About Us
Design Philosophy
Our Approach
We build amazing experiences for our clients
I am a designer. Design is my passion and purpose. I've learned to pursue innovation, utilize multiple perspectives and appreciate humanity, in order to create influential products that better society.
Multidisciplinary Perspectives
The advantage of diverse perspectives is a broader social understanding of the world around us. Multi-disciplinary viewpoints stimulate creativity through cross-fertilization of ideas. My background in engineering, business, and industrial design makes me perfectly suited to lead multi-faceted teams.
Human Centered
Without attention to the user and the greater social context of a product, design becomes saccharine sweet and artificial–adornment and decoration purely for it's own sake, with no greater purpose. Good design is not about dictating a style but about connecting with an audience's latent desire and needs, being cognizant of environmental impacts, sustainability, and triggering an emotive response through beauty and craftsmanship.
Innovation
Design is more than "styling" or fashion trends. Design takes into consideration the user's needs and the greater social context surrounding the product. By specifically looking at the working environment of a product, and the unspoken attitudes around its use, an innovative, poignant solution can be found.
Collaborative
A natural corollary to multi-disciplinary perspectives is respect for others' opinions. Management can not be dictatorial for true innovation to flourish. A great idea comes from anywhere and anyone. The old atelier models of the past do not create an environment of creativity and risk taking. They encourage mimicry and the status quo. I strive to create an environment of collaboration where the freedom exists to take risks without punishment. Fail early, fail often. It is through spectacular failures that we learn the most about ourselves and our designs.
Take Time to Teach
While also teaching design thinking, design education must also be cognizant of instructing core skills, craftsmanship, and respect for the tools of creativity. In my teaching, I've supplemented my design thinking curriculum with heavy stress on building a foundational skill set of quick sketches and rapid prototyping.
About Wayne Li
Wayne K. Li is the James L. Oliver Professor, which is a joint position between the Colleges of Design and Engineering at Georgia Tech. Li teaches faculty, staff, students and executives that design behavior bridges the language and ideological gap between engineering and design. Li’s research areas include ethnographic research, multidisciplinary online education, and human-machine interaction in transportation design. When not leading the Design Bloc, teaching or conducting research, Wayne is a design consultant for industry partners, designing new products and experiences, and providing executive education in innovation practices.
Curriculum Vitae
Wayne K. Li, IDSA
CAREER OBJECTIVE
Poduct Development & Design
Design is my passion and purpose. I've learned to pursue innovation, utilize multiple perspectives and appreciate humanity, in order to create influential products that better society.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Wayne Li Design, San Francisco, CA & Atlanta, GA | Summer 2010 - present
Design Consultant – Principal – Established in late 2010, this design consultancy has already expanded with a strong list of clients that include home retail, alternative transportation, green energy, and social media user interface clients.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA | Summer 2010 - present
Oliver Professor of Practice in Design and Engineering – Endowed Professor – A joint position between the Colleges of Design and Engineering, named for alumnus James L. Oliver, II. The professorship is tasked with advancing interdisciplinary design at Georgia Tech, leading joint teaching initiatives in mechanical engineering and industrial design.
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA | Winter 2007 - 2013
Design Program – Adjunct Professor
ME110: Design Sketching and Visual Communication
ME110B: Advanced Rendering and Digital Media Techniques
Williams Sonoma Inc, San Francisco, CA | Summer 2005 - Summer 2010
Pottery Barn – Home Accessories Senior Designer – Managed development of seasonal home products. Design of product collections ranges over several categories, including: Home Office, Clocks, Electrics, Storage, Bed and Bath, Wall Décor, Objects, and Lighting / Decorative Lighting.
Volkswagen of America, Palo Alto, CA | Summer – Fall 2004
Electronics Research Laboratory – Product Designer – Led aesthetic and interface development of advanced instrument cluster product utilizing miniature light projection engine and cholosteric liquid crystal glass technologies. Served as technology officer and liaison to Simi Valley (Los Angeles) design studio and incorporated new technologies into concept car development.
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI | Fall 1998 –Fall 2003
Corporate Design – Design Strategy & Product Design – Developed Ford corporate brand and vehicle differentiation strategy. Implemented advanced component aesthetic for entire line of Ford vehicles, including integration of industrial design and advanced technologies. Led product development on vehicle radios, telematics, and electroluminescent instrument cluster projects.
Ford College Graduate Program – Vehicle Engineering – Assisted in the development of advanced vehicle designs using engineering, aesthetic, and business skills.
Design Edge, Austin, TX | Spring 1998 – Fall 1998
Product Design and Mechanical Engineering Intern – Utilized multi-disciplinary skills to innovate, refine, and test product concepts at product design firm.
Thinkwell LLC, Austin, TX | Winter 1997 – Spring 1998
Web Development and Graphic Designer – Planned and created an integrated web site with distinctive design system and navigation at Internet start-up.
