Francisco Hernandez

Automated makeline for Chipotle & other restaurants.

Industrial Design to create a modular product that could be customized to different restaurants and keep a consistent visual language.

Work consisted of exterior design as well as interior component design and exploration to meet the stringent needs of a commercial kitchen.

https://usehyphen.com/

VERCARI™

Automated Delivery of Sensitive Items

VERCARI™ ensures secure autonomous deliveries, employing advanced identity verification and item tracking mechanisms to safeguard sensitive items during the entire delivery process.

Design featured:

End to end delivery automation

Adaptable drawer configuration

Customizable security access

Robotic arm

AUCARI™

Automated delivery of meals and general items in your facility

- Advanced navigation enables precise maneuverability in tight spaces​.
- AI allows the unit to adapt itself when changes occur in a delivery route​.
- Special cameras detect people and objects in its path​.
- Built-in shelf sensors tell the unit to return when empty.

More Efficient Means of Managing Facility-based Personal Mobility

Addressing the transportation needs of the elderly contributes to maintaining their ability to live independently, allowing them to actively participate in social activities, shopping, entertainment, and daily affairs, thereby improving their quality of life and reducing the risk of social isolation and depression.
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Simultaneously, it alleviates the burden on caregivers, reducing dependence on family and societal support systems. This helps enhance overall societal sustainability in supporting the elderly.

Empowering Safety, Enriching Lives with Intelligent Elderly Security Ecosystem.

Suite of smart devices ensures the comprehensive safety and monitoring of the elderly, offering real-time alerts, health assessments, and secure environmental tracking.

Consisted of Gateway, Alarm, Sensor, Emergency Button & Wearable Sensor

Tasked with designing this suite of products with a consistent visual brand language. Obtained digital and physical hardware/models and had to reverse engineer and design to fit the internals.

Osmetech, an international molecular diagnostics company, approached us to design their eSensor XT-8 molecular diagnostics platforms’ User Interface. The FDA-cleared device produces results in less than 30 minutes detecting multiple genetic markers from a prepared patient sample.

The Osmetech team consisted of about 5 people with different backgrounds/disciplines. The challenge was presenting several options addressing their multiple concerns and ultimately combining their feedback into a clean user interface that provides an easy-to-use graphical, touch screen interface & requires limited operator training.

The final UI was created by our in-house designer. Shown are 4 of my initial concepts to bookend design directions.

The esenor XT-8 received a Medical Design Excellence Award for innovative device design in 2009.

Throughout the years we were involved in one way or another with the design of the Alcon Cataract Refractive Suite.

LensX: Concept design for body enclosure

Centurion Vision System: Trim & finish visualizations

ORA System with Verifeye+ Technology: Designed monitor enclosure as well as the V+V medical cart to improve ergonomics and component configuration.

The LenSx® Laser with OnAxis Technology is a femtosecond laser system used in cataract surgery, offering a bladeless, precise and personalized approach that aims to improve accuracy at every step.

Responsible for concept ideation & CAD modeling. Challenge was creating concepts that could be manufacturable and addressed the articulation of the unit and ergonomics of the patient & staff using the product.

LenSx was later aquired by Alcon as part of their Caract Suite.

Designed for patients with traumatic, multi-level spinal injuries, the VRTX System is an innovative cervical to sacral spine solution with multiple connecting braces. The prefabricated design with adjustable sizing allows for immediate fitting after surgery. A modular, low-profile construction comfortably supports the patient’s anatomy. The VRTX System can be adapted to more or less complex orthoses, such as a collar, a cervical thoracic orthosis or a lumbosacral orthosis.

Aspen has an amazing family of products combining simplicity and thoughtful engineering. They approached us to do some R&D for a new product for patients straight out of surgery. They wanted a new perspective and somebody to explore mechanical adjustment methods as well as molded parts; a departure from their traditional products.

Our work was interrupted by Covid but their internal team continued the work creating an amazing addition to their product line.

Industrial design of lancing device. Worked closely with engineers to set basic parameters. Payed close attention to drawing and release spring mechanisms as well as the depth selector markings to provide maximum comfort.

Designed external form and ergonomics, focusing on the grip area and cap to meet user experience requirements for comfort, ease of use, and sanitation.

We were engaged to design the new aesthetic direction for ept’s pregnancy tester. During the development we were asked to modify the design to incorporate the new Digital technology recently available. We still had to keep in mind the electronics volume and lateral flow cartridge design best practices in order to ensure consistent performance.

As one of my first Industrial Design projects it was a crash course on empathy. We were asked to design symbols to represent the positive or negative results. During the process I quickly understood that Positive or Negative, or + - , or graphic symbols showing pregnancy were a very delicate subject and could be interpreted emotionally different depending on the persons desired outcome. Ultimately it was decided to use words to overcome any possible ambiguity of A) Did the device work and B) The result.

10+ years later you can still buy the tester.

Metcal dual fume extractor. The BVX-250 is a portable, two-station filtration system for removing workplace fumes, smoke, dust, and vapors. With 99.97% efficiency HEPA 13 filtration, 30-second filter changes, and twice the suction power of previous models.

Industrial Design to address ergonomic enhancements and new unit architecture to allow users to change filters without pulling out unit or disassembling unit.

https://www.metcal.com/

In 2006 American Lawn Mower Co. launched their family of electric powered mowers under the Earthwise brand. A couple of years later we were contacted to improve the aesthetic look of their products.

