Breaking In

Check out some great work from Klaus Rosburg.

AH: What kinds of portfolios get your attention these days? What brings in an industrial designer for an interview?

KR: The most important thing for me is a good attitude. If you work with somebody, especially on a small team, and the chemistry is not quite there, you feel it right away. It also has to be somebody who is diverse and flexible because we do so many different things. If someone just wants to do consumer electronic products, that’s just not happening in a small agency. One day the team might work on a packaging program, like a simple cardboard box, the next day on a lighting project or a toothbrush, so there’s a lot of shifting around. If designers are interested in just one specific category, they can get unhappy quite fast. A few times I preferred a designer who might have not had the best portfolio, but had the best attitude and was motivated and willing to learn.

[ … ]

Continue reading →

Designed from the inside out, the Target+Red Cross case organizes all emergency articles based on importance and needs. The first aid kit is attached to the outside, while flashlights, FM radio, blankets, gloves and picture books are placed in the main compartment.

Klaus Rosburg is the founder and principal of SONIC Design, a New York based design studio specializing in the development of consumer products, medical instruments and structural packaging.

Educated in Germany, Klaus studied Industrial Design at the Muthesius Academy for the Art in Kiel graduating with highest distinction. While he was at top design firms in Germany and the United States, he gained extensive experiences in all aspect of the design process, including design research, trend forecasting, human factors, CAD, rapid prototyping, computer-generated images and animation. Nominated for the National Design Award in 2007 he has received the most prestigious design awards worldwide, most notably IF, Red Dot, the Industrial Design Excellence Award and Design of the Decade 2010 – Gold Award. Continue reading →

Check out some great work from Julie Heard.

AH: What kinds of portfolios get your attention these days? What brings in an industrial designer for an interview?

JH: I like to see a balance of thinking and skills, substance behind the pretty pictures. I love to see sketches; that’s kind of a lost art as people focus more on 3D CAD and making beautiful renderings. You can make a beautiful rendering of an unattractive or poorly designed product. Sketching by hand shows raw talent, though 3D CAD and visualization have become essential skills.

AH: Have you seen a portfolio recently that resonated with you, and what about it stood out?

JH: I’ve seen a few that resonated with us and the work we do. We are primarily a technology-focused firm, so if I see a lot of furniture or consumer goods, they don’t interest me as much as something that’s more relevant to the work we do. And, of course, the portfolios that really have beautiful sketching, those are the ones that catch my eye.

Continue reading →

Julie Heard is a founding Partner at Mixer Design Group, a product development consultancy dedicated to helping technology companies design innovative products and unique brand experiences. She received her BFA in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies in 1991.

Her work has been recognized by IDSA/IDEA, G Mark (Japan), American Product Excellence (APEX) and CES Innovation awards and she holds several design and utility patents. An IDSA member for over 20 years, Julie currently serves on the Board of Directors as Chapter Vice President.

Follow the Mixer team @mixerdesignteam

Continue reading →

Check out some great work from Jason Mayden.

AH: What kinds of portfolios get your attention these days? What brings in an industrial designer for an interview?

JM: The best portfolios are by people who are able to demonstrate their aptitude for learning and also demonstrate their capacity for maintaining a high level of curiosity. I never actually get caught up in the skill set; I get caught up in mindset. When you come into a corporation, we’ll train you on the principles that define how we look at design and the product—the consumer engagement stuff and all that—but what we can’t train is the pure hunger to learn. That isn’t something that’s taught.

I love portfolios that are diverse, those that present research and process rather than just the finished product. I love people who are multidisciplinary, who take classes in crafts, fine arts, and any other discipline that surrounds design. I’m looking for people who are creative, analytical, and critical thinkers who can think beyond the context of just the product.

Continue reading →

Check out the interview excerpt with Jason Mayden.

In his previous role at Nike, Jason Mayden oversaw the design of conceptual products and services for Jordan Brand, as the Senior Global Design Director. Prior to rejoining Jordan Brand, he was the Global Director of Innovation for Nike Digital Sport where he was responsible for the creation and investigation of new technologies and services. While in Digital Sport, he was tasked with crafting a product strategy focused on expanding the impact and relevancy of the Nike+ platform, through the creation of products such as the Nike Fuel Band. Additionally, Mayden served as the co-Chair of Nike’s Black Employee Network from 2011 -2013.

