1)
What do you most enjoy about being
an industrial designer?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
M.Ed., IDSA Learning Design and Research
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I get
to create interesting amazing new stuff! I get to dream big huge thoughts and
propose these ideas to people and companies that I admire.
Sometimes
I even get the chance to try to make them become a reality!
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One of the great things about
being a designer is the range of interesting people you work with and for.
You’ll be designing for different people with different needs and you'll find
yourself working with other types of designers (like graphic designers,
interaction designers, etc.), engineers, researchers, and all kinds of
business people to solve various problems.
The other great thing about
being a designer is the variety of projects you work on, like form-giving
projects (objects), user-research projects, packaging projects, GUI (graphical
user interface) projects, short and simple projects, and long and complex
projects.
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As an
industrial designer, I love being able to actively think, learn, collaborate,
and then apply my design skills and what I know to anything anyone chooses to throw
at me (or I choose to pursue)!
As an
educator and researcher, I very much enjoy being able to use my design skills
and knowledge in unique ways to gain new insights and understandings.
Designers
are taught to be creative problem-solvers and figure out what others would
struggle with. We create/facilitate innovative
solutions… after many hours of processing and visualizing tons of information to make sense
of it all. The term renaissance designer came up a lot when I was in college.
The
outcome, a comprehensive and well thought out end product, user experience,
or service offering.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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I enjoy being creative and
waking up every morning knowing that I have the best job in the world.
Plus seeing people play with a
product that I helped design and knowing that the product is impacting their
life in a positive way.
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2)
What's most challenging about
an industrial designer's job?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek, Learning
Design and Research
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The
discipline of the industrial design is not well known or respected in the
world, which means you constantly have to educate people about what you do
and why they should hire you.
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There is a lot that is
challenging about being an industrial designer, but the thing that can be the
most challenging is getting people to support the idea you know is right.
As a designer you should have
an opinion about which possible solution is best, and sometimes you will have
a hard time convincing others it's the one to pursue.
Sooner or later you realize you
have to look at the problem from other people's perspective. The end-user may
see the problem differently than you. The engineer may see the problem
differently than you. The marketing person may see it another way altogether.
Your challenge is to see the problem from all perspectives and find a
solution that addresses everyone’s needs fairly and best.
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The
discipline of industrial design is generally not well understood... which in
my opinion, results in an abundance of opportunity!
The
value of our contributions speak for itself once others have experienced the
beneficial results of the design process.
We
are responsible for channeling solutions that meet the needs of
multiple stakeholders. For me, the user/consumer/learner is the ultimate
determiner.
Our
job is to represent the hearts and minds within sometimes conflicting belief
systems. The true challenge is finding a place where all stakeholders can win.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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The hardest part of my job is
figuring out the true insights during research and if the product I design addresses
those insights. Basically, finding the opportunity in the market.
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3)
What kind of tools, software,
and equipment do you use?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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Designers
use computers in their work a lot, especially dedicated computer software for
creating mathematical models or 3 dimensional objects that you can then send
to a 3-D printer to create and to engineers to turn into molds to produce in
the millions.
Computers
using software such as: Alias, Autocad, Solidworks, Adobe creative suite, Drupal,
and other web development tools. Many designers make their own 3-D models. So
they work with shop tools at least in the early parts of their careers to
trial and see what their ideas will look like.
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Your most important tool is
your brain - you have to solve problems in new ways. Your secret weapon is
your ability to communicating visually by hand in drawings, diagrams, models,
and prototypes.
You'll be expected to learn
various software tools too, like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and in
college you'll learn CAD (computer aided design) tools like Solidworks or
Rhino.
To make models and prototypes
you find yourself using foamcore board, clay, wood, metal, and plastics. You
will end-up on workshop equipment to shape those materials into the forms you
desire.
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The
use of computers and fore-mentioned design tools are requisite capacities of
a highly sought after industrial designer.
My own
experiences as an up and coming industrial design were different than most.
I
knew from the age of 13 that I wanted to become a designer. I was fortunate
enough to have a design teacher who allowed me to spend as much time as
possible in her classroom. We explored all of the core design elements and
principles.
I was
hooked forevermore. No turning back.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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Designers use the model shop
and computers in their work.
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4)
What skills or training does
someone need to be an industrial designer?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
|
Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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A
Degree in Industrial Design, which you can obtain from over 60 colleges in
the USA.
For
general information please visit: http://idsa.org/education
In
regards to colleges, please visit: http://idsa.org/content/content1/choosing-design-school)
For a
list of schools, please visit: http://idsa.org/list-id-schools
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Industrial designers are
usually art or technically oriented high school students who go to college
specifically for a design programs, or they transfer into design programs
from other majors.
In these programs you are
trained to think creatively and critically, you are trained to solve problems.
You are trained in drawing and communication skills, and you get training in
CAD and other software programs.
Basically, good college design
programs give you what you need to start your career. Then you never stop
learning!
