Artist – Sculptor – Designer – Public Artist
A folio of a pop-up constructed from handmade paper, bookboard, brass, cloth, and printed photographs. When the folio is closed all the elements fold inside. When opened, the photographs rise up into position. When viewed from the proper angle, the multiple photographs align to be seen as a continuous panoramic view.
This industrial design is a 2’x3’x2′ steel countertop device developed to securely hold cameras and hardware for an AI assisted check out system. The design required an attractive, durable, and secure framework for a high-traffic retail setting. The device’s specifications were driven by the placement and optical limitations of the cameras, as well as anticipated customer behavior. The cameras need to be securely locked in place, yet the customer needs to be able to move freely in close proximity to the device without impairing the system’s function.
Design solutions were developed in collaboration with the Data Science team and were rendered in 3-D (SketchUp) for with management review prior to prototype fabrication.
Final design elements include the framework, a custom camera enclosure, and elements (metal and 3-D printed) within the camera enclosure both to hold the lens securely in place and to allow for heat dissipation. I fabricated prototypes and multiple devices during demonstration and the early phase of production.
Some of Tom’s favorite product designs are toy designs. Brick Racers™ are a line of toy vehicles with a metal base and a brick plate top. These creative toys allow for open-ended, physical play, with lots of opportunity for creative destruction and storytelling. It’s all about building and then racing!
Brick Racers™ are a cross between a construction toy and a diecast car. The toys are designed to work on many existing diecast car play sets.
Brick Racers™ can also be used as educational STEM toys to explore basic physics and engineering.
Tom is the primary inventor on 2 US design patents for these vehicles. He worked collaboratively with a partner to develop a wide variety of designs for more than 20 different brick body tops. All of the brick designs use bricks that are available in the public domain. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Tom at thomas-strich dot com.
Blast Off Blocks is a space-themed building set of wood toy blocks. This toy design brings together the love of building with the joy of exploration. Kids can build their own space vehicle and rocket into space with this imaginative construction toy!
Kids can use their imaginations and storytelling skills to explore the planets. At the same time, the planet models can be used as STEM educational toys.
In 2016, I was part of a small team that published the multi-media educational ebook, Hover: Hummingbirds in the United States. I later used the assets from the ebook to develop consumer products.
The first product design was the adult coloring book, Coloring Hummingbirds. Each page of this book featured a species of hummingbird typically seen in the United States and Canada. Detailed drawings and brief natural history information were included. The illustrations were based on photos from the ebook and associated website.
I also developed a more whimsical coloring product, Coloring Hummingbirds folios. These folios have been sold in independent gift shops.
We have also made a series of hummingbird designs available on consumer products on Redbubble, a print-on-demand website.
Growing Community Shade Structure, and Seeds of Community Bike Racks
Growing Community Shade Structure, and Seeds of Community Bike Racks
The Clark Park Community Garden is built on the grounds of a decommissioned swimming pool in a city park. Funded by 2 combined neighborhood grants, I designed and produced a shade structure and bike racks that emphasize growth and renewal. Key visual elements were fashioned from recycled street signs. After their installation, the project has become a gathering point for the Clark Park Farmer’s Market.