Ron Haake

DESIGN + BUILD + PRODUCTION

Design and fabrication work for ideas that have to be built, not just rendered.

ABOUT ME

I've spent most of my career in the space between the concept and the thing itself—the part where good ideas either find their form or fall apart. That gap is where I work best. I've built studios, run productions, solved fabrication problems that didn't have a parts list, and collaborated with some of the best creative teams in the business. The work changed constantly. The approach didn't.

Unflappable.
Unscripted.
Unbound.
Precise.
Perceptive.
Prestidigitative.
CONCEPT + EXECUTION
RH Logo

Not your average design tool

SELECTED WORK

Where Ideas Become Physical

  • Concrete Invitation | Sacramento Convention Center | One-of-a-kind 6 lb. concrete marketing message delivering the announcement with literal weight | 60 cast for VIP recipients

    Concrete Invitation | Sacramento Convention Center | One-of-a-kind 6 lb. concrete marketing message delivering the announcement with literal weight | 60 cast for VIP recipients

  • Copper & Wood Invitation | Downtown Plaza | Invitation built from the project’s signature materials | Embossed copper, mahogany veneer, handmade paper, custom wax seal

    Copper & Wood Invitation | Downtown Plaza | Invitation built from the project’s signature materials | Embossed copper, mahogany veneer, handmade paper, custom wax seal

  • Identity System | Downtown Plaza | Complete identity system establishing color, material, and geometric language

    Identity System | Downtown Plaza | Complete identity system establishing color, material, and geometric language

  • Branded Vintage Delivery Truck | Downtown Plaza | Vintage vehicle transformed into a mobile brand presence

    Branded Vintage Delivery Truck | Downtown Plaza | Vintage vehicle transformed into a mobile brand presence

  • Delivery Truck Mailer | Downtown Plaza | Holiday mailer introducing free delivery service across the mall

    Delivery Truck Mailer | Downtown Plaza | Holiday mailer introducing free delivery service across the mall

  • Identity Banners and Stands | Downtown Plaza | Opening banners and custom permanent stands extending the identity into space

    Identity Banners and Stands | Downtown Plaza | Opening banners and custom permanent stands extending the identity into space

  • Signage Concept Drawings | Downtown Plaza | Presentation graphics translating the identity across multiple freestanding sign formats

    Signage Concept Drawings | Downtown Plaza | Presentation graphics translating the identity across multiple freestanding sign formats

  • Retail Brand Implementation | Bare Escentuals | Brand standards implemented across four Northern California retail locations

    Retail Brand Implementation | Bare Escentuals | Brand standards implemented across four Northern California retail locations

  • Utility Pole Power Install | Sparks | Concept comp and technical drawing for fabricated “battery compartment” model. Built as a practical prop and converted into sticker artwork for viral street deployment.

    Utility Pole Power Install | Sparks | Concept comp and technical drawing for fabricated “battery compartment” model. Built as a practical prop and converted into sticker artwork for viral street deployment.

  • Marketing Booth Design | Ghirardelli Square | Architectural brand elements adapted into an offsite marketing environment

    Marketing Booth Design | Ghirardelli Square | Architectural brand elements adapted into an offsite marketing environment

  • Passport Coupon Book | Ghirardelli Square | Savings passport concept structured as a tactile loyalty program

    Passport Coupon Book | Ghirardelli Square | Savings passport concept structured as a tactile loyalty program

  • Historic Signage | Ghirardelli Square | Exterior signage integrating contemporary fabrication with historic character

    Historic Signage | Ghirardelli Square | Exterior signage integrating contemporary fabrication with historic character

  • Logo Shaped Objects | Hanes | The flag logo reimagined as fully functional everyday objects for an award-winning campaign.

    Logo Shaped Objects | Hanes | The flag logo reimagined as fully functional everyday objects for an award-winning campaign.

  • Branded Shuttle Van | The New Yorker Festival | Oversized book stack transforms shuttle into literary billboard on wheels

    Branded Shuttle Van | The New Yorker Festival | Oversized book stack transforms shuttle into literary billboard on wheels

  • Armored Beer Truck | Stroh's | Real armored car adapted with temporary facade panel to create a rolling high-value brand statement

    Armored Beer Truck | Stroh's | Real armored car adapted with temporary facade panel to create a rolling high-value brand statement

FABRICATION & STUDIO PROBLEM SOLVING

From signature objects to immersive environments

  • Cookie Jar Model | C&H Sugar Foam and resin cookie jar built for a campaign with a not-so-sweet message.

    Cookie Jar Model | C&H Sugar Foam and resin cookie jar built for a campaign with a not-so-sweet message.

