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Industrial Designer
Mike O'Brien
St. Louis, MO
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About
I am an Industrial Designer that's has been working in the industry for 2 years working for a variety of companies while completing my bachelors degree in Industrial Design. My experience encompasses sporting goods, bags & apparel, luxury furniture/home decor, baby equipment, international design systems research just to name few.
Checkout my website for examples of my work: http://www.mikeobriendesign.com/ -
Education
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Bachelors of Applied Science Industrial DesignUniversity of Cincinnati School of Design Art Architecture and Planning2011 - 2016While in the University of Cincinnati's DAAP co-op program I continually switched between school semesters and four month paid internships where I performed all responsibilities of a full-time designer, resulting in two years of professional experience by the time I graduated. This professional experience has taught me aspects of the design process that simply cannot be taught in the classroom. For example, being the lead designer on multiple projects at once & self budgeting my time to push them through the entire design process (market research to manufacturing), communicating with foreign manufacturers, collaborating with engineers, presenting my concepts to upper management of a corporation, designing within brand guidelines, studying trend & brand development, etc.
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Experience
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Design Systems Researcher / Industrial DesignerPune, IndiaAug 2015 - Dec 2015 (4 months)While working abroad in India, I was part of a four-person product design team focusing on products for the Indian kitchen. For three months I performed extensive 1st hand research of all stakeholders of the market (users, architects, builders, distributers, etc.) and as a team formulated design problems. I then compiled observations from a foreigner’s point of view and formulated comprehensive solutions to design problems that Indian designers, who grew up in this culture, hadn’t thought of. We then ideated as a team where, I would sketch separately and come back to the team and developed concepts. Our design team then presented our designs to upper management of a major competitor in the Indian kitchen market.
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Industrial DesignerBoulder, COJan 2015 - Jun 2015 (5 months)I alone managed two different design projects, a backpack & camera strap, from the first stages of research, through ideation & development, all the way to manufacturing where I communicated directly with foreign factories to reach a golden sample. I also collaborated with an outsourced engineer to vent out functional issues during user testing of the samples.
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Industrial DesignerLos Angeles, CAMay 2014 - Aug 2014 (3 months)I managed two different projects; one was a baby safety gate, which was an update to the gates currently sold by Munchkin. The other was a modular baby bath that was a completely new to Munchkin's product range. After talking with mothers to understand the problem I then sketched solutions, which I then made physical models of to test the fit, ease of use, and pack ability of the concepts. I presented my final design solution with a functioning model, 2d renderings (Photoshop & CAD) of form and color options, and a spec pack for foreign manufacturers.
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Industrial DesignerCincinnati, OHAug 2013 - Dec 2013 (4 months)I managed one design project, a fire screen for a fireplace (along with several smaller side projects). The objective for this project was to give a fresh take on the feel and aesthetic of Frontgate's fire screens. I created copious sketch and 2d concepts that I presented weekly, and eventually developed a unique form that reflected light to create ambiance in the room. I then 3D modeled my concept and created a spec pack for foreign manufacturers.
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Industrial DesignerSt. Louis, MOJan 2013 - Jun 2013 (5 months)Fred Sparks is a small consultancy focused mostly on sporting equipment. I worked on a variety of projects ranging from baseball helmets and golf bags, to breast pumps and child carriers. My main project involved studying the habits of HVAC workers and condensing their needs into a convenient pocket sized tool. With this project I learned how to observe a specific user, pick out problems/insolvencies with their current tools, and solve those problems in the simplest and most convenient way possible (this product was adopted by the client and is being fine-tuned for sale).
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Design Trend Research InternSt. Louis, MOAug 2010 - Aug 2011 (1 year)I worked at Metaphase while I was a senior in high school. I was involved in the front end of the design process, for example: conducting research experiments, and compiling research findings into a comprehensive report to kick-start multiple design projects
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Awards
IDSA National Convention: My concept & model was presented at the 2013 IDSA National Convention to represent the University of Cincinnati DAAP as an example of student work.
Charles Glik Scholarship: Academic scholarship given to very select students who demonstrate exceptional academics, team leadership, and moral fortitude.
University of Cincinnati's Dean's List: Given to select students that consistently demonstrate exceptional academics and representation of the University in the professional world. -
Skills
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Elsewhere on the Web
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On Coroflot@obrienm6, member since 2013
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Following 1
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Followers 5
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