Rachel Marie Shaffer

For the last 7 plus years, I have achieved two bachelor’s degrees in Jewelry and Industrial Design, where I specialized in product development and user-centered design. Over the years, I have worked on a wide range of design projects, from consumer experiences to store interiors, including designing and optimizing 3D products and spaces. My experience has taught me to approach every design challenge with creativity, technical precision, and a deep understanding of user needs. I have a particular focus on space optimization, material selection, and incorporating smart technology solutions into design concepts to improve both functionality and sustainability.

In Industrial Design, I am drawn to the quiet intelligence of modernist principles—clarity, utility, and restrained elegance—while also embracing the poetic tension between hard and soft, mechanical and human. I often work with raw materials, muted tones, and tactile finishes, believing that the materials themselves carry a story that should be felt and seen.

In jewelry, I distill complexity into precise, sculptural forms that interact dynamically with the body. My pieces often feature architectural structures or organic asymmetry, merging technical craftsmanship with expressive narrative. I’m especially interested in how jewelry can serve as both a personal artifact and a small-scale object of design integrity.

As an industrial and jewelry designer, my aesthetic is rooted in the harmony of form, function, and emotion. I approach each project with a minimalist lens, favoring clean lines, honest materials, and purposeful detailing. Whether designing products or adornments, I seek to create objects that feel both inevitable and intimate—as if they’ve always belonged to the user.

As a dual major, I bring a unique blend of macro-level spatial thinking and micro-level attention to detail—skills that align perfectly with universal company missions to create thoughtful, personalized interiors for real people. My foundation in industrial design is rooted in empathy and functionality. My priority is to design with users in mind, considering how people move through space, interact with objects, and emotionally connect with their environments. This user-centered mindset translates naturally to interior design, where flow, comfort, and atmosphere are everything. I am also comfortable working in digital modeling and rendering tools (Fusion360, Solidworks, Adobe Creative Suite), and I’m skilled at presenting concepts clearly, whether through mood boards, floor plans, or curated product selections. I can communicate ideas to both clients and collaborators with confidence and clarity. I believe I can contribute significantly to your company’s mission to deliver high-quality, user-friendly products that blend design with usability.

 

Education

Bachelor of Science (BS), Kean University, Michael Grave College, Union, NJ, 2019 ; Focus in Industrial Design/Product Design/ CADCAM

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Temple University, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA, 2016 ; Focus in Metals fabrication, Jewelry designing, and Computer aided design (CADCAM)

 

Design Skills

  • Concept Ideation

  • Market Research

  • 2D Rendering/Sketching (Paper & digital)

  • Computer Modeling and Rendering

  • Graphic design content (logos, presentations, signs, details, ect)

  • Physical Prototyping

  • Packaging Design

  • Gift Products Design

  • Store Fixture Design

  • Drug Delivery Design

  • Materials and Process Knowledge

  • Presentation Layouts

 

Computer Skills

  • SolidWorks, Technical Drawings of Models

  • Fusion360, Fusion360 Rendering, Fusion360 Animation

  • Rhino

  • Keyshot, Keyshot’s Animation

  • Adobe Creative Cloud

    • Adobe Photoshop

    • Adobe Illustrator

    • Adobe AfterEffects,

    • Premiere Pro

    • Adobe InDesign

    • Adobe Xd

  • Presentation Applications: Microsoft Office Suite, Prezi, Adobe Pdf.

 

Work Experience

Designer

Design Group of Americas   |    Wyomissing, PA   |    02/2025 –09/2025 Layoff due to Acquisition

  • Designer for Boye brand and crochet kit instructions. Editing and annotating Instructions for designed Crochet Kits using Illustrator. Crocheting prototype crochet designs and refining written instructions as needed.

  • Designing Felt Kit products and creating digital design of products for packaging using Photoshop and Illustrator. Prototyping physical Felt Kit product designs for review.

  • Updating digital dieline designs for crochet kit packaging for production using Illustrator.

  • Creating physical packaging prototypes to send to factory for reference. Professionally photographing products for packaging design with Canon Cameras.

  • Conceptualizing new designs for embroidery in hoops using Photoshop.

  • Creating Instructions Art (IA) for approved Cross-Stitch designs using Photoshop.

  • Creating 3D Digital Prototypes of Cross-Stitch design for digital packaging using Photoshop.

  • Editing and producing product instructional videos for Hillfolk in Premiere Pro.

  • Rendering POGs in Photoshop with updated inventory for customers to review.

  • Researching and conceptualizing new standing displays for finished embroidery/cross-stitch hoops.

  • Recreating and designing digital graphics with various Adobe programs for flower bouquet sleeves for a catalog. 

Industrial Designer, Marketing SEO, Project Manager

Milford Enterprise, Inc.   |   Quakertown PA   |   04/2021-05/2024

  • Specialized in creating cutting-edge store fixtures and mall Kiosks that blended functionality with aesthetic appeal and created interior spaces that met the customer’s requirements in terms of innovation and sustainability.

  • 3D modeled store fixtures in Fusion360 and SolidWorks before rendering the models in Keyshot.

  • Created visually pleasing presentations of fixtures for customers to review and finalize designs for production.

  • Managed and created content for marketing material and all social media platforms.

 

Graphic Designer

OraSure Technologies   |    Bethlehem, PA   |   12/2020 - 04/2021

  • Developed and maintained artwork and material specification of existing artwork and new product line extensions.

  • Interfaced with outside vendors for cost estimates on projects, designs, and execute print plates, print proofs, and onsite press runs.

 Industrial Designer

CSS Industries/ Design Group   |    Moosic PA   |   05/2019 - 11/2020

  • Market researched new gift-card holders for manufacturing in tin, plastic, or paper material.

  • Conceptualized and sketched new gift-card holders from research. Transformed sketched concepts into 3D modeled gift-card holders in Fusion360 and rendered designs for customers to review.

  • Worked closely with overseas factory personnel to ensure designs could be successfully manufactured.

  • Provided packaging solutions for corrugated displays.

  • Collaborated with marketing, production and customers to deliver unique designs that pushed the boundaries of creativity in the gifting industry.

  • Created marketing research power points of existing products in the market and predictions for future trends.

  • Assisted production team with creating production files for manufacturing.

  • Worked with teams from corresponding facilities to create new innovated products. Such as designing new flower bouquet carriers and recycling scraps of bows into a new product.

 

Graphic Designer, Industrial Designer

West Pharmaceutical Innovation Center (WIC)   |   Washington, NJ   |    04/2016 - 05/2019

  • Developed and designed visual concepts for marketing materials, including brochures, presentations, and digital content, to effectively communicate design-thinking expertise across the global company

  • Managed and operated all in-house 3D printers for global teams.

  • Post-processed all 3D printed pieces and transformed raw prints into high-quality prototypes for Global Company to utilize.

  • Rendered product animations and produced product instructional videos for drug delivery devices in AfterEffects.

  • Collaborated with innovation team to deliver unique designs that pushed the boundaries of creativity in the drug delivery industry.

Awards

• Formica National Student Competition Winner, Chair design: Deflextion, March 2018

• Formica National Student Competition Second Place Winner, Chair design: ke-lide-skop, January 2019

• Kerplunk Desk Design, displayed at ICFF, May 2018

• Young Women of Vision, Girl Scout Panel, June 2018