PRODUCT DESIGN

PROCESS

HANDS-ON

I love working with my hands. I always have. I believe that a lot of personality goes into creating products, especially when the design is a result of hands-on testing, reconfiguring, finessing and finishing.

THE PRODUCT DESIGN JOURNEY

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my design portfolio. My name is John Whaley and I’m a Product Designer based in Sunnyvale, California.

My interests are in housewares, footwear, fashion accessories, and soft goods, and I’d say my expertise lies in ideation, 3D modeling and branding.

In 2002 I registered the domain for Form Meets Function with the vision of providing beautiful design work for technical applications -- in essence, providing the visual ‘form’ for projects that had all the functional aspects worked out. At the time, I implemented this vision through building web sites for e-commerce and commercial product web sites as a freelance graphic designer. At the same time I was developing my skills in print design while working full-time as the Special Projects Designer in the graphic design department at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

After doing graphic design work for several years, I had the desire to do more with design. I decided to formalize my design education in a different niche of the design industry.

In May of 2009 I graduated with a degree in Industrial Design from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Almost immediately upon graduating, I was contacted by Frank Friedman of Peerless Lighting in Berkeley and was offered a lighting design internship. During my 3-month stay at Peerless I worked together with Mr. Friedman to develop concepts for a new lighting line for a high-end client.

Since December 2009 I’ve been working to build my business, Form Meets Function. At the moment I’m an Independent Contractor for Fedaboa, a Dutch fashion accessories company. Fedaboa is a small company headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands -- but the brand is growing quickly. Fedaboa is already in every major global market, and is rapidly gaining in popularity through highly effective marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements.

My job at Fedaboa entails designing Point-of-Purchase fixtures for high-end boutiques and duty free shops, conceptualizing and designing fashion accessories, and working with manufacturers to prototype and roll out new products.

Although Fedeaboa keeps me pretty busy, I’m always interested in taking on new projects. If you’ve got a product or idea you’re looking to develop, please feel free to contact me.

Beyond client work, I’m looking to partner up with individuals who are experts in their fields and can come to the table with good ideas. I’ve got some products I’d like to develop, but I’d also be interested in collaborating with artists, electrical engineers, other product designers, fashion designers, and business-savvy individuals looking to build something from the ground-up.

If you’d like to know more about me, contact me or take a look at my blog. I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email, or through any of my networks and affiliations below.

NETWORKS

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John Whaley is a product designer with a BFA in Industrial Design and a background in Graphic Design. His design interests center around housewares, sporting goods, furniture, fashion and electronics.

Do you have an industrial design project you need executed? Send an inquiry with a timeline, budget and general description of your product, and we’ll do our best to work within your means.

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