June Shieh

Designer & Illustrator at Mighty June

Los Angeles, CA

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About

After eight years in User Experience Design at Yahoo!, I departed toward Toy Design and Illustration to utilize my drawing strengths and to engage people in more resonating, tactile experiences. In 2012, I honed my digital painting skills at the in-house workshop with Imaginism Studios. Now I design & illustrate for Toys and Entertainment, with a focus toward designing for the youth market.

Specialties: Art Direction, Character Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Graphic Design, Plush Toys, Plastic Toys, User Interface Design, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Education
- B.F.A., magna cum laude Toy Design
  
  Fashion Institute of Technology
  
  2007 - 2009
  
  As taken from the FIT website: "The program is a two-year course of study with a concentration on toy design for the infant through 'tween markets. The courses -- all taught by industry professionals -- are presented in a team-teaching format that simulates an on-the-job, cooperative design environment. The curriculum focuses on mastering conceptual dexterity and technical design, while a strong liberal arts component encourages awareness of cultural trends. Core courses include design and engineering of soft and hard toys; game and doll design; product safety; child psychology; motor learning development; packaging; Computer Aided Industrial Design; marketing; promotion; and the business of toys."
- B.A. Visual Communication
  
  University of California, Los Angeles
  
  1993 - 1998
Experience
- Staff Product Designer
  
  Spin Master, Inc.
  
  Los Angeles, CA
  
  Sep 2014 - Present (7 years 1 month)
  
  Lead Toy Designer for Nick Jr.'s "Abby Hatcher." Designing plastic toys and plush on the Girls' Design team for brands like Chubby Puppies, Popples, and blue-sky brands and pitches.. Versed at Brainstorming, Visual Research, Industrial Design, Prototyping (3D models and plush/soft goods), Art Direction, Presentations, and Graphic Design. Collaborating with Entertainment Development, including Character Design and Concept Art.
- Designer & Illustrator
  
  Independent Consultant
  
  Los Angeles, CA
  
  Nov 2009 - Aug 2014 (4 years 9 months)
  
  Providing Visual Communication services including Illustration, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Character Design, Logo Design, and Interactive Design, primarily for products and services that engage in social media and play. Clients include Hasbro, Fisher Price, JAKKS-Pacific, Comcast, SocialVibe, and OkCupid Labs. Recent projects include Disney Fairies and the new Furby.
- Designer
  
  Spin Master Ltd.
  
  Jun 2008 - Aug 2008 (2 months)
  
  • Collaborated on styling and design for Girl Crush and Pixos toys.
  • Brainstormed ideas for Kid Kleen and new brands involving girls’ play, technology, and drawing.
  • Conceived and rendered line extensions for Pixos and a new creative-play product.
  • Prototyped hand-constructed end-result samples of creative-play product for new Fall 2010 concepts.
  • Researched and developed graphic styles of doll eyes and tattoos for new toys.
  • Sketched and computer-rendered concept drawings for Pixos.
  • Researched DIY and tween girl trends and competition to inspire and guide new style directions.
- Designer
  
  Yahoo!
  
  Sep 1999 - Jun 2007 (7 years 9 months)
  
  • Created UI specs and test prototypes for web sites and desktop applications.
  • Collaborated with UI Designers to develop visual treatments of new features.
  • Designed and coded daily promotional modules on the world's most visited internet portal.
  • Developed a standards and best practices guide for promotional modules.
  • Designed visual facelifts for top-revenue properties including Yahoo! Personals and Yahoo! Mail.
  • Designed and prototyped blue-sky concepts.
  • Designed themed skins for desktop applications and My Yahoo!
  • Illustrated original art for emoticons and holiday themes.
  • Coordinated with Product Managers, Editorial, PR, Marketing, Engineering, and other teams.
  • Mentored and trained new staff, including visual designers and web developers.
  • Guided content and design of micro-sites for seasonal events.
  • Coordinated various team-building events.
- Founder, Designer, Co-Editor
  
  Hi-YAA!
  
  Feb 1999 - Sep 1999 (7 months)
  
  Designed, created, and produced all graphics, layout, and user interface.
  Planned site architecture, interface, and content in weekly meetings.
  Edited and compiled original articles from writers for 9 content category sections.
  Hand-coded all HTML.
- Art Director
  
  The Daily Bruin
  
  Sep 1995 - Dec 1996 (1 year 3 months)
  
  Worked as a graphic artist, was promoted to Art Director (Spring 1996).
  Collaborated with editors to conceptualize newspaper and online graphics.
  Trained, coached, scheduled, and supervised a staff of 12 artists.
  Created editorial illustrations and informational graphics.
  Presented graphics department issues at daily editorial meetings.
  Expanded departmental use of software and mixed media.
Awards

magna cum laude
Industries
- Commercial Equipment
Skills
Elsewhere on the Web
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On Coroflot

@mightyjune, member since 2009
- Following 6
- Followers 44

Gaby the Girlilla

Gaby the Girlilla from June Shieh

Gaby the Girlilla

Initially this toy concept was more of a goofy, giant gorilla in a dress, but I decided to turn it into a cute baby gorilla to show that I could turn something normally oafish into something very cute and charming. I designed, sculpted, and constructed this motorized toy in vacuum-molded plastic.

I designed, sculpted, modeled, and built this preschool-targeted toy in vacuum-molded plastic.

To play with Gaby, make her roll around and wobble with the remote control and give her the banana pacifier to make baby sounds. Her arms also wobble in the air as he "walks", and if you show her the mirror, she makes gorilla sounds. The back of the remote control is a brush for little tuft of hair.

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Gaby the Girlilla

Initially this toy concept was more of a goofy, giant gorilla in a dress, but I decided to turn it into a cute baby gorilla to show that I could turn something normally oafish into something very cute and charming. I designed, sculpted, and constructed this motorized toy in vacuum-molded plastic.

I designed, sculpted, modeled, and built this preschool-targeted toy in vacuum-molded plastic.

To play with Gaby, make her roll around and wobble with the remote control and give her the banana pacifier to make baby sounds. Her arms also wobble in the air as he "walks", and if you show her the mirror, she makes gorilla sounds. The back of the remote control is a brush for little tuft of hair.

Comments (1)

Michael Hartley

i love this!!!

8 years ago

Michael Hartley

i love this!!!

8 years ago

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Designer & Illustrator at Mighty June Los Angeles, CA