Danny Neill

Product Designer

Born in West Auckland, Danny grew up making and breaking things in his backyard with his Dad’s ‘borrowed’ tools.

After achieving excellence in Graphics and Visual Arts in high school, Danny pursued a diploma in professional SCUBA instruction with the dream of specialising in SCUBA equipment design. Here, his awareness for the importance of the design experience was born — his first successful product a small run of handmade wrist-mounted slates for underwater notetaking.

Danny holds a national certificate in Visual Arts and a Bachelor’s Degree in Design and Visual Arts – Product and Furniture design. Additionally, he spent time at the University of Limerick in Ireland working on a range of projects for the medical and consumer electronic markets before joining Logitech in Ireland as an industrial designer.

While in Ireland, Danny worked to integrate a range of art and engineering disciplines within Logitech to creatively sell future product ideas, test markets and support established business groups within Logitech like Gaming (Logitech G), Ultimate Ears and their core business (mice and keyboards).

Reporting between the creative director and the numerous external design agencies, Danny had his first taste of design consulting and set off home to New Zealand to work as a design consultant.

While in the Manawatu, Danny worked for local and international clients across the full spectrum of design from feasibility studies to mass manufacturing design kits.

Danny joins Locus as a Designer and is passionate about adding value where he can to help create beauty, delight, and excitement in commercially viable and environmentally conscious products and services.

EXPERTISE

Concept Development
Ideation
Design for Manufacture
Empathy in Design
Foam and clay modelling

FUN FACTS

Spends most weekends crashing and fixing old motorbikes at the racetrack and has a specialty in repairing old carburettors.

His favourite design documentary is The Genius of Design, based on the brilliant book by Penny Sparke.

Will do anything for love, just not that.

CULTURE

Danny believes good design operates at the intersection of science and art.

He has a national diploma in Professional SCUBA Instruction and has over 1,000 logged dives to his name.

From his work in Visual Arts, Danny was granted a study award to pursue his Bachelor’s Degree in Product and Furniture Design.