Whipsaw—the award-winning creatively driven, global product design and innovation company specializing in research, innovation strategy, digital design, industrial design, and mechanical engineering—is proud to announce the completion of their new San Francisco, CA, design studio and office. Whipsaw was intent on creating a space that is welcoming to team members and clients while remaining highly functional for design teams. Located in Potrero Hill (55 Mississippi Street), it is the perfect place to serve local clients and attract the best talent from those that flock to the Bay Area design scene.
“After a long pandemic, we wanted a fresh start in a brand new ‘no compromises’ design studio. The standalone building is filled with light that streams in from massive skylights, making the space feel like an industrial cathedral. There are several cozy retreat areas to foster those ever- so-important spontaneous creative moments. It’s an ideal place to innovate because it feels so fun, airy, and inspirational,” says Dan Harden, CEO, Founder and Principal Designer.
Originally built as a facility for fabricating ship boilers, the standalone building offers ample room to work and socialize. Whipsaw utilized the 40-foot-tall ceilings and six thousand square feet of space to accommodate primary conference rooms on two separate mezzanine levels. Each mezzanine overlooks the main studio as well as an in-house 3D printing and model-making shop, enabling the team to work on small and large-scale fabrications to test concepts and iterate on solutions. Consistent with the firm’s bold design ethos, the new space reflects timeless modernity and authenticity. Whipsaw let the building keep its character with exposed old-growth redwood beams while incorporating metal bracing and all-glass conference rooms to give the interiors a contemporary yet natural feel.
The natural quality is further enhanced by bringing the outside in. A huge barn door slides open to reveal a private outdoor space for working in the California sun, but also doubles as a beer garden during events. This makes the studio a multi-purpose place. Since its opening, the new studio has hosted discussions covering relevant topics such as innovation and AI, open mic performances, and more—engaging with creatives in the San Francisco design and technology community.
Whipsaw has been recognized for their excellence and innovative work with awards from leading design organizations such as the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), Red Dot, and iF. Some of the firm’s finest designs are on display at the new office gallery, including signature products for companies like Brita, AGS, Cisco Meraki, Ceribell, Tile, Roku, Tonal, Google, Dell, TP-Link, and many more.
The studio thrives on being a social center to authentically share and develop advanced ideas in technology and design. It also cultivates a sense of togetherness as a place to gather, work in person, brainstorm, and collaborate, thereby helping the brand continue to create the designs of the future.
Dan Harden
CEO, Principal Designer, Whipsaw
Dan is CEO, Founder and Principal Designer of Whipsaw, an acclaimed product design and experience innovation company in Silicon Valley that has introduced 1000 products to market over the past 20 years for the world’s top companies. Dan is a highly active creative force and luminary in the design world. He directs the strategic and conceptual direction of most project engagements. Dan’s passion and experience combined with his personal philosophies about art, culture, psychology, and technology permeates the work and the brand.
Dan previously served as VP and president of Frogdesign where he designed many notable products for heavyweights like Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch. He also formerly served as a lead designer at Henry Dreyfuss Associates. Early on in his career, he interned with design virtuoso George Nelson, and at Hewlett Packard and Richardson Smith. Dan graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture and Art in 1982.
Throughout his prolific career, Dan has designed hundreds of successful products ranging from baby bottles to supercomputers. He has won over 300 design awards, including 41 IDEA Awards, and has been granted over 500 patents. His work has been featured in the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Museum, The Henry Ford Museum, the Chicago Athenaeum, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art.
Fast Company selected Dan as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” calling him “design’s secret weapon.” Dan’s views and work have been featured in Abitare, Axis, Business Week, CNN, Domus, Form, Fortune, Metropolis, Newsweek, Time, Wired, and several design books. Dan was inducted into the World Technology Network, a curated membership community in association with TIME,
Fortune and CNN that honors those individuals doing “the most innovative work of the greatest likely long-term significance.
About Whipsaw
Whipsaw, under the leadership of design visionary Dan Harden, is a highly acclaimed strategy, design, and engineering consulting firm. For 24 years, Whipsaw has created successful products and immersive experiences via diverse industry partnerships including consumer electronics, housewares, computing, robotics, medical, scientific, furniture and commercial products for clients such as Aristocrat, Brita, Cisco, Dell, Ford, GE, Google, Meta, Tile, Intel, Merck, Nike, Olympus, Samsung, Sony, Tonal and Uber. Whipsaw is renowned for its bold innovative integrity, rich design ideology, and intuitive product solutions that enrich the human experience.