Willy Yonkers
Principal designer / inventor
West Henrietta, NY, USAIndustrial design professional specializing in ergonomics, human machine interaction / controls, information hierarchy, and organic / edgy forms. Highly familiar with SolidWorks, illustrator and designing consumer electronics for quick turn-around, small run production. Proven ability to take a concept from idea to production in a matter of months.
Work Experience
CubeFire Design
Principal industrial designer
This is my industrial design consultancy.
January 2000
- Present
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Rochester Precision Optics
Mechanical / Manufacturing Engineer
May 2022
- December 2022
West Henrietta, New York, United States
Big Monster Toys
Senior Toy and Game Inventor / Prototyper
June 2017
- September 2017
Chicago, Illinois, United States
SteelSeries
Senior industrial designer
Creating the look, feel, and function of computer gaming mice, keyboards, headsets, and other accessories.
June 2016
- January 2017
Chicago, Illinois, United States
ThinkGeek
Lead industrial designer
Lead industrial designer - prototype fabricator, gadget / toy invention, and wearable electronics design. Duties include: Ideation sketching, component layout, illustrator rendering, SolidWorks part design, system specification, game-play rule creation, and asset handling (sound files, graphics, accelerometer gesture maps.)
Historic film prop research and design of licensed properties including:
Star Wars, Star Trek, Portal, Minecraft, Angry Birds, Aliens, Marvel, Doctor Who.
Historic film prop research and design of licensed properties including:
Star Wars, Star Trek, Portal, Minecraft, Angry Birds, Aliens, Marvel, Doctor Who.
October 2009
- June 2016
Virginia, United States
Tres Design
Staff industrial designer
Staff designer - Consumer electronics, housewares, sporting and medical equipment. Duties include: User research, ideation sketching, illustrator rendering, SolidWorks part design - component and mechanical design, GUI ideation, design, and implementation.
Research and concept to production with many clients including:
Intel, Segway, Medtronic, Wilton, Acco/Swingline, Master-Lock, Bell Sports, P&G, Whirlpool.
Research and concept to production with many clients including:
Intel, Segway, Medtronic, Wilton, Acco/Swingline, Master-Lock, Bell Sports, P&G, Whirlpool.
July 2004
- October 2008
Chicago, Illinois, United States
National Building Museum
Exhibit design and fabrication contractor
- Matchbox car scale model of a helical ramp parking structure.
- Working display models of elevators and escalators for an exhibition.
- Designed and built 2 full size geodesic dome "kits" for teaching visiting school children.
Designed and built assorted furniture and interactive pieces for several exhibits including:
Up, Down, Across, Anacostia river front, Masonry Variations, Symphony in steel, House of Cars.
- Working display models of elevators and escalators for an exhibition.
- Designed and built 2 full size geodesic dome "kits" for teaching visiting school children.
Designed and built assorted furniture and interactive pieces for several exhibits including:
Up, Down, Across, Anacostia river front, Masonry Variations, Symphony in steel, House of Cars.
January 2003
- June 2004
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Education
Carnegie Mellon University
BFA industrial design
Studied industrial design and mechanical engineering.
August 1997
- May 2002
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Skills
3D Printing,
Arduino,
CNC,
Engineering,
Ergonomics ,
Fusion 360,
GD&T,
Ideation,
Illiustrator,
Interaction Design,
Manufacturing,
Mechanisms,
Photoshop,
Production Design,
Rendering,
Research,
Sketching,
Solidworks,