Osprey Packs, Inc. hired two new product designers, Cassie Tweed and Hut Cheng. Tweed joined the design team in September and is based in Osprey’s new Mill Valley, CA product design office, while Cheng will be based in Osprey’s Vietnam product development studio starting in November.
“We’re very excited to welcome Cassie and Hut to our product design team. Along with their enormous talent and creativity, they are bringing to Osprey a much anticipated female influence to our designs,” said Chris Graham, director of Osprey Vietnam.
Cheng comes to Osprey with a background of design for Lafuma in her native Hong Kong. As an industrial engineer, she designed and developed sports and outdoor bags and footwear for Lafuma’s international and Asia-Pacific markets. She was also a product designer at Crumpler, where she was responsible for designing and developing all aspects of technical bags for cameras, phones and laptops, as well as luggage collections. In 2008, Chang received the Design Observer Award (lifestyle shoes design) from the Agency for the Promotion of Industry (APCI) for her work with Lafuma.
Tweed also has a background in sports design. Prior to joining Osprey, Tweed had been the lead designer at Diversified Sports Technologies, managing all branding designs, promotional and print designs, and developing new product designs. In 2009, she also received grant funding from National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance to develop transportation and fabrication solutions for the agricultural and blacksmithing industries in Lebialem, Cameroon. Tweed holds a BS in Industrial Design from San Jose State University.
At Osprey, Cheng and Tweed will be responsible for assisting in the design and development of new products from concept stage to pre-production approval, working both independently and with the Osprey design team. They will also assist the product team in researching new product categories and concepts, as well as new manufacturing methods. Additionally, they are responsible for designing, engineering, and creating prototypes for new product components.
“Both Cassie and Hut impressed me with their creative approach to solving complex design problems and their methodic procedure in tackling new concepts and developing them into refined product,” said Mike Pfotenhauer, Osprey Packs founder and head designer. “We think they will bring enormous energy and talent to Osprey.”
