In early 2011, shortly after arriving in San Francisco, I reconnected with my old college friend Adam Barry. He asked me if I knew anything about designing headsets and gaming products. I said, “No, but I’m willing to learn.” That conversation marked the beginning of a five-year journey working alongside Adam and his team.
We were a small group that worked hard, had a lot of fun together, and shared a passion for building great products. I truly enjoyed learning from the team and contributing to the growth and success of the brand. During those years, I was involved in the design of the A50, A40, A30, and A20 headsets.
Each headset has its own story…
As often happens with small, growing companies, Astro Gaming was acquired by Skullcandy around this time. This opened a new chapter for our team, as we began designing headsets and other related products for Skullcandy as well.
The SLYR and SLYR 2 headsets were developed in close collaboration with the Astro design studio, led by Dana Krieger. These projects gave us an opportunity to apply what we had learned from Astro while developing a distinct design language for the Skullcandy brand.
Gaming accessories were an important part of the Astro story, and one of the most memorable projects for me was working on the C40 controller. Products like this require a careful balance of ergonomics, intelligent component packaging, functionality, and design. Every detail plays a role in creating an intuitive user experience and achieving product-market fit in a highly competitive and crowded marketplace.
The Xbox MixAmp M60 and M80 projects are interesting examples of how the same core technology can be applied across different form factors to create distinct product offerings. Each design provided a unique user experience while leveraging a shared technology platform.
M60
M80
As part of my working relationship with the Astro studio, I contributed to a number of consulting projects for outside clients. One of the most memorable was the 3DR SOLO drone. Its unconventional form factor presented a unique design challenge and required a different approach from more traditional consumer products. I continue to show this project to clients because it is a strong example of how early conceptual design can have a lasting impact on a final product. My involvement was limited to the initial concept phase, but the design direction and overall form factor established during that early work carried through to production virtually unchanged from a visual standpoint.
SOLO project by 3DR
