Kris Struble

Portfolio · San Francisco · 2026

I find the gap between the expert and the beginner, and make it easy to cross.

I treat problem solving as creative work, which is why nothing here is one medium: an illustration, a kit in a box, a class, a 3D scan, a small piece of software.

See the work ↓ or start with the Insect Spreading Kit →

I learn unfamiliar subjects by throwing myself into them. Then I turn what I learned into clearer instructions, better tools, and systems someone else can run. The goal is that eventually nobody needs the instructions.

Contents

  1. I The Insect Spreading Kit Product Design
  2. II Field Scans Creative Technology / Software
  3. III Classes as a System Education & Program Design
  4. IV Systems & Documentation Systems / Automation
  5. V Scientific Illustration Visual Communication
  6. VI Accent Picker Tools / Automation
  7. VII Motion, Prototypes & Sets Motion / Interaction / Prototyping
  8. VIII Freddi Yeti Character / Physical Making
  9. IX Nychos & the Artist Showcase Event Production / Collaboration

About

Self-taught, on purpose.

Almost everything here I taught myself by following my curiosity into unfamiliar territory: CAD and 3D printing, scientific illustration, needle felting, AutoHotkey, and now software. I learn by putting myself in the position of a beginner, getting close enough to a subject to understand how it works, and then looking for a clearer way through it.

That perspective shapes how I work. I try to understand both what an expert needs and what a beginner needs, then use both perspectives to design the work, the process, and the explanation. I test what I make with other people, listen to where they get stuck or find a better approach, and keep refining it until it becomes genuinely useful.

I write smaller programs myself, mostly in AutoHotkey, and use AI to help build larger ones. I design the system, decide how it should behave for the person using it, and test it until it works. The code is a means to an end. What matters to me is making something that works well for the person using it.

For the last four years, I worked at Paxton Gate in San Francisco, first as Fulfillment Coordinator and then as Education & Events Lead. Since 2017, I’ve also run Freddi Yeti, my own studio of needle-felted monsters, animations, and workshops.

I’m looking for a small team where I can go deep: learning unfamiliar problems, bringing different perspectives together, and turning what I learn into systems, tools, and experiences that make complicated processes easier to understand and use.