Craighton Berman

Founder

Chicago, Illinois, United States23 yrs 9 mos experience
Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

  • First designer to launch a product on Kickstarter
  • Design work in the Art Institute of Chicago's permanent collection
  • Led design entrepreneurship courses at multiple universities
Stackforce AI infers this person is a creative strategist and designer specializing in product design and visual storytelling.

Contact

LinkedIn

Skills

Core Skills

Design StrategyIllustrationProduct DesignBrand DevelopmentDesign EducationSketchingCrowdfundingProduct LaunchProduct DevelopmentInnovation

Other Skills

Visual StorytellingConcept DefinitionCreative FacilitationVisual ThinkingIllustratorIndustrial DesignDesign ThinkingUser-centered DesignStrategyAdobe Creative SuiteExperience DesignInteraction DesignUser ExperienceRapid PrototypingStudio Photography

About

I'm a Chicago-based designer, illustrator and creative strategist interested in shaping the future. My studio’s focus is bringing ideas to life—both for clients and as self-directed projects. My design consulting practice is focused on the power and potential of the concept. Guided by a background of industrial design and innovation consulting, I work with clients to define new ideas & experiences, distill complex information, facilitate strategic conversations and tell visual stories with a distinct illustration style. My industrial design practice is focused on running Manual, a home goods brand that creates products for slow living. Manual has independently launched over two dozen products, ran over 15 crowdfunding campaigns, has been featured in Wired & Businessweek, and has been sold through Crate & Barrel, CB2, MCA Chicago, The Cooper Hewitt Shop and "the internet". Of note: I have design work in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago; I was the first designer to use Kickstarter to launch a product; I have led courses on design entrepreneurship at UIC and courses on design sketching at SVA, IIT, Iowa State and SAIC, and my drawings are featured in a YouTube video with almost 50 million views (it’s big in the elementary school scene). Past and present clients include: Microsoft, Patagonia, Square, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago Architecture Center, Threadless, IDEO, BMW/Designworks, The US Department of State, Mars Wrigley, Sonos, Gartner, Airbnb, MoMA, Google, Workman Publishing, Dwell, TEDx, Oxford University Press, FSG, Pearson, HP, Ebay, Steelcase, and Knoll.

Experience

23 yrs 9 mos
Total Experience
6 yrs 1 mo
Average Tenure
12 yrs 3 mos
Current Experience

School of visual arts

Instructor

Jun 2021 – Jun 2021 · 0 mo · New York, New York, United States

  • Planned and ran a week-long remote sketching workshop for School of Visual Arts NYC called Visualizing Ideas: A Design Sketching Workshop. In this intensive workshop (class met virtually 2x a day for a week) students developed their visual thinking skills and learned how to shape ideas with design sketching. Sketching as a form of visual thinking was the emphasis, which came to life in 3 modes: idea exploration, concept development and experience storytelling.
Design EducationSketching

Launch studio

Lead Instructor

Oct 2019 – May 2021 · 1 yr 7 mos

  • Launch Studio is a masterclass that teaches creators how to use crowdfunding to launch products. We help designers and startups bring new products to life with support from the people they created their products for.
  • Created by an international team of experienced creators and seasoned consultants, launch studio features over 30 video lessons that provide in-depth guidance on how to plan, develop and run product-launch campaigns. To empower you to apply the tactics and strategies we cover, you'll have access to a collection of workbooks and templates — tools used by our instructors to support their own launch efforts.
CrowdfundingProduct Launch

University of illinois at chicago

Part Time Faculty

Aug 2014 – Jul 2017 · 2 yrs 11 mos · Greater Chicago Area

  • Adjunct instructor for "Entrepreneurial Product Development" — a class for senior industrial design students.
Design EducationProduct Development

Manual

Founder/Creative Director

Jan 2014 – Present · 12 yrs 3 mos · Chicago, IL

  • Manual is a small home goods brand that creates products for slow living. Manual has independently launched a few dozen products, ran over 15 Kickstarter campaigns, has been featured in Wired & Businessweek, and has been sold through Crate & Barrel, CB2, MCA Chicago, The Cooper Hewitt Shop—and of course "the internet".
Product DesignBrand Development

School of the art institute of chicago

Part Time Faculty

Jan 2008 – Jan 2011 · 3 yrs

  • "Object Sketching: Ideation and Illustration" class for undergraduate students in the Designed Objects program.
Design EducationSketching

Craighton berman studio

Principal

Jan 2006 – Present · 20 yrs 3 mos · Chicago, Illinois

  • Craighton Berman is a Chicago-based designer, illustrator and creative strategist interested in shaping the future. The studio’s focus is bringing ideas to life—both for clients and as self-directed projects.
  • Craighton’s design consulting practice is focused on the power and potential of ideas. Guided by a background of industrial design and innovation consulting, he works with clients to define new ideas & experiences, distill complex information, facilitate strategic conversations and tell visual stories with his distinct illustration style—all with an eye towards positive futures.
  • Visual Storytelling - using illustration, animation and print to bring ideas to life
  • Concept Definition - giving form to emerging concepts and strategies
  • Creative Facilitation - structuring and leading workshops, classes and events
Visual StorytellingConcept DefinitionCreative FacilitationDesign StrategyIllustration

Gravitytank

Lead Designer

Sep 2005 – Apr 2012 · 6 yrs 7 mos

  • Close collaboration with strategists, researchers, and designers to identify innovation opportunities, define design strategies, and shape advanced concepts for a diverse set of global clients.
Design StrategyInnovation

Industrial designers society of america (idsa)

Chicago Communications Chair

Jan 2005 – Dec 2009 · 4 yrs 11 mos

  • Etc.

Ignite usa

Industrial Designer

Sep 2003 – Sep 2005 · 2 yrs

  • Product design, development, and production over a wide range of industries.

Travelon bags

Industrial Designer

Jul 2002 – Sep 2003 · 1 yr 2 mos

  • Product design, development, and production in the soft goods industry.
Product Design

Education

Virginia Tech

BS — Industrial Design

Jan 1997 – Jan 2002

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