A bit about me

Hello, my name is Tony Gonzalez. I am a product designer living in Silverlake, Los Angeles. I have worked on design projects in many different disciplines, including industrial design, architectural design, urban design, and product design. As a designer, I love solving tough problems by combining shrewd research, efficient technology, and simple design.

Before pursuing product design full time, I practiced for 5 years as an architect in Los Angeles. I worked at world renowned design offices, including Michael Maltzan Architecture and Behnisch Architekten. To design architecture, you need to think critically about how people do everyday tasks, have empathy for folks who may use spaces differently than you, and painstakingly document every aspect of a design. You need to be able to understand design through a number of different lenses. How will the user see the design? How will the engineers see the design? How will this design compete in a market of its peers? My experience taught me to be bold, methodical, thorough, and empathetic in my design process. I have always been most passionate about talking to users, researching how they work, play, or live, and asking questions by iterating.

I first decided to move into product design so that I could apply my skills in a field where research, data, and user feedback can more rapidly be used in the design process. I am passionate about democratizing design. To me this means providing access to great design to as many people as possible.

In my free time, I love rock climbing, listening to house music, reading about design theory, and checking out the amazing live music scene here in LA. I am also a 3D animation artist, and have been lucky enough to participate in a few gallery shows here in LA and around the US. You can check out my 3D art here.