Theo Calvin

Services

This is what I do


Creative Direction

I lead interdisciplinary teams creating experience strategy. This includes user research, ideation, software interfaces, service design and platform strategy. Assuring my teams have the creative leadership needed to deliver best-in-class design is a top priority.

Project Planning

Establishing solid project plans is critical to my team's success. Sizing resource needs, creating staffing plans, timelines and milestones, team management and resource assessment are strengths that I consider critical and cultivate as a creative director.

Team Management

Creating positive team dynamics depends on understanding the individual strengths and motivations. I seek to understand the team member's goals, match those to the project and provide guidance on creative career development.

Creative Critique

An ability to provide good feedback is a key ingredient to meeting project goals. Conveying the direction and articulating the importance of quality are top priorities. Delivering that message in a way that empowers teams rather than demoralizes is crucial.

Class syllabus and materials for Procedural Morphology is available here.
Previous version of mediumlite.com is available here.

  • Software isn't just a tool
  • Software is a medium

About me

Facts about me


I get excited about designing software. It's still a privilege to me. In the best sense, software can advance what it means to be a person. We're more informed and better connected to the people we love. We can do our jobs more effectively. It is an extension of our knowledge. When we make software, we are encapsulating knowledge into a system that everyday people can extend into themselves. It is joy. It is empowerment. And frankly, it's an aesthetic experience that, for many people, didn't exist 30-40 years ago. The history of software is still very short and we've only started exploring the full potential. I have spent many years learning the best practices for the act of designing user experiences -- from early stage research to concept development through to supporting engineering in launching a product. But I also get excited to experiment in the design methodology itself. To fully deliver on the rich experiences that our UI's can provide, we need to be working with the material that makes up software. Software isn't graphic design. Software isn't a movie. To interact and get response and information and connection is truly unique. And as a designer, that's what I want to bring into the world.

Resume

Past work experiences


12
years

frog design, Creative Director & Transportation Lead

As Creative Director, I led projects and multi-project accounts for clients such as Nokia, Qualcomm, Sharp, CNN, and Nuance Voice Recognition. Beginning in 2013, my expertise in designing operating systems led me into automotive work for clients such General Motors, SiriusXM, Nissan, FCA. In 2018, my responsibilities in transportation space were expanded to cultivate the mobility business for the three North American studios of frog. This included cultivating the talent, writing points of view, speaking engagements, business development and proposal writing.

5
years

Pratt Institute, Visiting Professor

I created a new curriculum based on generative process for graduate-level architecture classes. The focus was on opening the world of creative coding for design methodology and utilized Processing and MaxScript in 3d Studio Max.

1
year

R/GA, Senior Designer

Principally worked on Verizon Wireless account.

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