biography

I'm a designer, maker and educator with over two decades of experience in translating strategic objectives into innovative, relevant solutions.

As Design Director for IDEO, I broadened my scope by bringing a unique perspective on user-centered research and multi-disciplinary collaboration into the overall design process. Through my work with Gap Inc. and as Design Director of Banana Republic’s Marketing team, I discovered new insights into branding and consumer messaging which I'm able to leverage in both in practice and in teaching. Prior to joining Academy of Art University in 2005, I spent several years anchoring the Graphic Design program at the University of California Berkeley Extension. My visual-design work has been featured in numerous books and publications such as Print, How, Critique and Wallpaper magazines.

I'm as comfortable in the workshop as in the classroom — and you can find me designing and building furniture at NorCalMod.com, and audio equipment at Cyanovox.com. You can also find me detailing DIY construction and renovation projects at RedneckModern.com. My design/build work has been featured by Dwell, CA-Modern, ApartmentTherapy, DesignSponge, IkeaHackers, DWR Design Notes, and West Elm's Front+Main... and it's a bit weird how often I find myself re-pinned via Pinterest.

When not in the classroom, I can be found blogging about design education at www.room557.com and you can find more at www.linktr.ee/hlwimmer

I dream of a world without double-spaces after punctuation and can tell the difference between maple and birch by the smell of the sawdust. I've also become disillusioned with referring to myself in the third person.