I have been noticing how many Industrial Designers are HAMBers. I think it's interesting that we all gravitate to cars and bikes. Is it because we couldn't go to Art Center and then work in Detroit or for Harley, or is it just ingrained in our beings? Chime in and tell me how and why you went into Industrial Design, and how it relates to your cars and bikes now. For me, I was always drawing stuff, whether it was cars, cartoons, bikes, or girls. I also took everything apart, to my mother's dismay! I stripped down my bikes, and even modified my Big Wheel! But when I got to college, I had no knowledge of ID, and went into Advertising. I found myself doing all the art on projects for people. Then I found out about the ID department and I was hooked. I have used it professionally ever since, designing mostly retail displays, with some occasional products mixed in. I think it is in my core to tinker, tear stuff down, modify it, and basically play with Legos in whatever I do. Is it the same for you?
I went to San Jose State after seeing a college catalog at my junior college. But before that I had an interesting conversation with Roth. He told me a company wanted him to design a signature "Roth" typewriter (for those youngin's out there that is a word processor devoid of any chips/pcb/screen display ) He said he couldn't take the job because he had no knowledge of m*** production techniques. That was when he recommended I look into that field. Although he didn't elaborate, I got the feeling he thought it was a missed opportunity for him. I didn't get a job in detroit involving cars. Though I did design a few car themed video game cabinets in the 70's and 80's.
I went to Monash University in Melbourne. Graduated in '97. Spe******ed in Automotive Design but the ****ers I kept meeting that were doing design around the place turned me off....plus I didn't wanna "burn out" with my interest in cars/bikes outside of work. I regret that now, a bit. Currently designing point-of-sale displays (using ArtiosCAD...**** programme). Unfortunately, it means ALL my rendering skills have vanished...I can't even draw a circle now! Why'd I get in to it? To be able to use a combination of some intelligence and artistic ability.........dunno what I was thinking!
Not an Industrial Designer, but a Design Engineer. I've worked in a few different industries like the Nuclear Weapons Complex, defense contractors, and oil companies. These days I work on golf carts which makes this one the closest one to cars I've had. I work with Pro/E all day making nice virtual models and drawings of various parts and ***emblies. I had thought about Industrial Design, but from my experience I am too technical for the field. When I go home I sometimes fire up the machine and do the hot rod stuff. I find it easier to chop a top in CAD before I cut on old steel. regards, Doug
I started in drafting right out of high school in 1960. Worked for a company that built cranes and hoisting equipment. In '63 I took a job with a company that built timber harvesting machinery. Moved on to do layout work and fit-up on structural steel....enjoyed that more than board drafting. Then I discovered job-shopping and free-lanced doing design and drafting from 1970 'til I retired in 2003. Of course there was the 10-year period where I built race cars for a living, the year I spent on the road promoting custom car shows, and the terrible year I spent driving big-rigs over the road..... I have to say that everything I was employed at over the years was compatible with my car hobby/business. Designing structures helped with building ch***is'....designing machinery helped with understanding how things should fit and work together. Of course, machining and welding skills were learned as a by-product of those jobs. Even the carshow biz helped in the contacts I made. No regrets....
thanks guys for starting this thread.it's cool to find out what people are all about in this crazy world. -danny
I am going to try and get a degree in Industrial Design, (I'll be 41 in Sept.), I finally finish my ***ociates in Aug. Any hints or suggestions from those who have been there and done that, as to what to do and what to or not to avoid in schools and/or jobs? I have been a professional graphic artist/designer for 17 years (self taught), and took 3 years of drafting in H.S. What skills are also important to have? What bad habits will I have to unlearn?
It depends on the type of ID job you get. On one end of the spectrum, ID's work mainly with Sales/Marketing/Investor people. In that case it's good to be able to draw things quickly on paper or whiteboard when you are in a meeting. Your main goal is to get these people excited and confident about the idea you are drawing. Also you will need to make the final "wow them" renderings with some 3d modeling/rendering program. Everyone wants to see the final picture now on a screen, not on paper. On the other end of the spectrum, ID's work more with the production engineers that get the actual product going down the production line. For this engineering oriented design, ID's around here use the 3d cad program called Solidworks. Here you're not wowing the sales/investor people, as much as showing how each piece is made and how it all fits together. Your experience from building rods and customs will be helpful in designing some thing that is practical to m*** produce. Having the graphic design skills is a plus, it's another skill that you can offer. It's one less thing your customer/company has to find another source for. Going to a school near where you plan to work is a good idea. The curriculum usually matches the way your local companies like ID's to work.
