Ron Haake

SET & SPATIAL DESIGN

TELEVISION, PHOTOGRAPHY, EXHIBITS & PUBLIC SPACES

ABOUT ME

My work in set and exhibit design spans both design development and production. I translate spatial and visual concepts into buildable systems, coordinating materials, graphics, and installation to ensure the work performs as intended in real environments.

This includes spatial planning, structural considerations, graphic integration, and coordination across fabrication, lighting, and installation teams. Most of this work has been delivered against fixed opening dates where failure isn't an option.

Every space has a job to do: communicate, inform or guide.

SCENIC ENVIRONMENTS | LIVE ACTION & STILL

Designed for camera-facing sets and environments

  • 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

  • Factory Loading Dock | Harley-Davidson | Dealership brochure series | One of a series of gritty urban environments built entirely in studio to enable controlled light painting.

    Factory Loading Dock | Harley-Davidson | Dealership brochure series | One of a series of gritty urban environments built entirely in studio to enable controlled light painting.

  • TV Commercial 3D Diorama | Macy’s / Marshall Field’s | Life size Lady Godiva shadowbox as part of a television campaign featuring artwork coming to life in order to shop

    TV Commercial 3D Diorama | Macy’s / Marshall Field’s | Life size Lady Godiva shadowbox as part of a television campaign featuring artwork coming to life in order to shop

  • Expansive Kitchen | Thermador | Hyper-saturated red kitchen built as a graphic, immersive environment for a national ad campaign

    Expansive Kitchen | Thermador | Hyper-saturated red kitchen built as a graphic, immersive environment for a national ad campaign

  • Cooking at the Academy | PBS | Museum infused kitchen set framing culinary performance in sophisticated modernism

    Cooking at the Academy | PBS | Museum infused kitchen set framing culinary performance in sophisticated modernism

  • 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

  • Raider's Return | McDonald's | Set for national commercial with rotating idol, pedestal and moving walls that expose a hidden passageway with fast food treasure at the end

    Raider's Return | McDonald's | Set for national commercial with rotating idol, pedestal and moving walls that expose a hidden passageway with fast food treasure at the end

  • 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Short Stories & Tall Tales | KQED | Stage for childrens storytelling show with on-camera backdrop changes

    Short Stories & Tall Tales | KQED | Stage for childrens storytelling show with on-camera backdrop changes

  • Monitor Tunnel | Itau | Advertising set lined with simulated TV monitors

    Monitor Tunnel | Itau | Advertising set lined with simulated TV monitors

  • Street Scene on Location | MSN | Old world still photo set shot on location for natural light

    Street Scene on Location | MSN | Old world still photo set shot on location for natural light

  • Video Game Ad |Age of Empires | Fantasy set featuring monoliths with embroidered applique character illustrations.

    Video Game Ad |Age of Empires | Fantasy set featuring monoliths with embroidered applique character illustrations.

  • Biba’s Italian Kitchen | PBS | Old-world country estate set for a cooking show, shot in the studio.

    Biba’s Italian Kitchen | PBS | Old-world country estate set for a cooking show, shot in the studio.

MUSEUMS, EXHIBITIONS & WAYFINDING

Permanent and portable exhibits and informational graphics

  • Visions Conference Set | Tandem | Modular set elements with integrated lightbox and dimensional lettering for conference

    Visions Conference Set | Tandem | Modular set elements with integrated lightbox and dimensional lettering for conference

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

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

  • Permanent Historical Collection | Kukio Resort | Custom display cases and fixtures coordinating archival objects, fabrication, and environmental graphics

    Permanent Historical Collection | Kukio Resort | Custom display cases and fixtures coordinating archival objects, fabrication, and environmental graphics

  • Corporate Demonstration Room | ArrayComm | Light, scale, and contrast to give invisible wireless technology a physical shape

    Corporate Demonstration Room | ArrayComm | Light, scale, and contrast to give invisible wireless technology a physical shape

  • Tidal Exhibit | Chrissy Field Visitor Center | Interactive exhibit with integrated magnification and illumination

    Tidal Exhibit | Chrissy Field Visitor Center | Interactive exhibit with integrated magnification and illumination

  • Frieze & Suggestion Display | Chrissy Field Visitor Center | Dimensional frieze with integrated visitor feedback system

    Frieze & Suggestion Display | Chrissy Field Visitor Center | Dimensional frieze with integrated visitor feedback system

  • Community Heroes Exhibit | Chrissy Field Visitor Center | Layered cutouts with printed and laminated graphics

    Community Heroes Exhibit | Chrissy Field Visitor Center | Layered cutouts with printed and laminated graphics

  • Walking Tour Signage | Ghirardelli Square | Wayfinding system guiding visitors through a historic factory district

    Walking Tour Signage | Ghirardelli Square | Wayfinding system guiding visitors through a historic factory district

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

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

  • Discovery Boat | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Fabricated vessel mounted on hydraulic gimbal for interactive play

    Discovery Boat | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Fabricated vessel mounted on hydraulic gimbal for interactive play

  • How Things Work | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Functional household objects rebuilt as exposed working cross-sections

