Toolshop
is a software
imagineering studio and my independent practice. I help technology
companies prototype and incubate new ideas for computing —
focusing on novel human-computer interaction, graphics, and creative
tooling.
Prototyping is Design
My career started off in Industrial Design, where I learned how valuable making prototypes was to the product development process. Making functional models we could test with people gave everyone hands-on insight into an idea's strengths and weaknesses, far more than a sketch or 3d model could. I've carried this way of working from the hardware world to software, and it's now my favorite way to help my collaborators. In several instances, the prototypes I built became the foundation of the public release.
Constant Learning
In 2020, I felt lost. I was a successful Product Designer/Product Manager hybrid, yet I was more disillusioned than ever. I spent a year with a therapist rediscovering my values. My top value was "love of learning", but I was rarely satisfying that day-to-day. I had to make a big change, so I quit my job and started this practice, focusing on programming as my medium, rather than documents and mockups. 2 years later, I approach each collaboration with a beginner's mindset, diving deep into creative and technical research to learn for both my and my clients' sakes. The artifacts I create show what's possible while expanding their imagination.
Creative Subversion
As a former contributor to Big Tech, I'm intimately familiar with how technological optimism can be used to exploit, and how capital can distort and change what the entire industry thinks are critical problems. That's why I prioritize collaborators that work on under-researched problems and create tools for people to understand and control their use of technology.
Collaborations
Reach out to julius at tarng dot com to discuss a project! I always start with a short trial to test out how we work together. Pricing ranges from $200-$300 depending on funding and stage of company.