Available to hire
I’m Tim Ford, a creative leader who builds cohesive, memorable brands that connect with consumers across every touchpoint. My practice spans product design, branding, graphic design, and typography, and I unify these disciplines into a single design language that amplifies brand values and drives commercial success.
My career began in industrial design, where I learned how products can embody and express a brand’s identity. Since then I’ve expanded to shape visual, verbal, and experiential brand expression across products and experiences, helping teams grow their craft while delivering work that resonates with people and advances business goals.
Experience Level
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Language
English
Fluent
Work Experience
Head of Research and Development at Vuly Play
October 1, 2024 - August 25, 2025Led Vuly's entire product creation department consolidating industrial design, product development, sourcing, project management, prototyping, and in-house fabrication. Drove design vision, aligned cross-functional teams, ensuring commercial, technical, and creative objectives were met to successfully launch a completely renewed product range. Expanded the team across Industrial Design, CGI, Graphic Design, and Product Development to deliver the company’s largest-ever relaunch. Unified creative and technical functions under a single R&D framework, enabling faster and more effective decision-making. Delivered the simultaneous replacement of the entire product portfolio on time and to budget. Partnered with brand and marketing teams to direct product presentation and campaign material, ensuring innovation and design intent were consistently communicated across all launch channels.
Head of Industrial Design at Vuly Play
November 1, 2023 - August 25, 2025Established and led the Industrial Design function, overseeing a team of seven and driving a landmark project to simultaneously replace the company’s entire product portfolio. Delivered creative leadership, hands-on design direction, and cross-functional execution at scale, balancing aesthetics, performance, cost, and manufacturability to define a unified new era for the brand. Defined a cohesive design language across the new portfolio, integrating seamlessly with marketing. Directed and mentored a seven-person design team, fostering creativity, accountability, and technical excellence. Partnered with CEO and senior leaders across finance, logistics, sales, and marketing to align design outcomes with business goals. Oversaw CAD modelling, engineering drawings, and in-house prototyping for plastics, aluminium, and steel products. Collaborated with fabrication and Chinese manufacturing partners to validate performance, quality, and cost targets. Championed design reviews and consumer
Chief Design Officer at VERVE Fitness
December 1, 2022 - August 25, 2025Oversaw design, branding, and consumer experience across all touchpoints for one of Australia's leading fitness equipment manufacturers, from product and packaging to marketing and digital presence. Led the creative team and collaborated with other departments to ensure a cohesive, market-driven design strategy. Developed and executed product and brand design strategy, aligning all consumer touchpoints. Built and managed an in-house design team including 2D and 3D designers. Transitioned VERVE from fully sourced-and-badged products to entirely in-house designed within nine months. Created and implemented brand guidelines ensuring consistent and cohesive brand voice. Led ground-up redesign of VERVE website. Conceived and launched “BE>” secondary brand marque, including full campaign art direction. Designed new performance and lifestyle apparel collection. Launched inaugural VERVE “BE> Magazine.”
Chief Design Officer at Glide Luggage
February 1, 2020 - August 25, 2025Led all creative aspects of a startup luggage brand including lead product designer, engineering, product development, graphics and branding, packaging, CX, marketing and social media. Developed a hard-sided luggage system with patented innovation and an ecosystem of travel accessories. Responsibilities encompassed precision engineered plastic and metal components, elegantly tailored softgoods, branding, photography, and marketing.
Independent Design Consultant at Self Employed
July 1, 2017 - PresentProvided design and creative leadership consulting to global brands, startups, and high-growth companies. Specialized in aligning product design, brand identity, and visual communication through a unified design language that amplifies brand values, resonates with target consumers, and drives commercial results. Delivered both hands-on product creation and strategic brand direction with purposeful and profitable design solutions.
Footwear Designer at Nike
June 1, 2017 - August 25, 2025Designed global performance footwear across Running, Basketball, Men’s Training, and Women’s Training categories. Innovated in 3D form, construction, materials, and color integrating athlete insights, consumer validation, and manufacturing feasibility. Worked with marquee athletes including Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving on signature products. Developed novel footwear constructions and technologies adopted across multiple Nike categories. Created a price-sensitive running shoe that sold over 12 million pairs in a single year.
