Nicholas Barker
Creative Director, Industrial Designer
General info
Creative Director, Industrial Designer
Orange County, CA
Orange County, CA
Orange County, CA
Senior level design or creative direction position at a company that values creative excellence and passionate, innovative design leadership. Seeking an opportunity that will leverage a unique, broad mix of proven profitable skills including:
Design Management: award winning industrial design interaction design and innovation, user centered research and analysis, brand strategy and development for product, graphic and web, award winning graphic and identity design, interaction design and brand design and planning
Leadership: created multidisciplinary in-house design infrastructure, able to motivate and grow skills in both senior and entry level design staff, experience framing opportunities with senior management, grow long term collaborative relationships with "world experts" - outside firms and individuals, champion for design focused improvements to user experience ability to envision and communicate opportunities for long term visual design and brand strategies
Senior level design or creative direction position at a company that values creative excellence and passionate, innovative design leadership. Seeking an opportunity that will leverage a unique, broad mix of proven profitable skills including:
Design Management: award winning industrial design interaction design and innovation, user centered research and analysis, brand strategy and development for product, graphic and web, award winning graphic and identity design, interaction design and brand design and planning
Leadership: created multidisciplinary in-house design infrastructure, able to motivate and grow skills in both senior and entry level design staff, experience framing opportunities with senior management, grow long term collaborative relationships with "world experts" - outside firms and individuals, champion for design focused improvements to user experience ability to envision and communicate opportunities for long term visual design and brand strategies
Experience
VP Industrial Design
Vice President Design Masimo Corp. - senior executive responsible for Industrial Design, Packaging, Human Factors Engineering and Labeling teams. Masimo, a $1.2B company based in Irvine CA, is a global leader in Pulse Oximetry and multi-parameter non-invasive blood constituent monitoring technologies selling mainly to hospitals. In recent years Masimo has also developed many different FDA cleared medical devices for the consumer market including a best-in-class baby monitor (Stork) and several health and wellness wearables. Additionally ran large multi-million-dollar environmental design project plus several other exhibit and permanent showcase projects at company HQ. Oversight of corporate logo redesign using top talent from outside as needed (note: redesign done in 2022 was never implemented)
Principle
Nicholas Barker Design, LLC
independent consulting firm providing full industrial design services for clients in medical equipment/devices, consumer electronics, photography processing equipment, furniture and baby care.
V P Corporate Design
Datascope Corp. Vice President Corporate Design 1995 - 2009
• Reporting directly to CEO, responsible for overall appearance and strategy for Datascope brand across 4 operating divisions: Patient Monitoring, Cardiac Assist, Vascular Grafts and Interventional Products
• Started and built cross-functional design department supporting all creative activities. Responsible for $2.5 million budget and staff of 17 in 3 departments with an average tenure in the design group of over 11 years.
• Expanded the role of industrial design team at Datascope from R&D support to strategic contributor identifying competitive opportunities and initiating several product improvement projects resulting is cost savings and improved customer experiences.
• Created fresh look for all capital equipment winning numerous awards and improving sales. Example: when new balloon pump console platform was introduced sales of Datascope pumps increased over 40% year to year and margins and market share increased
• Elevated perceived value of disposables with new easy to understand graphic information systems, product packaging and brand identity
• Introduced formal user centered research using outside research firms resulting in fundamental competitive discoveries that altered corporate strategy on key projects and began framework for future product planning. Example: ethnographic research in CCU & ICU revealed that most nurses were not able to perform many critical functions on monitors they had been using for many years. These discoveries led to the decision to launch an ambitious program to completely reinvent the user interface for a critical care monitor. Early user tests indicated significant improvements on ease of use and a very positive emotional reaction from nurses.
• Developed long term relationships with numerous outside creative and research firms including full service product design, research, structural packaging, exhibit design, graphic design and identity, photographers, prototype and production manufacturers.
• Started new media department to produce web sites, promotion animations and video. Bringing this function in-house allowed for more efficiencies and exploration in product UI and best-in-class interactive clinical e-learning and promotional web development further improving the customer experience.
• Responsible for all exhibit design in the US and Europe Working with firms in both continents. Co-developed award winning exhibit design in United States.
• Managed all design/aesthetic aspects on construction and interiors of new $30 million 140,000 sq ft facility in Mahwah, New Jersey.
