Meet the BYU Design Review Team

The BYU Design Review just turned one year old. As we go into our second year we want to continue to grow and help designer’s make better products. The BYU Design Review was started to help strengthen the design community and culture. A huge thanks goes out to Danni Figueroa and Jake Hunter, our first editor and associate editor, and the work they did to build the BYU Design Review into what it is today. We have a new editor and associate editor, so we wanted to give you a chance to get to know the team.

Chris Mabey

Editor

Tell us a little about yourself: I first wanted to be an engineer when I decided I wanted to design bikes. I filled notebooks full of sketches of what I thought would be the most cutting edge bike design. In 2014 I graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree. Since then, I’ve started my own company, traveled around the US photographing the national parks, worked as a marketing manager in the bike industry, and now I’ve come back to design as a PhD student researching how to make design decisions that will maximize the positive social impact of products. Outside of my PhD work I love to be at the beach, mountain bike, and work on my camper van conversion.

What is one of your favorite products you currently use? That would have to be my cargo bike. It has a long back rack so my kids can sit on it and I take them to school on it every morning. The design of it certainly isn’t perfect and I’ve modified it a lot, but we love the experience it gives us. Sometimes we love a product for its perfect design, but usually it all comes down to what kind of experience it gives. My kids get really excited when we pass people.

If you could design anything what would it be? Right now I’ve been thinking a lot about energy and climate change and the impacts it will have on various places in the world. So if I could design anything it would probably be a low-cost, sustainable solar microgrid system with an environmentally friendly energy storage device.

Kaytlin Collins

Associate Editor

Tell us a little about yourself: I was born and raised in Northern California. Growing up I didn't really know what I wanted to do but I thought I was going to be either an author or a rocket scientist. Eventually I found her calling in mechanical engineering, specifically in design. I have always been competitive and active in some sort of sport. Now in my free time, I enjoy playing pickleball and volleyball with my husband and friends.  

What is one of your favorite products you currently use? My favorite product right now is my 2019 Toyota Yaris because before I had it, I relied on public transportation. But now my car allows me the freedom to travel but also the slick, semi-sporty aesthetic. It is just the right size for travel for my husband and I and it gets great gas mileage. 

If you could design anything what would it be? I have a lot of immediate and extended family with diabetes. My initial motivation for studying mechanical engineering was to one day design a robotic pancreas for them. That is what I would want to design if I could.

Chris Mattson

Founder

Tell us a little about yourself: Pure and simple, I love to create things. I’m a professor of mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University and perform research in engineering for global development and design. The research I perform has led to products like the Village Drill and World Cart. I have also been the recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, as well as the National Science Foundation CAREER award. I always love to be working on a new project.

What is one of your favorite products you currently use? I love good tools. Tools for home, tools for the office, tools that inspire me to create -- not distract me with poor function or an uninspiring design. 10 years ago, I added the classic Wiss 10 inch scissors to my office tools. This is such a great tool that there is a real sense of disappointment every time I pick up a different set of scissors. What makes this tool so special? For any product, I generally value the material choice and finish, the build quality, how the product makes me feel. The Wiss 10 inch wins at all levels. Functionally, these scissors work just as well as they did 10 years ago, even though I have cut many stacks of cardboard, paper, and plastic. The movement of the left and right blades are still factory-tight producing an unusually satisfying friction when closing them and a distinct snap when the steel handles meet. The nickel plated finish with painted black handles are beautiful and produce deliberate texture that feels great. The size and heft are probably why I'd rather not use other scissors. 

If you could design anything what would it be? COVID-19 Eraser.

John Salmon

Founder

Tell us a little about yourself: Although not a student, I am a student of design - there is always more to learn and apply. I’m an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University. My research interests include systems engineering, design, and integration, multi-disciplinary optimization, operations research, visual and data analytics, modeling and simulation, multi-agent multi-objective decision making, sports analytics, virtual reality, and uncertainty analysis. I think innovation and creativity are the highest forms of intelligence and believe design is at the core of making the world and oneself better.

What is one of your favorite products you currently use? A product I’m really enjoying right now is a set of Bushnell binoculars (10x42mm). They’re relatively light weight, anti-fog, waterproof, and claim to be droppable (I haven’t done that yet, and hope to never find out if they are!). I do have another heavier pair (20x80mm) but the Bushnell’s are used more with the kids and on hikes. Also, on each night of recent camping trips, my children have been able to better enjoy the Milky Way, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, of course, the Moon, and spot the Andromeda Galaxy. Any product that makes the time with my children better is a good one.

If you could design anything what would it be? One thing I wish I had the time and resources to design and build is a system of personal air vehicles that completely replaces our ground transportation system. I envision landing pads on top of houses instead of car garages, skyways instead of highways, continual flow instead of traffic congestion, and overall faster commute times with potentially less pollution.  Extending our society into that third dimension, more than we already have, would be captivating.