Senior Bag Designer at Nike
April 1, 2015 - August 25, 2025Led design of global bag products across sports and lifestyle categories driving innovation in 3D form, construction, materials, graphics, and colour. Collaborated with marquee athletes including Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James on signature product models. Conducted market research, consumer validation, prototyping and sample development with extensive R&D travel to ensure design excellence.
Senior Designer - Global Bags at Quiksilver
May 1, 2011 - August 25, 2025Led design and development of global bag range including backpacks, luggage, satchels, board covers, and utility bags. Served as interim Art Director for Quiksilver Australia. Mentored a team of three designers and set seasonal trend and product direction. Collaborated with US and Europe regional teams for global design standards. Engaged with Asian suppliers, international R&D, and oversaw graphic design and branding applications while contributing to innovation across product divisions.
Junior Designer - Global Bags at Quiksilver
May 1, 2007 - August 25, 2025Contributed to design and development of global bag range, produced seasonal trend and product direction reports, collaborated with Asian suppliers, and assisted in branding and graphic design across bags and product lines. Traveled internationally and domestically for R&D and product development.
Industrial Designer at Ace Print & Display
December 1, 2006 - August 25, 2025Designed permanent and semi-permanent point-of-purchase displays from concept through production. Delivered award-winning solutions for clients such as Sony, Canon, Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Warner Brothers, Reckitt Benckiser, and Pernod Ricard.
Casual Academic Staff at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2020 - August 25, 2025Taught Professional Communication class for third-year industrial design students focusing on presentation skills and post-university preparation. Conducted tutorials in digital and hand sketching, Adobe Suite, Solidworks, research techniques, oral presentations, and storytelling. Delivered guest lectures for other industrial design classes.
Head of Research and Development at Vuly Play
October 1, 2024 - August 25, 2025Led Vuly’s entire product creation department consolidating industrial design, product development, sourcing, project management, prototyping, and in-house fabrication. Delivered creative leadership and aligned cross-functional teams, achieving the successful launch of a completely renewed product range. Expanded the design team and unified creative and technical functions, delivering the company’s largest-ever relaunch on time and on budget. Collaborated with brand and marketing teams to ensure consistent communication of innovation and design intent across all launch channels.
Head of Industrial Design at Vuly Play
November 1, 2023 - August 25, 2025Established and led the Industrial Design function, managed a team of seven designers, and drove a landmark project to replace the entire product portfolio. Defined a cohesive design language that integrated seamlessly with marketing. Partnered with senior leaders to align design outcomes with business goals. Oversaw CAD modelling, engineering drawings, and in-house prototyping, and collaborated with manufacturing partners to validate performance, quality, and cost targets. Championed design reviews and consumer testing to ensure product durability, safety, and customer satisfaction.
Chief Design Officer at VERVE Fitness
December 1, 2022 - August 25, 2025Oversaw design, branding, and consumer experience across all touchpoints including product, packaging, marketing, and digital presence at one of Australia’s leading fitness equipment manufacturers. Built and managed an in-house design team, transitioned the company to in-house designed products within nine months, created and implemented brand guidelines, led a ground-up website redesign, conceived and launched a secondary brand marque, designed new apparel collections, and launched the inaugural company magazine.
Chief Design Officer at Glide Luggage
February 1, 2020 - August 25, 2025Led product design, engineering, product development, graphics, branding, packaging, customer experience, marketing, and social media for a startup luggage brand. Applied expert skills spanning precision engineering, softgoods tailoring, branding, photography, and marketing to develop a patented hard-sided luggage system and travel accessories ecosystem.
Independent Design Consultant at Self Employed
July 1, 2017 - PresentProvided design and creative leadership consulting for global brands, startups, and high-growth companies. Specialised in aligning product design, brand identity, and visual communication through unified design languages to amplify brand values and drive commercial success. Delivered hands-on product creation and strategic brand direction resulting in purposeful and profitable design solutions.
Footwear Designer at Nike
June 1, 2017 - August 25, 2025Created global performance footwear for Running, Basketball, Men’s Training, and Women’s Training categories. Collaborated with marquee athletes including Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving on signature products. Developed innovative footwear constructions and technologies adopted across multiple Nike categories. Balanced athlete needs with design ethos and manufacturing feasibility, consistently delivering innovative models meeting target costs and maximizing consumer and business value.
