www.rafagu.com

HELLO, my name is Rafael Gonzalez Urdaneta, but you can call me just Rafa.

Contact me at rgu285@hotmail.com in English or Spanish.

Please visit my website: www.rafagu.com & my blog: www.simulatedwood.blogspot.com

PROFILE

• Focused in achieving a balance of function and aesthetics in every project, based on extensive research.

• Used to translate creative concepts and ideas to coherent plans uti-lizing a wide variety of tools and technologies.

• Ability to build pro-active working relationships with clients and colleagues.

• Easy going and willing to learn.• Can work under pressure and manage time to deliver results under

tight deadlines.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Adobe CS5 Master Suite – Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects,Flash, InDesign and Dreamweaver.• Rhinoceros 3D 4.0 - With Brazil or VRay rendering plugins.• SolidWorks 2010.• AutoCAD 2010.• Office 2010.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Video Production.George Brown College, Toronto, Canada. 2009-2010.

Interior Designer.Payen Arquitectos, Mexico City, Mexico. 2009.

Web Designer.Cien Por Ciento Ideas, Mexico City, Mexico. 2008-2009.

EDUCATION

Design Management (DM).George Brown College,Toronto, Canada. 2009-2010.

Industrial Design (Exchange Student for 1 Semester)Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2007.

Industrial Design (BA).Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, Mexico. 2004-2009.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Exhibition Designer. MUNAL, Castillo de Chapultepec.Mexico City, Mexico. 2009.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN 01-23

GRAPHIC DESIGN 24-30

ILLUSTRATION 31-36

OTHER STUFF 37-43

2010 Fee-Fi 01

Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum... I was thinking of the classic Jack and the beanstalk tale when I designed this jewelry box

I decided to combine the open hanging tree storage idea with the classic closed multi drawer box, so the user can organize jewelry according to use, form and size.

02 Fee Fi 2010

Two different objects fused together by a story to provide different storage functions.

If you look closely you will notice how the beanstalk grows up all the way through the box, breaking the roof to continue flowing upward, dragging some of the jewelry up on its way.

2010 Mingle:An 03

Mingle is a modular object that can be customized by mixing and match-ing different parts to form unique characters. This is just one of the possible combinations, but there would be more different modules to choose from.

The object is also divided into four different sections designed to store and organize the jewelry depending on how often its used. The pointy hair can be used to hang the rings, bracelets and necklaces that are used on a daily basis.

04 Mingle:An 2010

Small earings and other small accessories can be dropped through the hole on the top of the head to be stored inside the upper section.

The middle and bottom sections can be used to store larger and less used jewelry. This is where that watch you never use can go.

2010 Flip 05

Flip is a re-interpretation of the traditional tray table, where you have a fold-ing base that holds a tray on top as the usable surface. One of the advantages 0f the single supporting leg is it can be used over a bed or couch.

You can leave the base in place and just take the tray with you to easily carry your lunch back from the kitchen.

06 Flip 2010

The base is built from high quality bent plywood and the tray is made of some hard plastic like melamine.

When not in use the base can fold down to almost the same size of the tray, this way it can all be stored neatly out of sight.

BUTLER_3000AKA_FLAMINGO_TRAY_TABLE

2010 Butler 3000 07

This was a previous approach to design a modern version of the classic tray table.

As part of the excersise I wanted to explore modeling more organic shapes, and ended up with an object that could easily fit in the set of a Sci-Fi movie.

08 Butler 3000 2010

As with the previous table I divided the original design into its basic com-ponents and functions, to create the same objects but in an entirely different way.

So we still have a foldable base and the tray that rests on top, with an aes-thetic emphasis on the mechanical elements .

2009 ADDO 01 09

Addo is a tool-less, modular, ready-to-assemble furniture system that can adapt to the user’s needs, space and taste.

It consists of a common set of parts that can be used to build any furniture you can imagine, and can be assembled or dissasembled without any tools.

10 ADDO 01 2009

The idea is to improve on the existing ready to assemble furniture concept by simplifying the assembly process with tool-less joints and fewer different parts.

You can add new parts at any time to get new functionality or change the appearance. The easy assembly and dissasembly makes moving into a new home a much easier task.

2009 Fausto & Bertha 11

I designed this chair & table for a furniture design contest in Mexico.

I was one of the finalists and won a diploma for excellent design.

12 Fausto & Bertha 2009

The idea behind this project was to create objects with life-like features, turning them into characters with personality, mixing straight furniture lines with more organic shapes found in nature.

Following this concept I decided to give person names to my objects, so Fausto is the chair, with its deer-like back legs, backrest eyes and ears, and Bertha is the table, with its tangled legs frozen in action.

2008 Folia 13

I designed this lamp as part of my final graduation project for Industrial Design.

