"I was drawn to design through my initial love of creating things," says
Yani Roumeliotis.
"Industrial design was a natural progression from drawing imaginary items
and scenes to actually learning about developing the everyday things around
us. The aspect of creating something and seeing it through to the manufacturing
process and later into marketing is a small rush for most designers. Although
we try not to show it!"
Roumeliotis is the principal designer and president of his company. It
specializes in such consumer products as fitness equipment and furniture.
It also deals with products like bathroom fixtures, police care accessories
and electronic enclosures.
"As I mentioned before, the aspect of taking an idea from a rough sketch,
then to a working plan and into a sample, and hopefully into mass production
is really the slow rush we get. The stages can take as long as a year, if
not longer. Sometimes as fast as three months, but in the end when a client
is satisfied and sales prove the point, there is an internal sense of satisfaction."
Industrial designers need many skills to succeed. Roumeliotis learned just
as much from the not-so-successful projects as the successful ones. "A highlight
is when I undertook my very own design project very early on, developing automotive
accessories," he says.
"Demand was great, but the project was a failure because of bad planning
and lack of sustainable cash. That moment in time taught me that a designer
can start any project they dream of, but [they] have to be tempered by a sound
business plan with all the possibilities worked out. Now when I start something,
I think back to that passionate time, but plan my executions better to see
them through."
Wendie Siverts is a self-employed consultant from Oregon. "Highlights would
be those moments when the client is really happy with the results," she says.
"For example, after working nearly all night on a prototype, getting to
watch the client's face light up as he pokes at the keys and says, 'This is
cool.' I also get a charge just out of the day-to-day sketching, CAD [computer-aided
design] or whatever, when the colors or the shapes or the tactile attributes
are just right. It's like the planets have aligned or something, and it makes
me happy."
Marianne Grisdale is a senior designer and project manager for a firm in
Chicago. She started out with a foundation of very good grades in high school.
"My high school counselors were trying to push me into engineering. I had
never heard of industrial design. I thought that I wanted to be an architect,"
she says.
A friend of her mother's suggested she take some art classes. She took
those and an introduction to industrial design (ID). "I fell in love with
ID in that class. I graduated high school and went to the Center for Creative
Studies in Industrial Design."
Grisdale was one of only six or seven women in her class when she began
in industrial design. Only two of the others entered the field
and stayed there. "I think that things are much easier for a woman graduating
today than it was for me," she says.
"However, I have worked very hard to make sure that I do not dwell on negative
experiences. Life is not fair for anyone. Everyone is going to encounter roadblocks
along the way. So, I either learn how to work with problem personalities or
to move on quickly and not look back. I figure that in the end, these became
valuable learning experiences."
She enjoys drawing and coloring -- and learning. "We learn about all sorts
of interesting medical devices. We are exposed to new technologies before
most people," she says.
"Our company does market and user research. So we have the opportunity
to see real people use and tell us how they like our designs. There isn't
any one part that I like the most. I find that the whole process is great
to be a part of," she says.
"I enjoy being able to participate in a more in-depth manner. I feel designers
should be aware of the users and consider how the end-user interacts with
the product, as well as esthetics."
In addition to the technical skills you will need, like CAD, engineering
concepts and math, you need a clear grasp of the basics. But if you don't
think you have them now, don't give up.
"Many designers can't spell worth a nickel and did poorly in English, history,
etc.," says Grisdale. "However, I have noticed that this is a profession that
seems to take those uninspired students and inspire them. If you wish to do
well in the field, you learn what you need to succeed. Some of my classmates
that barely passed English in school are now publishing articles in respected
magazines and books."
Javier Verdura is a senior design director at a company in Connecticut.
He creates products for some of the largest companies in the world and makes
presentations to some of the top-level executives at those companies.
"The most satisfactory part about industrial design is that you get to
see your products in stores around the world -- consumers are buying and using
a product that you conceived."
"Every new design project is a challenge and I always freak out when I
get a new one, despite doing this for 10 years," says Gisela Schmoll.