I'm Ian, a California native with 10+ years of experience in product design & development.
Before I knew design was a career option, I was into fine art ceramics, photography, and spending time with my dad in his workshop tinkering on random furniture projects, cars, and bikes. For my high school senior project I painted an entire car - welding, body work, sanding, painting, more sanding, buffing, - the whole deal. These early experiences and creative outlets taught me patience, craftsmanship, and an instinct to create; which followed me into design school. For my 2014 senior project at CCA I got pulled into sewing and making backpacks because I wanted to build something real and functional, not just another set of pretty renders.
Since then my career has moved between large corporate brands (Lowepro & Joby), small nimble startups (Boundary Supply & 3rd Stone Design), and consulting for ID firms (Y-Studios, Whipsaw, Surface Ink, Blue Product Development & others) — mostly in the outdoor world, but also spanning medical devices and consumer electronics. At Lowepro I designed and shipped premium camera and drone bags, earned three design patents, a red dot award, and traveled to factories in China four times to problem-solve directly on the floor. At Boundary Supply I managed development for over 50+ technical products and, as part of a two-person design team, took new projects from concept through to production, coordinating production with four international sewing factories and even stepping in as interim logistics coordinator for eight months when the team needed coverage.
In 2021, my partner and I launched Parapack, an ultralight headwear brand built for travelers who want adaptable, thoughtfully designed gear. We ran a successful Kickstarter in 2023, filed three international design patents, and have since sold tens of thousands of hats into specialty outdoor retailers via our international distributors and our DTC website. Running Parapack has been the most educational thing I've ever done — not just for design, but for everything around it: sourcing, costing, factory negotiation, packaging, merchandising, logistics, photography, forecasting, customer service, sales. What started as “just another portfolio piece”, grew into an actual small business that use design as a way to connect people with the outdoors.
If you’d like to work together, please reach out to me via email:
Before I knew design was a career option, I was into fine art ceramics, photography, and spending time with my dad in his workshop tinkering on random furniture projects, cars, and bikes. For my high school senior project I painted an entire car - welding, body work, sanding, painting, more sanding, buffing, - the whole deal. These early experiences and creative outlets taught me patience, craftsmanship, and an instinct to create; which followed me into design school. For my 2014 senior project at CCA I got pulled into sewing and making backpacks because I wanted to build something real and functional, not just another set of pretty renders.
Since then my career has moved between large corporate brands (Lowepro & Joby), small nimble startups (Boundary Supply & 3rd Stone Design), and consulting for ID firms (Y-Studios, Whipsaw, Surface Ink, Blue Product Development & others) — mostly in the outdoor world, but also spanning medical devices and consumer electronics. At Lowepro I designed and shipped premium camera and drone bags, earned three design patents, a red dot award, and traveled to factories in China four times to problem-solve directly on the floor. At Boundary Supply I managed development for over 50+ technical products and, as part of a two-person design team, took new projects from concept through to production, coordinating production with four international sewing factories and even stepping in as interim logistics coordinator for eight months when the team needed coverage.
In 2021, my partner and I launched Parapack, an ultralight headwear brand built for travelers who want adaptable, thoughtfully designed gear. We ran a successful Kickstarter in 2023, filed three international design patents, and have since sold tens of thousands of hats into specialty outdoor retailers via our international distributors and our DTC website. Running Parapack has been the most educational thing I've ever done — not just for design, but for everything around it: sourcing, costing, factory negotiation, packaging, merchandising, logistics, photography, forecasting, customer service, sales. What started as “just another portfolio piece”, grew into an actual small business that use design as a way to connect people with the outdoors.
If you’d like to work together, please reach out to me via email:
ianhughesdesign [at] gmail.com
Core Competencies
Industrial design
User research
Concept visualization
3D modeling, rendering, & printing
Rapid prototyping
Model and prototype fabrication
3D Softgoods patternmaking & simulation
Softgoods engineering and construction
Materials & color strategy
Product development
Functional testing & validation
Tech packs & production specs
Daily factory communication
sample development
New materials & factory sourcing
Cost analysis & BOM creation
Submit factory or supplier PO’s
Product line & roadmap management
Product Managment
Product line management
Costing and margin calculations
Category & market analysis
Branding & differentiation strategy
Product roadmap creation
User research
Concept visualization
3D modeling, rendering, & printing
Rapid prototyping
Model and prototype fabrication
3D Softgoods patternmaking & simulation
Softgoods engineering and construction
Materials & color strategy
Product development
Functional testing & validation
Tech packs & production specs
Daily factory communication
sample development
New materials & factory sourcing
Cost analysis & BOM creation
Submit factory or supplier PO’s
Product line & roadmap management
Product Managment
Product line management
Costing and margin calculations
Category & market analysis
Branding & differentiation strategy
Product roadmap creation
Additional Expertise
Packaging design and development
Studio & Lifestyle Product photography
Video editing
Client presentations
Micro production runs
Studio & Lifestyle Product photography
Video editing
Client presentations
Micro production runs
Software
Adobe Suite
Excel, Word, Powerpoint (Google Sheets, etc.)
Fusion 360
Solidworks
Rhino
Blender
Keyshot
Figma
ProCreate
Excel, Word, Powerpoint (Google Sheets, etc.)
Fusion 360
Solidworks
Rhino
Blender
Keyshot
Figma
ProCreate