Rego Park, NY 11374 | 646.712.0923 | ericzhu36@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/eric-zhu-7941444/
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER LEAD
Action, detail-oriented, and highly accomplished industrial design leader, with over twenty years of consulting and global corporate experience. Focused on solving complex design problems from initial concept to commercialization. Adaptable and proficient at balancing a hands-on approach to design and understanding user needs while maintaining business goals. Accredited with numerous patents and product awards in the US, Europe, and Asia. Exceptional bilingual talent leading projects across all project phases, applying professional experience and a disciplined approach to bringing compelling and innovative, user-centered solutions to market.
KEY TECHNICAL SKILLS
Human Factors Analysis | User Research | Design Strategy | Design Research | Design Thinking | Design Management Agile/Scrum Development Process | Autodesk AliasStudio | Rhino | SolidWorks | Siemens NX 13 Keyshot/KeyVR | Pixyz Studio | Gravity Sketch | Sketchbook Pro | SketchUp | Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop InDesign) Art Direction | Logo/Branding Development | Graphic Design | Packaging Design
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Eric Zhu Design, Rego Park, NY
Independent Industrial Design and Branding Consultant February 2013 – Present
- Lead Industrial Design consultant for Veo Micro-mobility; Led development of all vehicle accessories from ideation to final production; Supported new color design and branding of future vehicle launches.
- Led the design strategy, research, concept creation, and production development of women’s wellness products for Shavest brand.
- Industrial Design lead for redesign of volleyball and baseball training machines; Research metrics included competitive analysis, defining product definition, and value proposition, and qualitative surveys.
- Managed all art and brand activities for Youtuber Mike Chen's Hot Oil hot sauce product line from industrial and packaging design to website e-commerce management.
Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ September 2021 – Present
Adjunct Instructor for Business of Design
- Designed and implemented a semester-long online curriculum to build junior-level product design portfolios.
- Challenged and motivated students to prepare for a successful career in product design - highlighting industry standard skills, resume writing, professional branding, and networking with visiting professionals.
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., Tarrytown, NY June 2013 – March 2023
Senior Industrial/Ergonomic/UI Designer
Conducted industrial design development from pre-to post-production of medical diagnostic equipment and accessories for the healthcare industry: Atellica® CI 1900, Atellica® Solution, Decapper, and Sealer; Dimension® EXL 200.
- Conducted product development activities and product design history files for diagnostics analyzers and accessories; Assisted in requirements creation, documentation, ideation, prototyping, design development documentation, verification testing and reports, design validation studies, and design reviews.
- Organized and moderated formative and summative human factors studies with internal partners to understand customer behaviors and workflow of diagnostic analyzers; Contributed to development of new packaging solutions of disposable tip consumables; developed design-to-cost solutions for existing systems.
- Led industrial design development of benchtop diagnostic analyzer with ODM partner; Implemented user research, UX studies, competitive analysis, concept generation, and prototyping full-scale foam core mockups.
- Engaged extensively with suppliers to solve tooling and manufacturing issues related to thermoforming, injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, paint color, material, and finish.
- Led initiative to adapt virtual prototyping tools in the ID design process; adapted World Viz projection VR system to enable review of full-scale concept generation.
Kaleidoscope, NYC October 2008 – February 2013
Senior Industrial Designer
- Led and managed successful projects with clients across multiple offices and multi-disciplinary teams; Clients included: Motorola Solutions, Abbott POC, Panasonic, Ethicon, DePuy Mitek, Honeywell, P&G, and Staples.
- Design lead for Abbott Point of Care next-gen i-STAT handheld blood analyzer and accessories eco-system.
- On-site partner at Motorola Solutions overseeing production-level enterprise devices, accessories, graphics, and packaging.
- Collaborated with Motorola engineers, marketing, and JDMs in Taiwan in launching the ES400 enterprise device and SB1 Smart Badge.
Uniden America Corporation, Fort Worth, TX March 2006 – September 2008
Staff Designer
- Managed all aspects of design development for cordless telephones, car navigation/radar devices, scanners, and GMR radios.
- Generated design line-ups specifically marketed for Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Costco.
- ODM support and product design of RadioShack branded cordless phones and GMR radios.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan September 2001 – September 2005
In-house Designer
- Conducted conceptual and production design of mobile phones and telecom products for the Japanese domestic market (NTT Docomo, Vodafone, Tu-ka).
- Oversaw project with European mobile partner Trium to develop new handset designs.
- Collaborated with ODM in China to design and develop low-cost handsets for China and Southeast Asia.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D.)
Pratt Institute, NYC
Japanese Language Program
Middlebury College, Vermont
PATENTS | AWARDS
US Design Patent for Medical Sample Diagnostic Analyzer - Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., 2021
US Design Patent for Enclosure Cover for Diagnostic Analyzer - Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc., 2016
US Design Patent for SB-1 Smart Badge - Motorola Solutions
Japan Design Patent for V401D Mobile Phone - Mitsubishi Electric
German Design Award 2023; iF Design Award 2023 for Atellica® Sealer - Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc.
iF Design Award 2022; UX Design Award 2021 for Dimension® EXL 200 - Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc.
iF Design Award 2019; German Design Award 2019; Medical Design Excellence Award 2019
for Atellica® Solution - Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Inc.
Good Design Award 2004 Japan; Osaka Design Center Good Design Selection 2004
for Vodafone V401D - Mitsubishi Electric