summary

Benefiting from over 10 years' experience in the industry, I support my clients from first concept development through to industrial design, product marketing and mass production.


Originally from Germany, I started my career as Industrial Designer in the Netherlands. At GRO design I worked on strategic design projects for multinationals such as Microsoft, Samsung, Panasonic and others.

In my time at Nokia I got to know the other side of product making. As part of the Smart Device Design team in London, I took my designs from concepting phase to mass production, finetuning the design along the way and safeguarding its quality through the realities of corporate product development.

Taking the next step, I founded 6'4" design manufactory to design and make products with character.

 

experience

owner & designer

6'4" design manufactory

10/2012 — present

Deventer, NL

6'4" is a European design manufactory that designs and makes products with character.
Next to working on international design projects, 6'4" offers tailor-made product development and strategy for local start-ups.

Find out more on www.sixfoot-four.com

partner & design strategist

ProductStrategen

09/2019 — present

Deventer, NL

Innovation management, design and strategy for small and medium size businesses who want to develop products and visions that matter.

Find out more on www.productstrategen.nl

Senior Industrial Designer

Nokia

01/2010 — 09/2012

London, UK

Lead Designer for the Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Nokia 801T (China Mobile)
As member of the Smart Devices Design team I worked on both program work aimed at the international market as well as on strategic projects for Nokia's Design Forward Center.

Industrial Designer (Freelance)

FAG

11/2009 — 12/2009

Herzogenrath, DE

industrial monitoring sensor
www.fag-smartcheck.com

Industrial Designer

GRO design

12/2006 — 07/2009

Eindhoven, NL

strategic creative product design for A-brands around the world
clients included Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, LGE, Unilever and others
main focus on mobile devices, consumer electronics and domestic appliances

Industrial Designer (Freelance)

Freecom

10/2007 — 03/2008

Berlin, DE

mobile hard disk "Toughdrive Sport"
presented at CeBIT '08

CAD Trainer Rhino

Henkel

11/2005

Düsseldorf, DE

Industrial Designer (Freelance)

GRO design

10/2005

Eindhoven, NL

Industrial Designer (Intern)

GRO design

04/2005 — 09/2005

Eindhoven, NL

Graphic Designer (Freelance)

KSJ

07/1998 — 04/2005

Cologne, DE

references

"I had an extremely pleasant opportunity to work closely with Franziska for a year in the same project. Fran has an amazing skill to look at the problem in hand from various angles and create solutions that challenge the status quo..." more. She has the creativity of an artist while always having customer first attitude in mind.
Fran takes an extra step to reach beyond great and inspires co-workers to do the same."

Arto Vahvanen

Lead Product Manager, Nokia Lumia Product Management

"Fran is such a strong designer who can bridge the vision and execution very well together. She is passionate, result oriented, and very mindful in every single detail..." more. i would see she is the designer you can leave the project to her totally and just need to expect a good result coming out of the program.
she has been work with us in China design team for a project. During those months, she has been working very closely with R&D, PMs and all design colleagues here. we are all inspired by her spirit of pursuing the excellence. the product she has lead designed turns out to be very good product.
I definitely recommend her as great Industrial designer!"

Yanjiang Hou

Senior Design Manager, Nokia Design

"Franziska is a highly motivated enthusiastic Industrial Designer who really mastered the surfacing process we use at Nokia Design to deliver consistent quality from concept through to mass production..." more.
She is a quick learner, and I was impressed with her ability to transfer skills between different surfacing packages.
Over the time that I worked with Fran her attention to detail and determination to deliver the best quality from Catia V5 really pushed the boundaries of the surfacing tools. She has a very good understanding of getting the right balance between surface quality and the manufacturing reality.
Fran inspired and motivated the team by sharing new ways of working and getting the most out of the resources available to her. In doing so she helped to raise the level of the team and she set new standards of delivering high quality within a realistic timeframe, which gave more time for the challenging areas of product making.
When visiting remote sites Fran gained the respect from the various teams with her professionalism and ability to negotiate tricky situations and get the outcome that she wanted.
I would definitely recommend Fran as she has shown that she has the ability to create great designs as well as having a great personality. I wish her all the very best in her new adventure, and I am sure that she will succeed."

Peter Hawkins

Master Surfacer Specialist, Nokia Mobile Phones

"Fran has worked with me for a number of years and during that time has proved a real asset to our work here at GRO.
She tackles all her work with enthusiasm, structure and a desire to get the job done at the highest quality. "

Roland Bird

Owner, GRO design

"Fran always demonstrated great committment to all projects while at GRO design. As a designer she developed into a valued member of the team, always prepared to go the extra mile in order to achieve the highest possible quality."

Graham Hinde

Co-owner and Founder, GRO design