Hello, we are FiftyThree.

We make stuff.

Beautiful, practical, meaningful stuff. We make what we love. We ❤ what we do.

But over the years, we noticed that somehow, along the way, software designed to help us be creative actually made us less creative. That's because we believe our best ideas emerge when we use pencils and paper.

So we set out to build tools that work the way we do.

Tools for the creative space — the 53 centimeters that magically link head, heart, and hand. Tools as simple as pencil and paper. Tools so essential, we really can't imagine work without them.

For the makers, the creators, the discoverers, the original thinkers

FiftyThree is the space to create.

Makers

  • Tara Feener Engineering Design-focused software engineer working at the intersection of UX, design, and the web. Founding member of the prototype team for Adobe Edge Reflow. Founding engineer on the Adobe HTML Pipeline team, focused on applying lean startup techniques to new product discovery. @tfeener
  • Richard Lum Engineering Engineer and simplifier of complexity with a focus on program management, project development, and product strategy. Trained in aeronautical maintenance and mechanics. Holder of 15+ patents. Formerly of Sonos, Microsoft, Bell Labs and AT&T. @53Richard
  • Audrey Louchart Design Industrial designer whose concern for user experience, tone, and story has brought landmark products to life, including the first generation of the award-winning Arc mouse for Microsoft. Formerly of Decathlon in France where she worked on sports product trends and design, and One & Co in San Francisco. @lodrey
  • Ian MacDuff Engineering Developer of embedded hardware and software for over 20 years. Leader of cross-functional engineering teams that have developed navigation systems, touchscreen remotes, a cortical stimulator for treating stroke, and other groundbreaking projects. Early member of Heartstream, a Seattle startup that brought the world the first public access defibrillator. @ianmacduff
  • Jim Koo Engineering Mechanical engineer bringing soul to design and manufacturing. Holder of 20+ patents and veteran of 150+ Dead shows. Directed mechanical engineering at Sonos, bringing to market a long line of groundbreaking consumer electronic products, from Xbox 360 peripherals and PC game controllers to headsets and media players.
  • G. Scott Olson Engineering Web designer and developer with over fifteen years of experience. Crafter of innovative technology for companies like Orbitz and LinkedIn. Previous life as a multifaceted yoga entrepreneur. @gscottolson
  • Dave Stern Engineering Interdisciplinary engineer with almost 16 years of expertise in software development, networking, system and database administration, technical team management and scalable infrastructure. Architected systems for several startups and corporations serving millions of users daily. @davestern1
  • Amy Cao Community Storyteller and curator of remarkable creations made with Paper. Former Head of Community at Foodspotting, a community-driven dish discovery app acquired by OpenTable. Creator and host of Stupidly Simple Snacks, a web series that shows you what to cook when you can't. @amycao
  • Allen Lau Design Designer whose work spans from branding and identity, to print, motion, and interactive for clients including Starbucks and Microsoft. Featured in Print Magazine; published in several books; winner of Webby Award. Animator of the award-winning short film, The Thomas Beale Cipher. @allenylau
  • Becky Brown Design Graphic designer with a focus on product branding. Featured in Communication Arts, Print Magazine, Graphis and AIGA. Worked on design language for Xbox products at Microsoft and served as Art Director at LUNAR, where she led the creation of a suite of surface and on-screen patterns shipped with HP Pavilion notebooks. @Becks_Brown
  • Ian Curry Design Multi-platform interaction designer and professor in SVA’s MFA Interaction Design program. Former Director of Interaction Design at Local Projects, where he infused delight into museums and public spaces with apps that won nearly every major industry award. Previously designing convergent products at Frog Design in New York. @heavymeta
  • Matthew Chen Engineering Software engineer most recently working on core advertising platform features at Google. Open source advocate with a decade of startup engineering experience in Silicon Valley and New York. @cmchen
  • Peter Sibley Engineering Software engineer with a passion for innovative user interfaces and novel applications of computer graphics. Worked at Microsoft on mobile and web-based 3D interfaces used in Photosynth and Bing. @petersibley
  • dalas verdugo Community Community specialist. Original Director of Community at Vimeo where he helped to establish the site as a positive and creative community with strong connections between staff and users. Former Fulbright Scholar in Norway for multimedia art with a focus on electronic-based work. @dalasv
  • Aseem Kishore Engineering Developer of seamless web experiences that span apps, APIs, services, and systems. Helped bring the revolutionary “Seadragon” zooming technology to the web at Microsoft Live Labs. Former co-founder of The Thingdom, a social network around products. @aseemk
  • John Ikeda Design Hardware product sculptor whose attention to craft stems from a rich heritage in Japanese calligraphy. Leader on the design of Xbox accessories including the Xbox 360 game controller and Kinect. Designer of the indestructible tools for Fluke. @johnikeda
  • Jon Harris Design / Co-Founder Shaper of soulful product experiences across hardware, software and services; inspired by a rich family heritage that spans the world. Crafted leading brands at HP, Zune, Xbox, and Pioneer Studios with work recognized by Red Dot, IDSA, iF, CES, ID Magazine and Good Design. @jon_creates
  • Julian Walker Engineering / Co-Founder Developer of magical user experiences at the intersection of art and science. Past work includes pioneering graphics and user-interface technologies for Seadragon, Photosynth, Bing Maps, and Silverlight as showcased in multiple TED Talks. @julianwa
  • Andrew S Allen Design / Co-Founder Crafter of meaningful stories connecting brand, interaction and social with breakthrough work on Microsoft Courier and Nike. Founder of Short of the Week and director of the award-winning short film, The Thomas Beale Cipher. Named one of "25 New Faces" by Filmmaker Magazine and featured by AIGA, Fast Company, The Atlantic, and Wired. @asallen
  • Georg Petschnigg CEO / Co-Founder Connector between engineering, design and business. Co-founder of Pioneer Studios, a design venture fund for incubating new mobile devices and services. Shipper of productivity tools like PowerPoint, Word and Excel. Seminal work in digital photography. @georgpetschnigg