WHO WE ARE
Design/Build Productions is a motley tribe of scruffy artists and craftsmen dedicated to the foolish idea that the right six people can do anything.
doug ROGERS
Douglas R. Rogers is the most legendary designer that you never heard of. This soft-spoken genius is behind such visionary feature animation works as Shrek (Art Director), Tangled (Production Designer), and The Princess and The Frog (Set Designer). In partnership with architects at Walt Disney Imagineering, Doug designed The Enchanted Storybook Castle at Shanghai Disneyland, re-designed the Castle of Magical Dreams at Hong Kong Disneyland, and his formidable talents have influenced a long list of notable Disney icons and attractions.
From a young age, Doug’s fascination with the power of design in storytelling led him to an MFA in Production Design from the Yale School of Drama, and from there to a decades-long career as a principal creative leader in theatrical design, feature animation and location-based entertainment. Doug also maintains an active presence with the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles and many other regional theater concerns.
A native of Paris, Tennessee (home of the Worlds’ Biggest Fish Fry!), Doug is also an accomplished graphic designer, theatrical designer and scenic artist. Rounded and grounded, Doug’s wide range of skills and vast knowledge of architecture, design history and technical design leads him to product solutions that are at once wildly creative and eminently practical.
alex MACKAY
Alex MacKay. Alex likes to think of himself as a walking Swiss Army Knife. We like to think of him as a closet full of ninja tools. A Walt Disney Imagineering Alumnus and Carnegie Mellon graduate (where he was a student of theater arts AND chemical engineering), one of Alex’s more well known, well deserved nicknames is ‘The Professor.’
Alex is simply the best show design asset in the world. Sorry everyone else, Alex is the best. The rest of you are competing for second. Despite his self-deprecating denials, Alex is a walking encyclopedia of CAD and BIM methodologies, and his capacity to hold both creative and technical simultaneously in his mind is not equaled by any of his peers.
Alex’s talents do not end at his computer keyboard. Alex is one of those rare individuals who is as valuable in the field as he is in the studio. His technical acumen and creative awareness make Alex a conspicuous positive influence at any site installation of any kind — where time and money are at their highest premium. Alex’s rare blend of talents are on full display at Shuttle Launch Experience, Storygarden by Amorepacific, and The Jameson Experience.
pete MENOTTI
Peter Menotti. Every creative team needs a mad scientist, and Pete Menotti is one of the maddest of them all. Pete is unique to the Design/Build team in two significant categories, he’s thus far the only one who hasn’t worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, and he’s also the only one who owns his own Autopia car.
A proud college dropout and ravenous autodidact, Pete’s countless self-taught talents include graphic design, visual effects, product design, plastics & foam casting, 3D printing, mechanical engineering, sound design, website development, CAD, materials science, and computer programming. Pete’s knack for picking up new and exotic skills has resulted in his hand touching the designs of everything from toys, to rocket components, to consumer products, to automotive parts, to medical devices, and more.
A daring and provocative storyteller, Pete’s attraction to the random and controversial are on full display in his unusual narrative creation, Evil Diva Comics, an irreverent web publication that chronicles the life of a thirteen year old girl living in a neighborhood between heaven and hell. Pete is a passionate creator and knowledge drinker with a unique talent for converting his learnings into unusual and bankable products.
corrie PICKERING
Corrie Pickering is Design/Build’s resident Boy Wonder. Prior to graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design, Corrie competed for and won rare internships with both Universal Creative and Walt Disney Imagineering. Even rarer, upon completion of his internship, WDI requested Corrie’s return after graduation. As an Imagineer, Corrie made significant contributions to the Marvel Campus at Disney’s California Adventure, particularly in the Doctor Strange themed Mystic Plaza.
Corrie distinguishes himself against his peers with his willingness to fearlessly dive into any task, which is why Design/Build Productions decided to grab him before anyone else did. Corrie demonstrates an assortment of talents and skills that have marked him as a ‘go-to-show’ asset, meaning he’s capable of making a valuable contribution to any project phase – from concept through production, installation and beyond.
Corrie is a person of rare wit and positive spirit that his gray haired middle-aged compatriots have thus far found impossible to crush. His extraordinary talent and enthusiasm will make him one of the designers to watch in the coming years.
chris CRUMP
Chris Crump. Imagineering Legend Chris Crump is Design/Build’s model shop guru and resident wise man. Amongst his many credits, Chris was the Production Designer of The Little Mermaid Ride at Disney’s California Adventure and, as a Production Design Executive, Chris presided over the opening of Shanghai Disneyland.
Chris’ influence on the industry spans more than four decades, and includes such historical landmarks as the camera model for the original starship Enterprise for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and also his production design for the album cover of Van Halen: 5150.
Chris Crump’s patient mind and experienced hands create immeasurable value for Design/Build in his role as model shop supervisor, and his executive level knowledge of show business statecraft makes him Design/Build’s most valuable strategic advisor.
joe CASHMAN
Joe Cashman is a self-starter with an impossibly wide range of skills who brings rabid enthusiasm to bear on any creative project. His eclectic, decades-long career has led to leadership positions in a wide range of job categories and carried him to installation sites all over the world.
As a television art director, Joe has participated in some of the world’s largest live events, including The Emmy Awards, American Music Awards, and the Olympic Games. A specialist in unconventional venue art direction, Joe has designed and executed massive scenery installations in the middle of the ocean, on the deck of an active duty aircraft carrier, and on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
Joe’s passions for storytelling, dimensional & mechanical design, media, visual effects, fine art & architecture, materials science & construction (to name a few) combined with his “get ‘er done” work ethic have drawn him to some of the most difficult, intricate, and complicated challenges in the entertainment industry. He attacks each with a unique blend of creativity, resourcefulness, and pragmatism. Joe is at his best when he’s able to indulge all of his vocational passions simultaneously in the area of staged illusion design. His reality bending illusion work for Walt Disney Imagineering is on full display in Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Marvel Campus at Disney’s California Adventure.
