Culture
If there is any lesson we should take away from 2020, designing a healthy work culture and having a dependable team is just as important as the design work itself. This year reawakened us as a society to address racial inequalities. It is heartbreaking to know it took a global pandemic for the Black Lives Matter Movement to come to light. Additionally, designer Ti Chang and Yanko Design addressed gender inequalities existing, particularly in the design industry. As a minority-owned business, we stand with all women, minorities, and POC who have had to work twice as hard for a seat at the table.
We believe our co-founders’ core values reflect Hatch Duo as a whole, so we feel it is necessary to speak about societal issues both publicly and within our team. We have always made a conscious effort to advocate for equality throughout various aspects of our company. In continuing essential conversations, we strive to be the change we wish to see in the world, and it all starts with our culture and team members who represent Hatch Duo.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, we also realized remote work is here to stay. We are grateful to say it wasn’t a massive shift for us because we’ve always operated under remote work circumstances. However, just because we are working from home doesn’t mean it will affect our culture. We are incredibly proud to say our team remains close through virtual happy hours via Zoom or Google Hangouts, despite the social distancing protocols.
Projects
COVID PPE: There were numerous amounts of extraordinary efforts to solve the PPE shortage due to COVID-19. Our approach was to help non-designers and engineers access a process they could make right from their home. So, we designed a DIY face shield process approved by Santa Clara Kaiser’s Safety Committee, and ultimately, donated 120 face shields to South Bay Kaisers within two weeks.
GRIND Basketball: Our Mechanical Engineering team helped GRIND Basketball develop the ball-catch mechanism for the world’s first portable basketball shooting machine! We are extending our congratulations to our friends at GRIND Basketball as they completed their first batch of pre-orders and continue the grind to fulfill their second batch.
Solgaard Solar Boombox: Congratulations to our clients at Solgaard on a successful three-part product launch! We were honored to play a role in designing their Solar Boombox using up-cycled ocean plastics. Keep changing the world, one product at a time!
Office Projects: With our two office concept projects, the Optimum farm bot & Walker Juicer, we aimed to research industries we look forward to exploring more in 2021. With subjects such as climate change, food safety, wellness, and nutrition in mind, we are proud to share our efforts in thinking about how design can innovate technology as we know it.
In addition to these product launches, we have always viewed design as capital. Using design at its early stages is more valuable than traditional capital, especially when institutional fundraising may tighten their purse strings due to the pandemic and economic uncertainty. Our mission at Hatch Duo is to invest in the development and innovation of products that positively impact the environment for future generations. We invested in four startups this year, one of them being Rubbish, the world’s first smart litter-picker upper. Stay tuned next year to hear more about the three others!
Awards
IDEA Finalist Robin Healthcare: Just what the doctor ordered. We were thrilled to be an IDEA Design Finalist this year for Robin Healthcare. Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing Robin to life!
IDSA 20/20 Recognition: Hatch Duo co-founder and Design Principal Jon Thai was recently highlighted by Industrial Designers Society of America staff (IDSA) in their 20/20 Recognition Awards! This year, they selected 20 professional IDSA members that have accomplished a great deal despite this year’s many challenges. Thank you to IDSA for the support throughout the year.
Onward To 2021
As much of a whirlwind 2020 has been, it has also been quite the learning experience. From sparking necessary conversations as a team to product launches and investments, 2020 overall was a definitive year for our team. We wish you all a safe and Happy New Year as we prepare to ring in 2021.
The Hatchery 