JOSH WESOLOWSKI

Design Thinker | Innovator | Design Leader

Hello and thank you for visiting my portfolio site! Due to the nature of my work, a lot of projects are proprietary and confidential. Please contact me and I would be happy to share more and discuss my design process.

A little bit about me:

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I am a trained Industrial Designer from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Graduate degree in Product Design and Development Management (MPD2) from Northwestern University. I am currently designing new restaurant concepts for McDonald's and reside on their Global Design team. Prior to that, I designed furniture, retail fixtures, visual displays and packaging for some of the nations top retailers. 

When it comes to design, I live by five key values:

1. I always put the customer or end user first. I believe human centered design is critical to success.
    

2.  Keep the big picture in mind. I believe we shouldn't design with blinders on, and need to always be mindful of how the product, touch point, etc. lives within a space and influences the customer experience.
    

3. Fail fast and fail often, but learn from the experience. This is truly one of the best innovation methods. It's easy to strategize and design "stuff" in perpetuity, but to actually DO something is hard. I pride myself in the fact that I am a Design Thinker AND a Design Doer. I know how to connect the pieces, navigate the fuzzy front end, and get from concept to execution.
    

4. Understand the business and speak the languages. Back to value 2, it is critical to understand the big picture and how my puzzle piece fits in with the others. I am often in my element leading cross-functional teams of Designers, Marketing, IT, Operations, Finance, Vendors, etc. in order to bring ideas to life. Knowing how to talk to and lead these functions creates the best outcome for the customer and the business.
    

5. Collaboration is key, and it's best to be slightly uncomfortable. I've found a lot of my success has come when working with other people, and pushing my abilities beyond my comfort zone. I need to be constantly learning, and I firmly believe the best results are achieved when working with a team of other talented people who often know more than I do. 

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Outside of design:

I am a proud husband and father of two wonderful boys. I love real estate, cars, reading, cooking, and fixing up my house. I enjoy hanging with family, friends and neighbors, and am a big fan of all Chicago sports. I aspire to be the best person I can be at all times, and value every precious day on this earth.  

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