Continue reading →

Check out some great work from Harm Hogenbirk and Marc Nagel.

AH: What kinds of portfolios get your attention these days? What brings in an industrial designer for an interview?

MN: Well, we can draw up the ideal person which can cover the entire process, who in reality doesn’t exist, but what we want to see is somebody who shows strong analytical and research skills, who is able to translate that strong product vision into a result, and who goes further into strong visualization, and in the end into realization. But this of course, is a little bit of a theoretical thing because nobody in the world can fill the whole role of this. What we like to see is somebody who is intriguing us with their story and can actually show that they dove really deep.

I can give you an example of what we’d like to see from an industrial designer: that he really tried out what he was doing. We see so many renderings and it all looks pretty, it’s all nice, but then we want to see that he tried it out. That he built the prototype, that he tested it, that he met some people, that he did a video to see how these people are reacting to it, a little bit out of the ordinary.

[ … ]

Continue reading →

Check out the interview excerpt with Harm Hogenbirk and Marc Nagel.

Honeywell Sensing Sensation Interactive Demonstrators

Pilotfish is a progressive design and innovation consultancy based in Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin and Taipei founded by Harm Hogenbirk and Marc Nagel.

Harm Hogenbirk is the founding Partner Pilotfish and the CEO Pilotfish Netherlands BV. Born in 1965 in Aalten, the Netherlands, Harm Hogenbirk studied industrial design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Arts in Amsterdam. He concluded his bachelor studies with honors (cum laude) in 1994 with the Spinto Wheelchair and a concept study for a personal digital assistant. Prior to founding Pilotfish together with his partner Marc Nagel in 2000, he worked for six years as senior designer at Well Design in the Netherlands and Taiwan. He is a requested speaker at international design conferences and jury member of various international design competitions.

In 2008, Harm built up the Pilotfish Amsterdam office to increase availability for clients in Northern and Western Europe. An experienced and passionate senior designer with a strong predilection for electronic products, Harm has been vital in shaping the company into a sought-after development partner for international brands worldwide.

Continue reading →

Check out some great work from Gianfranco Zaccai.

AH: What kinds of portfolios get your attention these days? What brings in an industrial designer for an interview?

GZ: Before I answer, it’s important to understand that the industrial design profession has an ongoing discussion of even its name. It was born in the ‘30s and ‘40s, when it was focused around the design of an industrial product. What we’re doing now goes way beyond that, so we’re involved in everything from qualitative research to innovation in both product and services. It’s much more multidisciplinary. As a result, the people that we hire are more multidisciplinary, so we look for people who have multiple degrees. What we’re looking for is not just technical skills in the portfolio, but also in how they think and the way they go about analyzing a problem, conceptualizing the solution and the skill sets in terms of implementing that solution.

Continue reading →

Check out the interview excerpt with Gianfranco Zaccai.

Moving Markets Herman Miller Checks-in to the Hospital from Continuum on Vimeo.

Gianfranco Zaccai co-founded Continuum in 1983 when he merged his consulting practice with that of Jerrold Zindler, an engineer and physicist with whom Gianfranco had collaborated with in the bio-medical industry. Under Gianfranco’s leadership, Continuum has been a leader in redefining the role of design research, interdisciplinary design, and concurrent development as key drivers of human centered innovation in both business and civic life.

The Continuum process has been fundamental in the identification and development of a wide range of breakthrough innovations—from consumer goods to bio-medical devices—exemplified by the ACL® Automated Coagulation Analyzer for Instrumentation Laboratory SpA; the Pump® athletic shoe line for Reebok, the Swiffer® and Thermacare® product lines for Procter & Gamble, and the OmniPod® wearable insulin delivery system for Insulet. Most recently, Gianfranco led a team which developed the Nala® Patient Chair and  the Compass® Patient Room System for Herman Miller. Continue reading →