Hey there!

I'm John

I’m a designer based out of Lawrence, Kansas. I've got a love for Calvin & Hobbes, adventures, and weekend warrior projects. If I'm not working, you can find me nose deep in a book, out exploring the world, or creating something new in the workshop.

Check out my Web3 page

Current vibe: Wrapping up my master's degree in Design Management + Strategy from the University of Kansas.

My Career so far

Consulting for 9 years now, as well as working as an industrial designer, brander, and marketer for companies in home goods, media, health and medical distribution has taken me all over the world, with clients in multiple countries.

Design Strategy
Branding
Industrial Design
UI/UX Design
Service Design
Prototyping
Design + Build
Illustration

My Roles

  • Leader: My teams thrive when I work as a service based leader. My specialty is conducting big picture thinking while creating an environment for the team to produce the best outcomes.
  • Teammate: Well executed projects are not accomplished alone and require skill, teamwork, and tact to maximize potential.
  • Observer: When setting out to understand the root problems in a market or situation, I start by listening and watching what people do in our target context.
  • Liaison: All projects require logistics management- clients, end users, stakeholders, experts, and industry leaders all have schedules and perspectives that need time and attention.
  • Researcher: Research is critical to success. Qualitative research includes media scans, academic sleuthing, user and environmental observations. Quantitative research operates around prototyping and interactive methods designed to gain data and insight from engagement that will further aid in understanding.
  • Prototyper: Building prototypes is key, low/medium/high fidelity mock-ups allow me to test responses, eliminate unnecessary components, or add in needed features.
  • Tester: Prototypes need to be tested, everything from role playing to user testing.
  • Advocate: Sometimes the problem we set out to solve isn't the root problem, merely a symptom of another problem. This can call for a scope change as well as tactfully getting all parties involved in alignment.
  • Storyteller: Users need their voice heard and experiences passed along. Findings need to be organized, narrated, and presented in a concise way so that all parties concerned are on the same page.

Playing to My Strengths

The CliftonStrengths assessment is a tool developed by The Gallup Organization. It helps individuals discover their top five strengths and can help organizations improve company culture and performance.

I utilize these insights to help me grow as a designer and human. Both professionally and personally, this has given me awareness of where I excel and possible pitfalls and blindspots in my own approach.

See a detailed report of my strengths here.

Want to get in touch?
Drop me a line!

Consultations, workshops, and design direction services available

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Copyright 2022 John Helkenn
Instagram @john.designs