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Yes!
An undergraduate degree in industrial design is a must!
I
would recommend some amount of time in the field before going for a graduate
degree. Figure out what is important to you, the focus in design you would
like to peruse. Then consider a complementary focus with a graduate degree.
Given
my multiple passion/s, earning a Masters of Education in Curriculum and
Instruction Design has been an amazing and extremely beneficial process. One
that I would not exchange for any other.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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I would say yes, it is very
important to become educated! A degree in Industrial Design is a must.
I the
tools I use include: Solidworks, Adobe Creative Suite, PowerPoint, Microsoft
Outlook, Sketchbook Pro, Photoview 360, and Model Shop for models and prototypes.
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5)
How much would a person expect
to make after 2 years employment in the field?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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Designers
are not high earners, but they do have a good potential to grow through their
careers. Expect to start anywhere between about $25,000 and 35,000. After 2
years, the growth would not be substantial.
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Post college graduation, what
you earn depends on how good you are and how much potential your employer
thinks you have.
You can make a good living as a
designer if you apply yourself; with a college degree in design and after a
couple of years working.
Professionally you would be
making somewhere in the range of $50,000 to $70,000 a year.
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My
20+ years of experience in the software (interface) design industry suggests
compensation can prove to be higher than traditional industrial design.
It is
not about the money. It more has to do with your passion and what is
important to you. Not necessarily the money associated with the discipline.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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How much you earn as an
industrial designer depends on where you live. Attached is a 2006 IDSA
Compensation Study that will give you an idea of the breakdown of prices you
should make as an Industrial Designer.
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6)
How did you start industrial
design work, and what career moves did it take to get into that position?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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I
learned about industrial design through this Society (IDSA) when I was 21 in
South Africa. To get here (the states) I worked in South Africa, London, Eindhoven
in the Netherlands for Philips Electronics, Hong Kong, Atlanta, and now here
in Washington DC.
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Almost all industrial designers
are educated as designers in college. Some go to major universities; some go
to small art colleges.
You basically start your career
in a design position and then work toward positions of more and more
influence and responsibility.
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I
earned my degree of product and environmental design from the Kansas City Art
Institute and School of Design. Prior, I had spent one semester at San Jose
State University where I met many key players who have determined much of
what we experience today within the discipline.
I
began my career as an industrial designer with an internship at Ampex
Corporation. It was an amazing experience to be part of a team of designers
who were responsible for creating a dedicated vehicle for broadcasting live
media for the BBC. Best of all, I became part of a team of talented
designers, a community I learned from on multiple levels.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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I started in college to study
Graphic Design and then sophomore year I changed to Industrial Designer. I
worked at Models Plus the summer of my junior year as a model maker. After
graduating, I worked at Motorola and went to graduate school in Industrial
Design. Now I am working at Radio Flyer as a toy designer.
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7)
Describe a typical day of work
for an industrial designer.
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
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Wow!
That is a tough one. There is hardly a typical day, but there is a process
that you cycle through when designing a product that takes between say 4
weeks and 3 months. This process creates a great rhythm to a year and goes a
bit like this: Discovery, Research, Concepts, Refinement, and Implementation.
During
Discovery your task is to understand the problem and to understand the people
who have this particular problem. Then you would identify what parameters are
required to effectively solve the problem. The outcome of this phase would be
a clear set of criteria that a solution must meet in order to be successful.
During
Research you would be searching for all the factors which could affect how
you solve the problem, understanding the context of use, and the factors that
would influence the manufacture of a solution. The outcome of this phase
would be insights that provide us with a breakthrough in thinking about how
to solve the problem.
In
the Concept phase, which would last typically a few weeks, you would be
sketching and building little models out of foam core and other materials to
test ideas. Concepts are thought through until you arrive at the solution
that meets all the requirements to solve the problem. The outcome of this
phase would be a complete idea that illustrates the solution to the problem.
Preferably with a rough working model that would demonstrate how it would perform
its function.
During
the Refinement stage you would be working with engineers and technical people
to make sure that your idea is producible on a mass production basis and that
it meets the cost requirements of the project. The outcome of this phase is a
set of drawings defining how the product will be made and a fully working
appearance model (meaning it would look exactly as it would appear in
production).
The
Implementation phase is where you take a back seat to the production staff
and let them get on with the process. The production staff converts your
design into tooling drawings and drives sample runs to test the product and
ensure that it meets the defined quality standards that the team had
established in previous stages.
Your
main task during this phase is to protect the integrity of the original
design intention. To protect the creep from what you defined, to something
that engineering may feel would be easier to make or would cost less time to
implement. Sometimes you would help the production staff to earn more profit,
at the expense of the products integrity and quality as you defined it and
agreed to. The outcome of this phase is a production item that the world goes
WOW! to!
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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A typical day depends a lot on
what you are designing and what you have to learn about the users you are
designing for. Generally speaking, those days are spent doing field research
learning about the users’ needs and desires.