Our tasks ranged from simple hood & component designs for their Earthwise brand, to complete OEM lawn mower designs under the Homelite brand.

Integrated a removalbe battery for the cordless version

Created and applied a visual aesthetic that worked for multiple models varying in size & type of power.

Vizio asked us to design their first Blu-Ray player. We had to design and have a working prototype within 3 months in order to show it at CES.

Afterwards we continued to work with them in the design of additional models for Best Buy, Costco, and other major retailers. We were also engaged in designing their remote control and initial HDMI cables.

ecco Personal Pocket GPS Locator is a keychain style handheld navigator that takes you back to a specific starting point--your car, campsite, hotel, trail, dock, house, etc.

Ultra-sensitive GPS searches up to 32 satellites within 60 seconds and triangulates the three best to lock in the starting point. The device then saves your location and when you are ready to go back to your car or location it displays distance and direction with a simple arrow guiding the user in real time

It store and instantly recalls up to three locations, with a distance of up to 9,999 miles.

We were involved in the design and development from the initial research to mock ups, presentations, packaging and manufacturing liaison services.

Taylor Dunn, the leading provider of commercial & industrial vehicles, came to us with an interesting challenge. They were manufacturing the ET-3000 electric vehicle in Anaheim California and purchasing their assembled cab from Italy.

In order to reduce costs, lead times and uncertainty of shipping a partial vehicle overseas, they decided to manufacture the cab in-house as well.

They came to us to design the front fascia and bumper of the cab. It had to be durable and fit their cab structure design which transitioned from a flat surface to a curved windshield. We had to pay close attention to transitions and manufacturing methods. Both the front fascia and bumper are vacuum formed parts manufactured locally in Huntington Beach.

Overall the new vehicle was well received and we were asked to later design a wider version with the same styling.

The Innovative KRISS Super V System

The KRISS Super V Recoil Mitigation System uses an innovative nonlinear operating system that revectors energy down and away from the shooter’s shoulder to dramatically reduce felt recoil and muzzle climb. This system allows the shooter to recover faster, for quicker and more accurate sequential shots.

KRISS USA came to us with the purpose of improving the butt stock ergonomics and to design different models of the KRISS Vector line of weapons. The butt stock had to be adjustable and had to fold forward so we had to design the geometry in order to clear access to the handle and trigger and yet be comfortable during use and when folded.

Conceptual galley designed for Encore Aerospace. We were tasked with exploring a modular G2 galley to offer airlines options as to what their customers saw as they entered the plane.

Prototype with a working monitor is on display at Boeing’s Design Center. The engaging display and high quality trim and finish continue to attract new airline customers to Encore Interiors.

Panasonic Avionics partnered with Encore Aerospace to design, prototype and showcase a conceptual yet manufacturable seat that would be centered around Panasonic’s In-Flight Entertainment Products

The seat offered an interchangeable monitor shroud to use any Panasonic monitor and an innovative drop down armrest that gave users a wider more comfortable back.

Complete seat design for Zodiac Aerospace.

We were tasked to design a seat from the ground up keeping in mind all the potential aircraft the seat has to go in; from narrow body to wide body and from four across to six across.

We also had to keep in mind family styling for Economy to Business Class variations and how we could tailor selective parts to accommodate those needs.

Metcal came to us to design their first dual station portable fume extractor.

Close attention was placed at how the unit would be serviced/opened and transported.

Because of its size and weight we integrated the handles on the side of the unit at the same time hiding the exhaust vents.

Instead of using off-the-shelf latches we ended up deigning custom latches that integrated seamlessly into the design of the body.

One of my first Industrial Design projects.We were tasked with re-designing ept’s analog pregnancy tester.

During this time, they were also developing the first digital pregnancy tester.

We were tasked with exploring alternative ways of displaying the results without using words (for international markets). This was a crash course on empathy realizing that the words or icons associated with positive or negative results had a very different emotional meaning depending on the woman’s desired outcome. At the end it was decided to use words to remove any ambiguity of the results.

10+ years and the visual language is still being used.

Custom aircraft interior design visualizations for Encore Aerospace.

Worked with Sales, Marketing & Engineering teams to design custom elements to retrofit & design new interiors. Created photo-realistic visualizations of Encore Aerospace’s Interior Products.

In charge of creating and modifying data in order to achieve desired results for Boeing & Airbus interiors.

Created custom materials & lighting for different views.

I’ve created dozens if not hundreds of aircraft galley visualizations for EnCore Aerospace. Galleys vary from G1, G2 in front of the plane to custom G4’s in the back of the plane.

These renderings have been used for their website and promotional material but mainly for bid presentations in order to provide that extra visual for airline companies.

I’ve worked with their sales and engineering teams working with 3D CAD models, AutoCAD drawings and napkin sketches. A key aspect of working with these models is data management. These often have thousands of parts, hardware and polygon intensive geometry. Preparing these files for rendering is an art in itself.

Thermador Product Visualizations

Photo realistic renderings of Thermador’s Kitchen Appliance family of products. Responsible for rendering CAD database and compositing with selected kitchen environments to be used for catalogs & promotional material.

This section focuses on individual projects/explorations. Every designer has ideas or projects that are stuck in our minds. This is a place for such projects.