• Launched Corporate Graphic Standards web site
Datascope, Manager Industrial Design 1991 - 1994
• Designed all structural sterile packaging for new vascular sealing device
• Developed new architecture for balloon pump platform supporting large disposable catheter business
• Began to build corporate design team hiring top local talent including graphics, packaging and industrial design
• Reporting directly to CEO, responsible for overall appearance and strategy for Datascope brand across 4 operating divisions: Patient Monitoring, Cardiac Assist, Vascular Grafts and Interventional Products
• Started and built cross-functional design department supporting all creative activities. Responsible for $2.5 million budget and staff of 17 in 3 departments with an average tenure in the design group of over 11 years.
• Expanded the role of industrial design team at Datascope from R&D support to strategic contributor identifying competitive opportunities and initiating several product improvement projects resulting is cost savings and improved customer experiences.
• Created fresh look for all capital equipment winning numerous awards and improving sales. Example: when new balloon pump console platform was introduced sales of Datascope pumps increased over 40% year to year and margins and market share increased
• Elevated perceived value of disposables with new easy to understand graphic information systems, product packaging and brand identity
• Introduced formal user centered research using outside research firms resulting in fundamental competitive discoveries that altered corporate strategy on key projects and began framework for future product planning. Example: ethnographic research in CCU & ICU revealed that most nurses were not able to perform many critical functions on monitors they had been using for many years. These discoveries led to the decision to launch an ambitious program to completely reinvent the user interface for a critical care monitor. Early user tests indicated significant improvements on ease of use and a very positive emotional reaction from nurses.
• Developed long term relationships with numerous outside creative and research firms including full service product design, research, structural packaging, exhibit design, graphic design and identity, photographers, prototype and production manufacturers.
• Started new media department to produce web sites, promotion animations and video. Bringing this function in-house allowed for more efficiencies and exploration in product UI and best-in-class interactive clinical e-learning and promotional web development further improving the customer experience.
• Responsible for all exhibit design in the US and Europe Working with firms in both continents. Co-developed award winning exhibit design in United States.
• Managed all design/aesthetic aspects on construction and interiors of new $30 million 140,000 sq ft facility in Mahwah, New Jersey.
• Launched Corporate Graphic Standards web site
Datascope, Manager Industrial Design 1991 - 1994
• Designed all structural sterile packaging for new vascular sealing device
• Developed new architecture for balloon pump platform supporting large disposable catheter business
• Began to build corporate design team hiring top local talent including graphics, packaging and industrial design
Manager Industrial Design
Technology Design
First employee of product design consulting firm that grew to be the 2nd largest in the Seattle area (after Teague), Client industries included healthcare, advanced technology, sports and fitness, consumer electronics and housewares.
Note: company no longer exists - sold to Teague in 1992
Note: company no longer exists - sold to Teague in 1992
Education
BS Industrial Design
Western Washinton University
Dean's list
Industrial Design Merit Award Winner 1983
Industrial Design Merit Award Winner 1983
New section
Awards/Affiliations
Winner of numerous design awards including: IDSA, ID magazine, Medical Design Excellence Awards and Good Design Awards (Chicago Athenaeum)
Design Management Institute
Corporate Design Foundation
Selected to be in IDSA POD 2003 - consortium of design executives
Saddle River, New Jersey School Board - elected 2006
Saddle River, New Jersey Green Committee - appointed 2008
Norwalk Yacht Club since 1999 - 2009
Design Management Institute
Corporate Design Foundation
Selected to be in IDSA POD 2003 - consortium of design executives
Saddle River, New Jersey School Board - elected 2006
Saddle River, New Jersey Green Committee - appointed 2008
Norwalk Yacht Club since 1999 - 2009
Interests
Sailing and sailboat racing
Skiing/snowboarding
Running (ran 1999 marathon)
Kids sports – soccer, lacrosse, wrestling
Curriculum Development (K -12)
Ballroom dancing
House restoration
Technology
Skiing/snowboarding
Running (ran 1999 marathon)
Kids sports – soccer, lacrosse, wrestling
Curriculum Development (K -12)
Ballroom dancing
House restoration
Technology
View Nicholas's Portfolio for work samples.|nebarker@gmail.com|201 675 7497 mobile