  • Bold Chihuahua Hood Ornament | Nature’s Recipe | Chihuahua given the industrial gravitas of a Mack Trucks' hood ornament

    Bold Chihuahua Hood Ornament | Nature’s Recipe | Chihuahua given the industrial gravitas of a Mack Trucks' hood ornament

  • Hybrid Vehicle | Cisco | A true hybrid vehicle, equal parts plane, car, and motorcycle, built as a miniature and photographed on location

    Hybrid Vehicle | Cisco | A true hybrid vehicle, equal parts plane, car, and motorcycle, built as a miniature and photographed on location

  • Sprint Phone Model | Magazine Ad Prop | Intentionally inaccessible Cold War era Soviet payphone, authority with no dial tone

    Sprint Phone Model | Magazine Ad Prop | Intentionally inaccessible Cold War era Soviet payphone, authority with no dial tone

  • Frog Hands | SF Exploratorium | Posable frogs with armature cores for advertising photography cast, in foam latex for repeat performance

    Frog Hands | SF Exploratorium | Posable frogs with armature cores for advertising photography cast, in foam latex for repeat performance

  • Sumo Foosball Table | Kirin Beer | Custom table engineered to be hilariously difficult to play

    Sumo Foosball Table | Kirin Beer | Custom table engineered to be hilariously difficult to play

  • Rolladex of Doors | Morgan Doors | Oversized vintage Rolodex fitted with miniature faux wood doors

    Rolladex of Doors | Morgan Doors | Oversized vintage Rolodex fitted with miniature faux wood doors

  • Cooler Ad | Nike | Magazine concept contrasting performance energy with generic competition

    Cooler Ad | Nike | Magazine concept contrasting performance energy with generic competition

  • Icarus’ Shoe | Hewlett Packard | Melted running shoe model visualizing speed at the cost of reliability

    Icarus’ Shoe | Hewlett Packard | Melted running shoe model visualizing speed at the cost of reliability

  • Aluminum Dimensional Logo | Vitex Guardian System Sandblasted and milled aluminum plaque built for visual weight and strength.

    Aluminum Dimensional Logo | Vitex Guardian System Sandblasted and milled aluminum plaque built for visual weight and strength.

  • Lead Shoe Exhibit | Magazine Ad | The world’s slowest running shoe, metalized Instacast with deliberate overkill

    Lead Shoe Exhibit | Magazine Ad | The world’s slowest running shoe, metalized Instacast with deliberate overkill

  • Twisted Metal | Video Game Promotion | Full scale appearance model of a game character fabricated for print, vacuum formed body with sculpted epoxy clown antenna

    Twisted Metal | Video Game Promotion | Full scale appearance model of a game character fabricated for print, vacuum formed body with sculpted epoxy clown antenna

  • PBS Cooking Show | Cooking at the Academy | Museum-based kitchen set framing culinary performance within an institutional setting

    PBS Cooking Show | Cooking at the Academy | Museum-based kitchen set framing culinary performance within an institutional setting

  • Black Shoes | PBS Dance in America | Surrealist performance environment staged within a moody neoclassical museum

    Black Shoes | PBS Dance in America | Surrealist performance environment staged within a moody neoclassical museum

  • Factory Loading Dock | Harley-Davidson | Studio-built industrial environment contrasting precision machines with urban decay

    Factory Loading Dock | Harley-Davidson | Studio-built industrial environment contrasting precision machines with urban decay

  • TV Commercial 3D Diorama | Macy’s / Marshall Field’s | Dimensional Lady Godiva diorama bringing illustrated worlds to life for a myth-inspired television campaign

    TV Commercial 3D Diorama | Macy’s / Marshall Field’s | Dimensional Lady Godiva diorama bringing illustrated worlds to life for a myth-inspired television campaign

  • NY Loft Set | Intel | Urban loft environment constructed in studio for a lifestyle television campaign

    NY Loft Set | Intel | Urban loft environment constructed in studio for a lifestyle television campaign

  • Geometric Office | Oracle | Minimal architectural environment using dimensional forms and restrained palette for print advertising

    Geometric Office | Oracle | Minimal architectural environment using dimensional forms and restrained palette for print advertising

  • Expansive Kitchen | Amana | Hyper-saturated red kitchen constructed as a bold, immersive magazine ad environment

    Expansive Kitchen | Amana | Hyper-saturated red kitchen constructed as a bold, immersive magazine ad environment

  • Luxury Bus Shelter | Grey Poupon | Hyperbolic urban shelter concept elevating everyday transit into spectacle

    Luxury Bus Shelter | Grey Poupon | Hyperbolic urban shelter concept elevating everyday transit into spectacle

  • Beauty Care Environment | Youthful Essence | Television commercial set integrating fabricated display elements into a live location

    Beauty Care Environment | Youthful Essence | Television commercial set integrating fabricated display elements into a live location

  • Retro Industrial Factory | Collectible Auto Enthusiast Poster | Period factory environment built to emphasize mechanical precision and understated power

    Retro Industrial Factory | Collectible Auto Enthusiast Poster | Period factory environment built to emphasize mechanical precision and understated power

  • Renderings | Dreyer’s and Amana | Concept drawings used to explore and communicate spatial environments.

    Renderings | Dreyer’s and Amana | Concept drawings used to explore and communicate spatial environments.

DESIGN IN PRACTICE

Equally at home with a brief or band saw

Drawn to ideas that require a shop to land

Unbothered by the clock, but accountable to it

© 2026 Ron Haake   CONTACT ME