IDEO Product Development, Palo Alto, CA | Summer 1996
Product Design and Mechanical Engineering Intern – Utilized multi-disciplinary skills in a team setting to innovate new product concepts at product design firm.
EDUCATION
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California | Fall 2003 - Spring 2005
Masters of Science in Engineering, Product Design
Honors and Activities: Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans Finalist;
The Stanford Daily, Managing Graphics Editor
ME115 Human Values in Design / ME116 Formgiving, Teaching Assistant
College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan | Fall 2001 - Fall 2002
Continuing Education in Industrial/Transportation Design
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas | 1993-1998
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, with honors
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design, with honors
Honors and Activities: Design Division Junior Level Performance and Portfolio Design Scholarship; Ernest Cockrell Jr. Scholarship Recipient; Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honors Fraternity, Texas Alpha Chapter; Pi Tau Sigma Engineering Honors Fraternity, Texas Kappa Chapter; Accepted into University of Texas Plan II (Liberal Arts) Honors Program; Legislator of proposed Dual-Degree Program at University of Texas; Texas Union Council-Fine Arts Committee, Chairman; Alpha Lambda Delta / Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Chapter Vice President; National Merit Finalist; Presidential Scholar Finalist
Speaker: EVA London 2016: July 11-13th. 2016. Persketchtivity: An Intelligent Pen-Based Online Education Platform for Sketching. | AIA-Minnesota: Creative Disruption Conference: Nov 13, 2015. Tenets for the 21st Century Designer. | VentureWell OPEN Conference: March 20-21, 2015. Innovation & Design Collaborative: Introduction to Design Behaviors. | Global Innovation Summit 2015: Feb 17-19, 2015. Design Education Panel Discussion. | Design Futures Council 2015: Leadership Summit on Innovation & Technology Jan 14-15th, 2015. Design Innovation & Technology. | CoreNet Global: October 16th, 2014. Innovation and Design Thinking. | Stanley Beaman & Sears: Sept 12th, 2014. Design Thinking: Theory & Practice | Johnson Outdoors: Product Development Conference: April 29th 2014. New Product Development Processes | Northrop Grumman: Innovation Summit: March 11th 2014. User Experience: Concept of Operations & Workshop | Glen Raven Inc.: R&D World Cup 2013: Oct 2-4th, 2013. Design Thinking | Northrop Grumman (IS) Systems: TechExpo 2013: June 11-12th 2013. User Experience: Community of Practice Presentation | Museum of Design Atlanta: Passione Italiana: Design of the Italian Motorcyle, Atlanta, GA April 21, 2011. Italian Futurism and the Evolution of the Italian Motorcyle: WWI to the Present. | Institute for International Research: Brand Identity + Package Design Conference, Chicago, IL June 23-25, 2003. Recent Transformation of Visual Trends in Concept Cars. | University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. March 2008. Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series
Author: Consistently Evaluating Sketching Ability in Engineering Curriculum: The Fourth International Conference on Design Creativity (4th ICDC). November 4, 2016. | The Development and Effects of Teaching Perspective Free-Hand Sketching in Engineering Design. ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences And Computers And Information In Engineering Conference (IDETC). August 2016. | Persketchtivity: An Intelligent Pen-Based Online Education Platform for Sketching Instruction. EVA London 2016, Paper. July 2016. | Persketchtivity: Learning to Draw in the Digital Era: WIPTTE 2015, You Try-It Paper. April 28, 2015. | An Intelligent Pen-Based Educational Application for Design Sketching Instruction: WIPTTE 2015, Full Paper. April 28, 2015 | "Tenets of the 21st Century Designer: Critical Skills Designers of all Types Will Need in the Future." Design Intelligence. November / December 2014: Vol 20. No. 6. | "Tenets for the 21st Century Designer". AIA Foresight Report 2014. June 2014. | “2002 Thunderbird: A Contemporary Expression of a Living Legend” Design Case Study, Fall 2002. Innovation, IDSA Periodical
Computer Skills: CAID: Adobe Creative Cloud: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Alias AutoStudio , Sketchbook Pro
CAD: Fusion, Solidworks, Keyshot; Video: Final Cut Pro X, iMovie; General: Microsoft Office, Mac OS X, Unix, Windows platforms
Personal: Conversationally fluent in Mandarin Chinese; Traveled internationally to countries including Taiwan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa and Belize; Avid car and motorcycle enthusiast
Product Development
Conceive, Visualize and Execute new product designs and guide towards mass production.
Customer Research User Experience
Conduct customer discovery, detail their journeys, and provide you insightful strategies on how to cater towards their needs in a resonant way.
Executive Training
Educate your best performers to be more creative, innovative and empathetic, with a focus towards unlocking hidden value with your customers.
Who We Work With
1000+ Products Designed
Whether developing training programs or new product lines and customer experiences, we're always looking for new ways to help innovate with our client partners.
Some of our recent clients
