Hazz Design | Partners

Growing up all over as a child, in Connecticut, Arizona, South Africa, and California, Tracy Leigh headed to college at Rhode Island School of Design in 1988 where she met Tom Hazzard, a native New Englander. After a rocky first impression where Tom called Tracy a "Valley Girl," the Industrial and Textile Design majors found compatibility in more than their chosen professions. They found a shared vision that good design should never cost more, that there is always solution and that one plus one can have an exponential result.

Married just prior to their last semester at RISD, the couple was able to support each other¹s career paths by combining in-house design work for one, consulting for the other, and flexible moves from South Carolina to Michigan, back to Rhode Island, then onto upstate New York, Northern California and now Southern California. The result is a broad regional experience spanning the automotive, contract, retail home and office furnishings industries and channels with exposure to companies such as Herman Miller, Steelcase, Bissell, Milliken, Design Ideas, Clark American, Ethan Allen, True Seating, Ameriwood, Novimex, Bush industries, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Best Buy and all office superstores.

As experts in environmental color theory, design process, and product-based market research, Tracy and Tom have lectured at various universities and trade shows, as well as contributed to national and trade publications. The couple¹s combined portfolio has over 175 products, 2 dozen market successes, numerous awards, and utility and design patents and counting. Additionally, they successfully negotiated a patent infringement settlement with IDEO and Palm Computing that validated their IP, the patented ttools® Stylus/Pen, brought in royalties and was a strategic deterrent to future infringers protecting their little start-up from the "big guys."

The couple balances raising a teenager and toddler with two global travel schedules and the pressure of 24/7 work availability. After 20 years of living and designing together, Tom and Tracy still respect each other's individual perspectives, talents and experiences as essential to creating right-fit solutions for life or work.

For CV information please refer to either Tom Hazzard's or Tracy Hazzard's LinkedIn Profile.

Designing from a business perspective, Tracy and Tom Hazzard of Hazz design translate what both male and female consumers really want into viable and saleable solutation for you. We not only solve the problem of the right thing to make and how to make it cost-effectively for the design needs, but most importantly make it stand out competitively to connect with the consumer. We all win when the right retail product is bought, used again and again, and spontaneously recommended.

Discovery Phase:
Using first-hand consumer insight studies, weekly retail store visits and our comprehensive proprietary product library, we can quickly formulate a detailed product development plan that builds in your best competitive advantages, feasibilty criteria and sales/marketing product positioning.

Design Phase:
This is typical design process stuff, sketching, CAD, renderings, but targeted, very, very targeted. We do not waste our time and your money throwing concepts out in a shotgun approach. We use our discovery to quickly form designs into the right solutions, in great detail, so that they are as competitive, cost effective, patentable and highly manufacturable as possible.

Development Phase:
We never leave you holding the bag (or sketch). Providing a final design package is not enough. We will help you prototype and sample the designs, develop sales presentations, pitch the designs internally and to retail buyers, and we will oversee patent filings and guide the designs through implementation in your factory, or get directly involved and have it sourced and made for you.

View some of these retail products on our portfolio.