The idea was to complement traditional Mexican crafts with modern design and production methods.

arnold14 Arnold 2008

Arnold is a kitchen designed for men like me who love to cook.

I have always thought of cooking as experimenting with different combi-nations of flavors, textures, aromas and even colors, so the perfect kitchen should be something like a lab, functional & spacious.

2007 Nissan Xico 15

I designed this car for a contest held by Nissan. The objective was to come up with a USD $2,400.00 car. It was selected as one of the best of show and got published in Mexico.

The Xico is a car you buy at your local super-store, it comes in flat-packed parts and you have to assemble some of it yourself. It’s a mix between a hot rod, a pick up and a mini-compact.

16 Apache 2007

I designed and built these when I lived in Buenos Aires Argentina where I was an exchange student for six months.

I got the inspiration from a leather bracelet a friend was wearing one day.

2006 OWTTH 17

This was a school project where we had to design and build a working grav-ity car.

The objective was to race against all the other cars built by fellow classmates and our car won every trial in first place.

18 Diablo BBQ 2006

Another school project, we had to design a working BBQ. We wanted to create a fun object so in contrast to the usual boring BBQ, ours is a cartoon devil bent over backwards.

2010 Knot 19

I was playing around with my name and ended up in this tangled mess.

It reads “RAFA GU” in a sort of twisted celtic knot grafitti or something, all this on the simulated wood texture that can be found in Toronto’s streetcars and subway.

“Come With Me If You Want To Live”.

20 Come With Me... 2010

2010 ADDO Research Report 21

This is the research report I wrote for my Design Management final project.

I made illustrations for each section to make it more fun to read.

22 ADDO Research Report 2010

These are some of the illustrations.

2009 Time Postcards 23

For this excercise we had to create postcards of our personal past, present and future.

From left to right: Future, Present & Past.

24 Time Postcards 2009

This was the past, on the top left corner I wrote the years it covered. Right underneath I put some of the symbols found in my coats of arms. Then we have Mexico city where I was born and grew up, and Buenos Aires that was an eye opener.

This second one is the future, bright but undefined. The triangle means bal-ance, strength, and the hand on top means I have to build it with my own hands. Death lurks on the upper right, but far, and on top of it all the pos-sibility of success.

1. 4. 7.

2. 5. 8.

3. 6. 9.

2006 - 2010 Various Logos 25

1. Addo One - Modular furniture system, 2. Big Bang - Logo for an event, 3. System One - Modular Furniture Prototype, 4. Simulated Wood - Per-sonal Blog,

5. Rafa GU - Personal logo, 6. Flip - Furniture Project, 7. Nuup Muuk - Logo for clothing brand, 8. Fausto & Bertha - Furniture project, 7. Xico - Concept Car,

26 The Fit Fits 2010

I made this Illustration for a class assignment where we had to improve an existing ad campaign.

The idea is to show how the fit can adapt to your lifestyle, and how you can fit almost anything into it.

2009 Hugo Boss Element 27

I made these illustrations for an online contest. The theme was the four elements, so I decided to make Fire & Water. I used many different pictures to create each collage.

28 Nuup Muuk 2008

These are illustrations for a concept I presented as part of my final Industrial Design Project.

The idea was to create a clothing brand that used traditional Mexican em-broidery in modern designs.

1998 - 2010 Various Doodles 29

I’m constantly doodling around, and these are just some examples of this pastime of mine.

I love creating all sorts of weird characters.

30 Love Hate 2007

I made this illustration to be used as the poster and flyer for a Valentine’s Day party.

Not the usual corny Valentine’s theme.

2006 San Miguelada ‘06 31

This was a design for a T-Shirt that was going to be sold at the San Migue-lada in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

The event was the Mexican version of the Running of the Bulls that origi-nally takes place in Pamplona’s San Fermin celebrations.

32 Stress Management 2010

These are frames from a short educational stop-motion animated film we made for George Brown College.

To watch it please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQb4pXLRfF8

2010 Simulated Wood 33

This is my blog, check it out at: www.simulatedwood.blogspot.com

I post to share the stuff that I like.

34 Frankfurtrufknarf 2007

Photo is one of my hobbies and I like to create bizarre compositions with a little help from photoshop.

Nothing is real.

2006 Voila! 35

Another strange scene mashed together from pictures I took. World famous Mexican cop-magician.

36 Various 2000 - 2010

I love taking all sorts of pictures, specially when traveling.

2006 Self Portrait 37

This is a self portrait I painted in oil. The idea was to mix painting with real objects, so my head is falling and leaving a trail of electronic components along the way.

38 El Pelele Remix 2006

This is a remix of Goya’s “El Pelele” classical painting. I found a similar scene in an old National Geographic and mixed it with Goya’s background and color scheme.

www.rafagu.com

Copyright © 2010 Rafa GU. All rights reserved.

Contact me :

rgu285@hotmail.com