Kai Marcucelli Email & Phone Number

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Specializing on footwear product design ranging from lifestyle to performance. Color and trend: Ability to craft color and trend information to individual project needs or brands.Direction Creation: Combine color and trend information to help set product direction. Concept Creation: Create new design and materialization of existing product from concept stages to production.Material knowledge: Vast material knowledge ranging from upper materials (natural leathers, textiles and engineered synthetics) to sole unit EVA, PU and rubber compounds. Create quality standards for color and materials starting at the sampling stage to production.

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Greater Boston

Led and set direction for the Made in USA, NB1, Energy Team & Collaboration/SMU Programs.• Made in USA: 990 series are the primary Made models. Continued to build equity on Made in USA footwear. Programs ranged from color ups of original material packages to new material compositions. Worked with development to explore new opportunities with classic silhouettes.• NB1: Continued to evolve and expand direct-to-consumer customization footwear program. Expanded the line to incorporate obsolete materials into a sustainable/recyclable product.• Energy Team: Inline portion of Lifestyle (Asia made product). Test bed program designed to create future “classic” models. • Collaboration/SMU Programs: Continued to manage and design footwear programs for account and brands.

Greater Boston

Led the design USA team to create new products by researching global seasonal trends, colors and materials. Collaborated with Global Lifestyle design team to establish global stories and focus on the mindset of the Lifestyle consumer by exploring the seasonal trend influences and applying them to product. Led design team to create over four hundred styles per quarter. Products ranged from seasonal color and material executions, to new innovative upper and sole unit designs. Worked with and executed collaboration projects with top tier independent accounts. Traveled to Asia to execute concept prototypes and work through manufacturing/costing issues. Attended Global Summit meetings to review future season’s proposals and gain alignment on project needs.• Established Made in USA Customization footwear program (NB1) for New Balance Direct-to-Consumer program allowing anyone to design Made in USA model, on website, and receive it in two weeks. • Created collaboration projects with Tier-one accounts (i.e., Ronnie Fieg/Kith, Concepts, Bodega Aime’ Leon Dore’). Met with accounts to review their concepts and worked with them to color and materialize the styles. Created all technical drawings and developed the prototypes directly with the Asia or USA factories. Selected and created materials for unique executions and stories. • Collaborated with New Balance athletes [Evan Longoria (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr5UengqLQY) and Milos Raonic] to create signature shoes or color ups. Traveled to athletes to discuss design, color and materials. • Created a new tech package format and accelerated design timeline to assist the USA development team in executing prototypes within the New Balance global calendar parameters without sacrificing the design or material aesthetics. • Created top tier products to enhance and elevate standard inline products.• Created Made in USA - Horween Leather product line. Price points exceeding $400.00.

Greater Boston

Piloted program to streamline inline design and development team’s workload on SMU and In-line color up projects. • Managed Taiwan based developer working directly with factories based in Asia. • Designed and coordinated over four hundred projects per quarter working with in-line marketing teams. • Executed multiple cads per project for account review. Prepared stories for special accounts as a selling tool. • Edited digital images using Photoshop to create realistic color and material changes to existing New Balance styles for accounts to be able to make more informed decisions before requesting prototypes.• Created a four-to-six-month development calendar that would allow for early market introductions.• Generated over forty million dollars in revenue per year.• Managed VPT Asia personnel over four factories. • Presented VPT process to NB China managers for establishing guidelines. • Established 20/20 prototype request process. • Traveled to Asia to work directly with factory “team” on projects and streamline prototyping process.• Created new materials in New Balance’s development/data base.• Met in-house with accounts for one-on-one meetings to build concept boards. • Provided additional support for in-line design teams by traveling with marketing and design to accounts to build concepts.

Greater Boston

Served as individual designer for newly acquired Warrior brand. Designed new lacrosse-cleated products from upper to sole unit. Multiple product offerings designed for varying types of surfaces. • Designed casual footwear for after sport “lifestyle” wear.• Collaborated with Warrior equipment brand in Detroit, MI to create head-to-toe look, on and off the field, by use of details, materials and colors.

Greater Boston

Designed new products for the New Balance consumer. Mentored junior designers and created a sense of team within the design pod. Co-managed intern program with other senior designers: In charge of interviewing and hiring new candidates on a quarterly schedule.• Collaborated with marketing teams, created presentations for account visits, and presented concepts at sales meetings. • Researched trips with marketing and development: Talked to retailers, consumers and focus groups on present and future products for New Balance. • Established cross-pod design & critique sessions to integrate ideas and create a New Balance design language.

Greater Boston

• Created new offerings for entry-level price points.• Mentored junior designers and educated them on footwear manufacturing.• Built design concept presentations.

Greater Boston

Created new and innovative ways to improve athletic performance footwear. • Researched cushioning technologies, lateral stability, and fastening systems to introduce different materials for improved function. Projects: Tennis, Running, Soccer, and Basketball.• Other projects: Concepts for "wearable technologies"; Watches, Global Positioning Systems for individual sports, and warning devices for recreational snow sports. Studying the biomechanics of the foot to better understand the needs of the athletes. • Traveled to Taiwan to make functional prototypes for testing and gathering functional – presented the findings to the designers in Italy. • Granted US Patent (20040190383) for work inventing finger watch.

Greater Boston

Created full technical packages consisting of: line art, mechanical drawings, material and color specifications, and final color renderings from original concepts.• Traveled to the Far East to make detail, pattern, and construction decisions, finalized and approved mold drawings, as well as developed new logos.• Managed and maintained the design department Apple computer systems.• Experience with the following manufacturing processes: EDM, injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, and compression molding. • Special Project Designer for Japan Pacific regions, including price sensitive products & hi-end technical shoes. • Designer for Custom Footwear: Basketball, Training, Children's, Men's and Women's Originals & Lifestyles.• Created all Basketball heritage-based tread patterns from 1995 to 1998.• Established design standards for accurate technical packages.