Photobooks interaction design & product launch
Service design and product development at Powis
In early 2004 I was the designer for Fastback Creative Books, a small design lab tasked with pursuing new directions for our parent, Powis Inc’s new product: on-demand hardcover book-binders. I developed FCB into a studio service offering design and production of short-run monographs for professional photojournalists, advertising and fine art photographers.
Behind the scenes, these boutique interactions drove my design research into developing products and services for a growing consumer digital photography industry. Early on, we forged strategic partnerships with Kodak, Snapfish (HP) and Shutterfly to design and launch photobooks for each of these brands and engineer efficient production cells tuned to their specific manufacturing needs.
I translated our one-on-one process into standards for online book design tools, designed and prototyped photobook product lines for each of our partners, and worked with engineering and industrial design functions to provide human factors feedback on the development of Powis’s equipment and service offerings. I conceived and developed patented IP for the company.