Senior Bag Designer at Nike Equipment
April 1, 2015 - August 25, 2025Led design of global bag products across sports and lifestyle categories. Partnered with marquee athletes to create signature products that enhanced performance and brand storytelling. Performed deep market research and consumer validation. Conducted hands-on prototyping and sample development in Asia, supported by international and domestic R&D travel to ensure competitive product excellence.
Senior Designer - Global Bags at Quiksilver
May 1, 2011 - August 25, 2025Led design and development of a global bag range including backpacks, luggage, satchels, board covers, and utility bags. Served as interim Art Director for Quiksilver Australia. Mentored a team of three designers, set seasonal trend and product direction, and collaborated with regional teams to align global design standards. Engaged with Asian suppliers and contributed to innovation initiatives across other product divisions.
Junior Designer - Global Bags at Quiksilver
May 1, 2007 - August 25, 2025Worked on design and development of the global bag range. Produced seasonal trend and product direction reports, collaborated directly with Asian suppliers, and contributed to branding and graphic design across bags and other product lines. Traveled internationally and domestically for R&D and product development.
Industrial Designer at Ace Print & Display
December 1, 2006 - August 25, 2025Designed permanent and semi-permanent point-of-purchase displays from concept through to production. Delivered award-winning solutions for clients including Sony, Canon, Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Warner Brothers, Reckitt Benckiser, and Pernod Ricard.
Casual Academic Staff at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2020 - August 25, 2025Taught the Professional Communication class for third-year industrial design students, focusing on presentation skills and preparation for professional life. Delivered tutorials on digital and hand sketching, Adobe Suite, Solidworks, research techniques, oral presentation skills, and storytelling. Provided guest lectures for classes such as Human-Centred Design and Honours.
Head of Research and Development at Vuly Play
November 1, 2023 - October 31, 2024Led Vuly’s product creation department, consolidating industrial design, product development, sourcing, project management, prototyping, and in-house fabrication. Drove design vision across cross-functional teams, delivering the company’s largest-ever relaunch and a renewed product range.
Footwear Designer at Nike
April 1, 2015 - June 30, 2017Created global performance footwear across Running, Basketball, Men’s Training, and Women’s Training categories, collaborating with marquee athletes and cross-functional teams to bring new technologies to market.
Senior Bag Designer at Nike
June 1, 2011 - April 30, 2015Led global bag product design across sports and lifestyle categories, partnering with top athletes to create signature models, and translating market insights into design solutions.
Senior Designer - Global Bags at Quiksilver
October 1, 2007 - May 31, 2011Led global bag range design, mentored a team, and collaborated with US/Europe teams to ensure global design standards; engaged with Asian suppliers and supported R&D travel.
Junior Designer - Global Bags at Quiksilver
December 1, 2006 - May 31, 2007Designed and developed Quiksilver's global bag range, produced seasonal trend and product direction reports, and collaborated with suppliers for R&D and production.
Industrial Designer at Ace Print & Display
December 1, 2005 - December 31, 2006Designed permanent and semi-permanent point-of-purchase displays from concept through production for major brands.
Chief Design Officer at Glide Luggage
January 1, 2018 - February 29, 2020Led product design, branding, packaging, CX, marketing, and all creative aspects of a startup hard-sided luggage system; built partnerships and drove cohesive brand and product strategy.
Casual Academic Staff at University of Technology, Sydney
January 1, 2018 - February 29, 2020Taught Professional Communication to third-year industrial design students; delivered tutorials on digital and sketching, Adobe Suite, Solidworks, research techniques, and storytelling.
Chief Design Officer at VERVE Fitness
March 1, 2021 - December 31, 2022Oversaw the design, branding and consumer experience across all touchpoints; led the transition from sourced-and-badged products to in-house designed products within nine months; directed brand guidelines, website redesign, and launched BE> initiatives.
Education
Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design), Honours at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2001 - December 1, 2004Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design), Honours at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2001 - December 31, 2004Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design), Honours at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2001 - December 1, 2004Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design), Honours at University of Technology, Sydney
February 1, 2001 - December 1, 2004Qualifications
Industry Experience
Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Education, Retail, Media & Entertainment, Professional Services, Software & Internet
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