Eric Eckhardt

I build online businesses for global design brands. Selling well-made products to people in different places who shop in different ways is a mix of strategy, operations, research and just learning by doing. Currently in Tokyo, leading APMEA Ecommerce for Herman Miller.

How I got here

I’ve always been a maker, so I went to art school, where I learned to keep an open mind and question everything. I worked in design, where I learned to understand the constraints that make products work. I spent years as a developer, breaking complex problems into small, answerable units. That led me to UX, where we went outside the building to learn from customers. Eventually I managed teams of curious people with different perspectives. Now, as a business leader, I build systems that support those teams.

Experience

Director of Digital, APMEANOW

MillerKnoll

2021–Current · Tokyo

Herman Miller ecommerce across Japan, China, and Hong Kong. Rakuten in Japan. Tmall, JD, and Douyin in China. Direct-to-consumer in all three, with back-office teams in India supporting them.

Director of UX / Director of Digital Design

Herman Miller

2019–2021 · Michigan

Led experience design, research, content strategy, and product development across retail and dealer business. Helped several brands share a platform without asking them to become the same brand.

Senior Manager of Digital Design

Herman Miller

2013–2019 · Michigan

Started the internal digital design practice and helped build a global platform and design system serving multiple countries and languages.

Co-Founder

Adapted / The Studio for Interactive Media

2006–2013 · Brooklyn

Co-founded two digital studios. Made the work, found the work, hired the people, delivered the work, sent the invoices, took out the trash, swept the floor.

New Media Designer

Walker Art Center

2002–2006 · Minneapolis

Made digital experiences and internal systems with artists, curators, and museum teams.

Other Stuff

Sport

Consistent training is how I keep focus. For me that's Crossfit, powerlifting and slowly running Hyrox and Spartan races.

Eric carrying kettlebells during a Hyrox competition in Chiba.

Arcade

I’ve built six arcades in Europe and the US, including a show at the Brooklyn Museum and a bar in Detroit with the art group FAILE.

FAILE’s neon-lit arcade installation, lined with hand-painted cabinets and walls.

How to See

I draw, make prints, and take photographs. They’re different ways of slowing down, paying attention, and trying different ways to see.

Hand-carved rubber stamps scattered beside carving tools.

Beginner's Mind

I’m learning Japanese and how to snowboard, and I’m usually working on something else I don’t know how to do yet. Being a beginner keeps me curious.

A snowboard resting on a snowy slope above a mountain valley.

Contact: eric@211c.com LinkedIn Instagram