    How Things Work | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Functional household objects rebuilt as exposed working cross-sections

  • Below Ground | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Themed padded crawl-through environment for high-use public play

    Below Ground | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Themed padded crawl-through environment for high-use public play

  • Below Ground | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Expanded crawl-through play environment with integrated padded forms

    Below Ground | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Expanded crawl-through play environment with integrated padded forms

  • Tot Spot | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Embedded tube system designed for object-drop interaction

    Tot Spot | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Embedded tube system designed for object-drop interaction

  • Whack-a-Thing | Sony Metreon | Cast urethane impact elements engineered for repeated public bludgeoning

    Whack-a-Thing | Sony Metreon | Cast urethane impact elements engineered for repeated public bludgeoning

  • The Partnerships of Rhythms of Resonance | Donkey Mill Art Center | Art exhibiton gallery design and curation

    The Partnerships of Rhythms of Resonance | Donkey Mill Art Center | Art exhibiton gallery design and curation

  • Wayfinding Exhibit | Donkey Mill Art Center | Educational exhibiton on wayfinding and Polynesian migration

    Wayfinding Exhibit | Donkey Mill Art Center | Educational exhibiton on wayfinding and Polynesian migration

  • Wayfinding Exhibit | Donkey Mill Art Center | Alternate view of educational exhibiton on wayfinding and Polynesian migration

    Wayfinding Exhibit | Donkey Mill Art Center | Alternate view of educational exhibiton on wayfinding and Polynesian migration

  • Outdoor Environmental Signage | Kohanaiki Cultural Learning Center | Space planning and wayfinding for educational garden and monument

    Outdoor Environmental Signage | Kohanaiki Cultural Learning Center | Space planning and wayfinding for educational garden and monument

  • Migration Star Compass Installation | Kohanaiki Cultural Learning Center | Public teaching feature grounded in celestial navigation methods of Polynesian voyagers

    Migration Star Compass Installation | Kohanaiki Cultural Learning Center | Public teaching feature grounded in celestial navigation methods of Polynesian voyagers

DESIGNS & RENDERINGS

Analog and 3D renderings and drawings

  • Spatial Study and Final Photo | Amana | Concealed appliance kitchen concept rendered in graphite and executed in wood veneer, concrete and Venetian plaster

    Spatial Study and Final Photo | Amana | Concealed appliance kitchen concept rendered in graphite and executed in wood veneer, concrete and Venetian plaster

  • PulsePoint | KQED | Digital rendering of broadcast panel discussion show

    PulsePoint | KQED | Digital rendering of broadcast panel discussion show

  • The Big Scoop | Dreyer’s | Fabrication drawings of oversized architectural ice cream scoops

    The Big Scoop | Dreyer’s | Fabrication drawings of oversized architectural ice cream scoops

  • The Big Scoop | Dreyer’s | Store prototype presentation drawings featuring oversized architectural ice cream scoops

    The Big Scoop | Dreyer’s | Store prototype presentation drawings featuring oversized architectural ice cream scoops

  • Kitchen Set Rendering and Execution | Thermador | Concept rendering for a national print campaign, guiding final set build, sightlines, and appliance placement.

    Kitchen Set Rendering and Execution | Thermador | Concept rendering for a national print campaign, guiding final set build, sightlines, and appliance placement.

  • Exhibit Pencil Sketch | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Concept sketch for temporary cultural exhibit environment

    Exhibit Pencil Sketch | Bay Area Discovery Museum | Concept sketch for temporary cultural exhibit environment

  • Big Book of Internet History | Sprint | 3D rendering of monumental book form designed as an attention anchor for events

    Big Book of Internet History | Sprint | 3D rendering of monumental book form designed as an attention anchor for events

  • Marketing Booth | Piperlime | 3D model rendered for a modular mobile marketing environment

    Marketing Booth | Piperlime | 3D model rendered for a modular mobile marketing environment

  • MLB All-Star Game | ESPN | Staging for the pregame show and media platform at AT&T Park

    MLB All-Star Game | ESPN | Staging for the pregame show and media platform at AT&T Park

  • 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

CREATIVE PROCESS

Concepts. Made. Tangible.

I work across the full arc of production, from concept through installation. My role is to carry design intent through materials, fabrication, and execution so the work performs as intended in the real world.

The workflow is consistent regardless of scale. A brief gets translated into spatial requirements. Materials and fabrication methods are selected against budget, timeline, and durability. Graphics and structural elements are coordinated so they arrive as a system, not a collection of parts. Installation is planned before the first cut is made.

Tools include Adobe Creative Suite and Vectorworks for CAD layout, drawings, and spatial planning.

PROFILE

RH Logo

I'm energized by ambiguity and comfortable with the kind of problems that don't have a parts list. Decades of figuring out how things actually get made have given me a deep respect for how creative work is realized, and a practical understanding of what it takes to protect it. The work changed constantly. The approach didn't.

Based in Beaverton, Oregon. Available for on-site and remote work.

808.769.1550

© 2026 Ron Haake   CONTACT ME