About Jeff Cronk

• 35 year design industry professional – 15 corporate and executive management & 20 as design firm owner/designer
• directed many innovative and complex projects from concept to market – time lines, resources, $MM+ budgets
• stable influence and guidance of interdisciplinary teams + an effective team member: creative, positive
• proven expertice ranges from hands-on creative, to direction and management, to Board level initiatives and oversight
• working style that is well suited for aligning diverse talent, equity interests, and managing start-up chaos

. . . . .

Jeff is owner and principal designer of Cronk Design LLC. His career started specializing in furniture/industrial design and product manufacturing, and has grown to include product development, product marketing, and design integration consulting. Recent work includes Board of Director level design consulting and council.

Jeff has designed products for a number of leading manufacturers, including Allsteel, Gieger International and Vecta, designed custom furniture and residential architecture for individual clients, and consulted on the design of a mobile digital learning lab for a non-profit MIT chartered Fablab.

Jeff’s work has won many design awards, including ASID, IBD and IDSA honors. Multiple Fortune 500 companies have incorporated his forward thinking products. Currently, Jeff is exploring and making IoT gadgets.

History

Before starting Cronk Design in 1994, Jeff worked for 15 years at manufacturing companies. This experience in design, product development, daily production, and executive level management give him a comprehensive perspective that is rare among consulting design professionals. Recent Board of Director positions have widened this viewpoint.

Just before breaking out on his own, Jeff was Director of Design for Vecta, a subsidiary of Steelcase. In that role, he was responsible for the overall strategic direction of product design and development, as well as a member of the executive management staff. His direct responsibilities also included product engineering, and design direction for marketing materials, product launches and corporate showrooms. His development and rollout of interactive marketing tools at Vecta occurred early in the digital time line.

At Vecta, Jeff initiated and directed the efforts of leading designers, managing the development of many award winning products. At the same time, he himself became an accomplished product designer for the company, creating the game-changing 4 O’Clock Chair, an ergonomic seating line with features to address early-on the redefined requirements of the digital workplace.

At Cronk Design, Jeff continued to design successful products, including the power/data integrated conference table eTable, one of the first table product lines to predict and deliver support for the emerging laptop integrated office.

Jeff earned a BFA in Design from the Kansas City Art Institute, studying with Victor Papanek.

For more information or to request a CV…