampling and order forecasting, to pre-production and production part runs, to initiating any secondary in-house tooling modifications, into final product runs and inspections, through quality control and regulatory testing, to packaging, boxing and palletizing product for delivery to customers, all the way through following customer feedback to initiate modification of products, processes and tooling as needed.
I am a diverse and quick learner which helped me become a professional, skilled user, and in some cases administrator, of several 2D and 3D CAD programs:
Solidworks PDM (Product Data Management) Administrator Professional(CPAP) 2018
Autodesk Fusion 3D CAD Administrator 2017
Geomagic Freeform Organic 3D CAD Administrator 2016
Keyshot 3D Rendering Administrator 2016
Solidworks 3D CAD Licensing and Training Administrator 2016
Solidworks Surfacing Professional (CSWPA-SU) 2016
Keyshot 3D Rendering Professional User 2013
Solidworks 3D CAD Professional User 2013
Adobe Creative Suite Professional User 2013
I also took a brief UI/UX Design Professional Development Bootcamp Course from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2022 where I learned the basics of designing UI/UX interfaces using Canva and Figma. -
Education
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BFA Industrial DesignUniversity of Wisconsin - Stout2010 - 2013I completed the journey for my undergraduate degree with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design (Physical Product Design and Manufacturing) at the University of Wisconsin - Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin. I was graduated in the Spring of 2013. During my senior year, a classmate and I competed in the 2012 E-Waste Student Design Competition. We won a $3,000 prize for First Place in the Reuse Category, Platinum Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Experience
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Business Development Coordinator, Design EngineerSaint Paul, MNJun 2024 - Oct 2024 (4 months)- Invited by the company president to fulfill a contract position to develop products for a wide variety of industries, work on internal expansion projects, and aid in business development.
- Contracted with manufacturers to build custom parts for kiosks I designed and assembled to exhibit Caztek’s capabilities at trade shows and special events to help bring in new client work.
- Onboarded Caztek’s first CRM platform to manage all client data, project workflow and contract status into one streamlined system.
- Three month contract extended to five months after positive review.
Left on good terms once the contract had expired. -
Maintenance Coordinator and Study Hall MonitorWoodbury, MNSep 2021 - Jun 2024 (2 years 9 months)Math and Science Academy is the #1 rated high school in Minnesota
- Hired as High School Study Hall Monitor and soon after promoted to
Maintenance Coordinator after meeting several repair challenges.
- Project management for campus repair and construction projects.
- Schedule service contractors, manage a small team of maintenance
technicians, and coordinate service of school infrastructure. -
Senior Industrial Designer, Product Design EngineerSaint Louis Park, MNSep 2013 - Sep 2020 (7 years)- Lead designer and project manager for plastic and metal product lines, working with internal and external clients, to bring products from initial research and concept design, through color, material and finish selection, to in-house or contract manufacturing selection, to final production article quality checks, packaging design and final delivery.
- Advanced prototypes achieved by 3-D printing and fabricating parts in metal or plastic, resulting in physically testable prototypes with final article finish, shared with Quality Control for testing, Creative Department for packaging and marketing photography, and realistic prototypes for client final approval and store layout planograms.
- Appointed injection molded product specialist to ensure product designs were optimized for injection molding and met design intent, as well as coordinating tooling design, purchase, and part sampling.
- Designated company handle designer as my research, testing and sculptural design of ergonomic affordances and handles resulted in products which were comfortable to use by hands of all abilities, had an aesthetically pleasing design, met client expectations, and were efficient to manufacture through cost-effective methods.
- Worked closely with the Quality and Compliance department before, during and after manufacturing to ensure design goals were realized, company integrity was maintained and compliance standards were met.
- Worked directly with internal and external manufacturers, as well as internal purchasing and planning departments, to ensure design and quality goals were realized, and all compliance standards achieved. -
Lead Custom Audio Video InstallerPlymouth, MNOct 2006 - Mar 2009 (2 years 5 months)- Lead residential and commercial low-voltage project installation teams.
- Established project expectations with sales staff, management and clients.
- Project design/ implementation in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
- Advanced audio-video, automation, lighting, network, and security installation.
- Training and follow-up with clients to ensure requirements were achieved. -
Owner/ OperatorFargo, NDJun 2005 - Oct 2006 (1 year 4 months)- Opened and operated custom wood finishing business for new and remodeled homes.
- Established design goals with clients and other contractors.
- Accounting, logistics, marketing and capital equipment management. -
Regional Service Manager/ General ManagerFargo, NDJun 2000 - Jun 2005 (5 years)- Ensured corporate policy compliance for over 300 employees at four locations.
- Trained staff and management to provide insightful customer service.
- Hired, scheduled, trained and assisted staff to exceed customer expectations.
- Conducted product assessments and quality control monitoring.
- Provided customers with thoughtful, expedient service.
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Awards
Elected IDSA Leader 2018-2019
Industrial Designers Society of America, Vice Chair: East Minnesota Minneapolis (MSP) Chapter, January 2018 – December 2019
2014 New Product Design Competition Winner
Innovative Square Bundt™ Pan design placed second at annual, company-wide, internal design competition. New Bundt™ design went into production in 2014, was successfully launched through multiple retailers and continues to sell well with great reviews.
Employee of the Month –
Nordic Ware, October 2014
Nominated for in-depth work on the design and updated branding of an entire, large scale, owned-brand product line for TARGET’s Threshold™ Bakeware.
First Place - 2012 E-Waste Student Design Competition
Leader and concept designer on a two-person student team. Goal: design a new product which reuses electronic parts, or reduces future electronic waste. Designed Digitizer, a digital film interface device, which allows 35mm film cameras to capture and transmit digital photographs.
Won: $3,000 for the Reuse Category, Platinum Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. -
Affiliations
IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) past leader and member
NASO (Native American Student Association) president and co-founder while at UW Stout -
Industries
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Skills
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On Coroflot@makaicatudio, member since 2015
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