F5: Dan Harden on Cotton, Acrylic Paint, Jet Engines + More

As a child, Dan Harden was always drawing, painting, or taking apart appliances and lawnmower engines. His parents encouraged the fledgling maker to follow his creative instincts, and he already knew what his career would be, even though he didn’t have a name for it yet. “I was born to be an industrial designer, and I sensed it at a young age, even though I had no idea it was called that,” Harden says.

It was during internships at George Nelson Associates and Richardson Smith when he saw the design profession in action, and everything clicked. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati, and honed his own approach with stints at Henry Dreyfuss Associates and Frog Design. However, one venture would have a lasting impact on his life and the industry at large – when he and Bob Riccomini founded Whipsaw in 1999.

Dan Harden

Celebrating 25 years in business this year, Harden now heads the firm, based in San Francisco, California, as CEO and principal designer. The visionary and his team have worked with top-tier clients like Google, Nike, and Uber, with a portfolio of more than 1,000 products and projects.

Harden still stays inspired, nurturing his interest in architecture, music, and woodworking. Developing his various talents not only gives him momentum in work, but more importantly, it boosts his everyday happiness. He’s content to explore, and if he ever decided to pivot, he’d write a book.

Although the designer invents material things, he doesn’t covet them. He does appreciate his few classic cars and guitars, but he is more interested in what such items can help him tap into. “Possessions to me are gateways to experiences, and it’s the experiences that I treasure most,” Harden notes. “I think good design is that way. It’s not only about adoring the thing – it’s about how it enables you or motivates you in some special way.”

Today, Dan Harden joins us for Friday Five!

Close-up of a wooden acoustic guitar with a tortoiseshell pickguard, reminiscent of the craftsmanship associated with Dan Harden. Another guitar is partially visible in the background.

Photo: Jonah De Oliveira on Unsplash

1. Martin Acoustic Guitar

A Martin guitar is the epitome of a finely crafted musical instrument. Martins have a rich wooden tone that reverberates into your chest when you play it, and the feel is sublime. Every detail is meticulously fabricated by hand. A Martin guitar is the perfect blend of form, function, and usability. Once I played a Martin I never went back to a lesser guitar.

Abstract painting by Dan Harden featuring yellow, blue, and green patches, complemented by black and orange accents, forming a stunning mosaic-like pattern.

“Primordial” by Dan Harden

2. Acrylic Paint

I have been painting since I was 12 years old, and although I like oil too, I find that acrylic paint brings out my “immediate creativity”. It’s less committal, so I tend to jump right in and paint without overthinking it. Acrylic dries fast so you can layer over and over to get cool depth effects. The colors are rich and its thick body allows you to build deep textures.

A sleek gray sports car, reminiscent of Dan Harden's innovative designs, sits elegantly near a rocky coastline with the vast ocean stretching into the distance.

Photo: Dan Harden

3. Porsche 911 (especially the 993 series from the nineties)

The perfect classic sports car. It’s a visceral, manual, gutsy, gorgeous machine. I’ve had four of these beauties, and I never tire of driving them – especially down Route 1 below Carmel, California.

The feet and legs of two people rest intertwined beneath white and gray sheets, a serene moment that might inspire even Dan Harden's artistic eye.

Photo: Ketut Subiyanto at Pexel

4. Cotton

We take it for granted because it’s so ubiquitous in our lives, no matter where you live. Cotton feels good, looks good, breathes, retains color, absorbs moisture, is sustainable and cheap. We wear it under and over. We sleep on it. We clean with it. It’s the original “greatest of all time” natural material.

Close-up view of an aircraft engine's turbine blades and intake, highlighting the industrial design and engineering synonymous with Dan Harden's innovative approach.

Photo: Inspirationfeed

5. Jet Engine

I love techy machines, especially those that represent the highest level of human imagination and ingenuity. The jet engine is such a beautiful piece of fine engineering because of how small and simple it is, yet so incredibly powerful. The next time you’re sitting on a plane, look out the window when you’re taking off and visualize what’s going on there. Air is instantly compressed by 40x, often making over 100,000 pounds of thrust, all happening on a single rotating axle. When visualized together with its partner the wing, another engineering wonder, it’s even more astounding.