About Us
Co-founded by Industrial Designers Erich and Anna-Pia Slothower in 2007
Erich Slothower
A curious, hands-on thinker who moves easily between design, engineering and market insight, Erich loves digging into how things work and how new concepts can be made. Erich uses that mix of detail and big picture thinking to help companies uncover opportunities and innovate.
After graduating from design school, Erich has followed his passion for designing breakthrough products and discovering processes that make them possible, from California to the Midwest, and back. With companies like Kallista, Kohler and Williams-Sonoma, Erich has helped drive large projects strategically, with a strong mechanical aptitude and a rebellious mind as his tools.
Ideate
Building on the research and insights, we move launch into blue-sky ideation to create large amounts of concepts. Mock-ups and sketches are used to communicate with our team and feedback from users.
Visualizing in context
Experience scenarios and storyboards
Anna-Pia Slothower
Is a native of Sweden and has worked and studied in Paris, France, before moving to the United States in the late 1990s. Passionate about new materials and technologies, as well as cultural and social behaviors, Anna-Pia leads design projects to imagine ‘what’s better’, how to make it happen and how to perfect every detail of the user’s experience. She has designed for Kohler, Palm Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Glowforge Inc. and many start-ups and smaller companies in the Bay area and beyond.
“I think of the first impression and how to create a sense of “wow”, how to make something work smoothly and how to build it. This puzzle of physical and emotional requirements is what I love about design.”
Refine
Together with the client, the most promising ideas are chosen for refinement. Materials, processes, cost targets & the user experience are considered to identify a final direction.
Functional prototypes are reviewed in context
User testing & feedback
Execute
Close collaboration with engineering & manufacturing to resolve the details quickly & efficiently is our priority. We are experts at synthesizing materials and processes to ensure a positive user experience and market impact.
Branding & logo design
Positive installation experience
How we work
We work in close collaboration with all members of the development team to ensure a successful product development, in-house at the client company or externally as key partners in engineering, research and branding.
Discover
With our client’s objectives in mind, we explore a wide variety of user aspects, the competitive landscape, materials and values. We uncover opportunities and gain insights that will inform our creative process.
Market insights and trends
User behavior & experiences
Materiels & processes