BACKGROUND
Juan Carlos is a 24 year old Industrial/Product Designer, graduated from the B.A. Program at Universidad Rafael Landivar, in Guatemala city, Guatemala. A native Guatemalan, he was raised in a colorful and vivid culture. He quickly developed an interest in how things were made, tearing everything he owned apart, putting it back together, often with a few leftover pieces.
EDUCATION
September - November 2010 Central Training Center, Taichung, Taiwan.
Industrial training program: “Design and manufacture of plastic injection molds, with special focus on CNC machining”.
2005-2009 Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala city
Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design. Magna Cum Laude.
2001-2004 Colegio Lehnsen, Guatemala city.
Baccalaureate, computers and programming.
EXPERIENCE
March 2011 - June 2012 Design without Borders, Oslo, Norway.
Designer, part of an interdisciplinary team working in Antigua Guatemala. Creating wheelchairs for children with special needs, suited for the developing world. Designed products through co-creation, working with a local non-profit.
August - November 2011 Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala city.
Teacher - “Proyecto 3” Led design students in the creation of products for industrial production. Technical drawing, manufacturing techniques and use of prototyping machines such as laser CNC cutters and CNC routers.
June 2009 – Present Intelligent Mobility International.
Project coordinator and lead designer for Guatemala. Wheelchair and mobility product design, production and distribution. Collaborated with a local non-profit.
August 2008 – December 2008 Transdisciplinary studio sponsored by Art Center College of Design, California Institute of Technology and Universidad Rafael Landívar. Led by professor Kenneth Pickar in the creation of basic solutions for developing world countries, in specific the rural mayan villages of Guatemala. Created wheelchair designs for the mobility project inside the studio.
March - April 2010 Callidai motor works, Chennai, India.Aided in the design transfer process introducing the “intelligent mobility” wheelchair to local Indian industry.
July - August 2010 Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala city.
Teacher, “Presentation software 3” course. Taught students the use of 3d rendering software: Autodesk 3d Studio Max ® for product and environment modeling, lighting and animation.
January - June 2010 Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala city.
Teacher, "Typography and design" course. Led design students in the use of graphic design software and applications in products and advertising.
January - June 2010 Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala city.
Teacher's assistant, "Project 4" course, In collaboration with the Art Center College of Design. Through a series of videoconferences aided students in the creation of products and solutions for artisans in villages around Lake Atitlán.
August - November 2009 Universidad Rafael Landivar, Guatemala city.
Teacher's assistant to Ovidio Morales, Dean of Architecture and design at Landivar, and Ken Pickar of the California Institute of Design, in the course "Product design for the developing world".
November 2008 – May 2009 Intelligent Mobility International.
Volunteer Intern, wheelchair and mobility products concept designer.
March - June 2007 Colgate-Palmolive corporation, Guatemala city
Studied existing safety signage system and developed a new one up to ISO/ANSI standards in order to standardize the visual identity of Colgate's production plant. Worked alongside engineers and industrial safety specialists.
September 2006 - October 2008 NeeditUK, Essex, England.
Freelance web/interface Designer working from Guatemala.
March - August 2006 ITimpact, Chicago, Illinois.
Graphic and web Designer working from Guatemala.
CONFERENCES / SUMMITS
July 2011 - International Development Design Summit (IDDS) Organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Held at the KNUST Campus in Kumasi, Ghana. Worked in a multicultural environment in the creation of a portable bamboo treatment pump, as well as products manufactured from bamboo in order to introduce this renewable material to the local market.
July 2010 - International Development Design Summit (IDDS) Organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Held at the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins, CO. Worked in a multicultural environment in the creation of an inexpensive household water filtration system for women in rural India.
SOFTWARE
Cross-platform proficiency:
Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Autocad, Autodesk 3d studio Max, Adobe Acrobat Professional, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Keynote, Pages, iLife suite, Google SketchUp.
Familiar with
Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash. MasterCAM, PRO/Engineer. SolidWorks
SKILLS
Conceptual design, rapid 3d proof modeling, photography, image editing and retouching, rapid prototyping, general woodworking, fine wood carving, metalsmith work, welding (arc/mig). Fluent in Spanish and English.
RECOGNITIONS / EXHIBITIONS
2011 VitrinArte - Guatemala city.Local street-art exhibition featuring stringed instruments designed by Juan Carlos.
2010 Madrid design biennale - Madrid, Spain.Featured electric violin prototype (“MUUT”)
2010 “Guate es Arte” - Guatemala city.
Local TV feature about stringed instrument construction
2010 El Chiltepe.com
Spanish content design blog writes article about wheelchair related work.
2009 Design21 blog
Mention of wheelchair related design work in article about Intelligent Mobility International.
2008 expoADIG - Guatemala city
Featured wheelchair designed for developing countries, for Intelligent Mobility International.
INTERESTS
Design for the developing world, sustainability, music, stringed instrument design (luthierie), photography, art and film. currently seeking additional education and employment opportunities in the fields of product, service and transportation design.