Some days you are drawing ideas
and using CAD programs to make 3D forms. Some days you are working with
engineers and marketing people on design details.
Some days you are in meetings
sharing your ideas and making presentations to management.
And some days you are traveling
to manufacturing facilities figuring out how to solve production design
issues.
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YES,
every day is different!
I’ve
come to believe, anyone who chooses to become an industrial designer thrives
on change. With that comes never-ending adjustments and re-directs on a daily
if not hourly basis.
Many
of the determiners have to do with project flow. That said, part has to do
with being in touch with who you are as a designer by reflecting on our own
practice to address the question: what can we do to improve and become better/more
prepared designers?
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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Good
question. An industrial designer bounces around a lot. Sometimes you can
spend the entire day researching a topic. You can go to stores and
investigate what is on the market, sometimes you look online and look at
reviews or YouTube clips to research what people are doing. Sometimes you do
ethnography research and visit people’s homes and see how they use the
product you are designing. Research is a huge part of an industrial designer
because you are constantly trying to figure out what has been done and how
you can make it better.
There
is another side of design which is building prototypes and getting your hands
dirty. During this stage, industrial designers can really learn a lot. More
times than not, you will come up with unsuccessful products. But, these
unsuccessful products will lead you down the right track because you can
learn a lot from the experiences. I have been practicing industrial design
for the past 7 years and I honestly can tell you that every day is a new day
with new challenges. There is not one day that is like the other. There are
so many different Industrial design stages that it is an incredible
experience.
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8)
What are
the specialties within the field?
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Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA
|
Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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The
different specialties can be defined along the lines of industries or design
competences. For instance: Designing Automobiles, Consumer electronics,
Sports Equipment, Aircraft, or Medical Equipment.
Or
other specialties in competences like: Modelmaking, Research, Rendering, and
Problem Solving - what is called Design thinking, Interface Design, or Engineering.
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Industrial designers
design things like cars, bikes,
furniture, tools and equipment, computers, medical devices, housewares, and
toys - all the stuff you see in stores; all the stuff people use at home and
work every day; things that most people think just occur somehow.
Some industrial designers work
with fashion designers to design high-performance clothing. Some design soft-goods
like athletic shoes, protective sportswear, backpacks, or wearable
electronics.
Some industrial designers like
working in the environments we live in and they work with architects, urban
planners, or landscape architects.
Some industrial designers prefer
to work 2 dimensionally and focus on the graphics you see in websites,
computer apps, magazines, books, packaging, signs etc. They become graphic
designers, communication designers, and Interaction designers.
Some industrial designers like
designing service experiences for other people. For example, the way you
experience a ride in a theme park, or the way you experience a hospital
emergency room, or the way an on-line store helps you compare options, rate
favorites, make purchases and check-out. These designers become service designers
or user experience (UX) designers.
Bottom-line, you can do a lot
of different things with a good design education.
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Within
my work as an industrial designer, I represent a specialty.
My career
has been all about attending to users, learners, and stakeholders needs – in attempt to find a balance within the realities of financial, societal, and environmental considerations.
My
practice revolves around attending to problem sets and critical questions to
study/resolve grimy issues, which at sometimes seem unsolvable at first.
I am
not saying I have all the answers. More that I’m more than willing, along
with many others across the nation, to jump in and actively participate in
figuring out what makes sense.
In
other words, design is an adventure that takes on multiple forms throughout
one’s career in terms of depth, breath, volume, and impact.
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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You can look at this in two
ways. First, you can divide specialties into product specialties such as
Furniture Designer, Toy Designer, Automotive Designer, etc. But, you can also
look at it in this sense: Industrial Design Researcher, Industrial Designer,
Industrial Design Management, Model Maker, etc.
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9)
Where
can I get a job as an industrial designer - companies, locations?
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Scott Stropkay, Partner
at Essential Design
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Doris Wells-Papanek,
Learning Design and Research
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Almost all companies who make
things or provide services hire designers, either as full-time staff in their
headquarters or as consultants.
Designers work for a range of
different companies on projects. You know what companies make athletic shoes,
or cars, or electronics, so in essence you know where these designers work.
Consulting companies (the
companies who design lots of things for different companies) tend to locate
in cities where companies like to put their headquarters. Consultants are
everywhere, but the majority of them are in cities like San Francisco,
Boston, New York, Chicago, etc.
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All
companies need a designer to participate at some at some level. Sometime they realize
that need and sometimes not.
Where
you target is dependent on your own internal drive.
The
rest evolves from there!
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Ross Bartels, Industrial
Designer at Radio Flyer
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There
are many jobs in Industrial Design; however, you need to have a portfolio
ready as well as a resume. You also need to really work at getting an
industrial design job. It is very competitive and you really need to make
yourself stick out! There are many places to find ID jobs, but the best is
through IDSA and using your networks. The more people you know and the more
exposure you can get, the better off you are in getting a job.
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