a b o u t
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Carrie Hack is a passionate designer and artist with a multitude of skill sets and talents. Her areas of expertise include product design, furniture design, surface / pattern design, color material and finish (CMF) knowledge, sustainability design, and new materials and processes. She also has a great deal of knowledge in brand identity, strategy and graphics. Her hands on skills, in-depth material knowledge, and strong attention to aesthetic detail, and teamwork contribute to the success of her design process.
Born in upstate New York, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from the State University of New York at New Paltz. She has 5 years of experience working in the Kitchen and Bath industry designing meaningful products, executing successful CMF solutions, and delivering in-depth trend analysis for forecasting and business strategy. She graduated with Honors with a Master of Arts in Product Design at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, Italy, after winning a scholarship to attend the University in 2019. She has been working as a freelance designer in Milan Italy the past three years working across various fields of product design including furniture design, art direction, CMF and trend research, and brand identity and strategy. She has collaborated with Mario Trimarchi Design, Studio Terri Pecora, and Claudio Bellini Design.
d o m a i n s
p r o d u c t d e s i g n
f u r n i t u r e d e s i g n
s u r f a c e / p a t t e r n
Meaningful products are designed with a focus on material authenticity and unique storytelling. Backed by user-centered research, trend insight, and form sensitivity, the experience of the user's interaction with the object is top of mind. A direct relationship to material and processes allows for designs to be expedited through a deeper understanding on limitations and capabilities. This understanding allows strategic process innovation to take place more efficiently in collaboration with manufacturing . Mood boards, ideation sketching, CAD models and rendering software are all used to communicate design intent and solution opportunities.
Thoughtful furniture design collections are created based on a holistic view of the interior space, understanding brand values, and integrating the latest trends with manufacturing parameters in mind. With a strong focus on authenticity in materials, design for wellbeing, sustainability, and sensitive approach, one a kind pieces are developed to create beautiful spaces to transform and elevate an environment. Concepts are developed using mood boards, sketches, 3d drawings and renders throughout the design process along with manufacturing support as needed to complete a collection through launch.
Patterns are brought to life within surfaces focusing on merging effortlessly with form to create a cohesive solution. Variety ranges between 2 dimensional repeat art patterns to 3 dimensional engineered vector patterns. From minimal patterns to add tactility to a surface, to full spread decoration, the material, design style, and intent of use are always highly considered in order to devise the most intuitive results. All pattern directions are thoroughly researched to tie a story or background into an object. Mood boards, ideation sketching, vector artwork in adobe illustrator and flat artwork in adobe photoshop are utilized.
c o l o r / m a t e r i a l / f i n i s h
No product is complete without the right color, material and finish (CMF) solution. Extensive experience in trend tracking and forecasting allows for selecting CMF that resonate within a product, attract the right consumers, and express the right emotion. Having a perfect eye for seeing color dials in the right hue, value, and saturation level. An in depth background of technical ceramic knowledge has translated easily into learning a multitude of material sets including wood, stone, composites, plastics, silicone, textiles, metals and enamel. The finish is then narrowed down to enhance the color and material decisions.
t r e n d r e s e a r c h
With a strong sensitivity toward the latest trends, consumer insights, and shifts in humanity, indepth trend reports are created and customized based on client's desired area of focus. Using beautiful imagery and well put together mood boards, new ideas are effortlessly communicated to assist in new concept development, ensuring the latest design decisions are grounded in where the world is headed in the future and will maintain relevance by the time of product launch. Enticing language is used to convey indepth topics to build business cases and support design to create the best products possible.