http://personal.myvine.com/~fnate/ My site hasn't been updated in a long time, I'm working on a new site but it will be mostly the hotrod illustration stuff. ID is cool, I get to draw stuff and build it. I'm currently an exhibit designer at the Kansas History Museum and I really like it. Product design is great too, there just arn't many jobs around here for that. I think an ID education is a great start for hotrod building too if you get into the materials and processes like I do.
I'm taking Architectual design and mechanical drafting in high school now. I was always into drawing cars so I signed up. I use what i'm learning about drafting buildings/mechanics to desing speed parts I want for my Model A banger. Next year I hope to use the schools CNC machine to cut some alu. intake manifolds... Great thread.
Great background stories! Keep em comin! It's interesting to see the same kind of inspirations and interests. It seems like every designer I talk to took everything apart as a kid, sorted their legos by color and built crazy vehicles, and customized their toys. I hand painted my Hotwheels when I was little. Flamejobs, of course. Now my son seems to be headed the same direction. He's 6 and loves to draw and ***emble/dis***emble stuff using my tools. Future HAMBer!
Similiar story: I went to school for Graphic design, not knowing that ID even existed. Once I saw what it was and that it was a profession, I jumped ship and enrolled at Milwaukee Ins***ute of Art and Design; graduating in Industrial Design. I worked at Brooks Stevens Design for 3 years out of school before going to Johnson Outdoors, where I currently work. I work in the Advanced Concepts Group, a fancy name for 3 guys who work in the ba*****t that develope new outdoor products for all the business groups. The immates run the asylum here! We have a fully equiped machine shop, so I do alot of fabing parts after work for my hobby. Sometime during work, but don't tell anybody.
Count Me in. I am in my junior year of the Industrial Design Program at Western Michigan University. I first heard of the field from a subs***ute art teacher in High School but never asked about what it was. I enrolled at WMU majoring in Mechanical Engineering, but switched majors last minute to Industrial Design at freshman orientation. It was one of the better choices I made. I am now sketching, and working with my hands rather than trying to figure out math calculations. Its a tough program that has taught me the values of late nights, bondo fumes, sketching, and poor eating habits. I love the work though and am looking forward to a job where I can do the same kinds of things... I hope there will be such a job when I graduate.
Hi, I am aslo an Industrial designer, I went to University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1998. I am now working as a toy inventor. I was drawn to ID because I was always interested in mechanisms, but also could appreciate the styling behind a product. ID mixes the two perfectly. Building a hot rod is the perfect example of ID work because it involves styling, enginnering, prototyping,and production.
Not ID, but had I known then what I know now, that is probably the way I would have gone. I went to Architecture school and now design and build houses and such. I've always dabbled in ID over the years, drawing, designing, thinking and dreaming. I've never had the space to do my own fabrication but someday... I too am a lego freak. I am***ed quite the collection over my years, enough to fill 3 hefty bags! My 4 year old and I now use them. he loves them and I even have him building hot rods inbetween the jets and space ships. Lego's are awesome tools/toys for minds of all ages. My bro-in-law went to art center, I got to visit a few times when I lived in Cali...so awesome. Just some incredible talent there. Anyone want to help me design a 'non-ugly' smoke detector? bryan
Graduated from Auburn University a year and a half ago in Industrial Design. Got into it becuase I have always been into art/ drawing but also how things work and can I make it work but I guess not enough on either side to go to art school or become an engineer. So upon learning of this field I knew it was for me and I have had a ton of fun with it. Presently I am starting my own graphics company (was working for a company doing motorcross graphics while at school and really enjoyed it and plan on getting back into it with my company when money allows, right now though I am a glorified sign shop, oh well gotta start somewhere). Also trying to set up everything so that I can get back to finding an industrial design job and the business run it self for the most part but we will see. Chris
I am studying Industrial Design, Bachelor Degree second year in Lahti Polytechnics, Finland. Some kustom illustrations I have done: http://photobucket.com/albums/v654/Kutja-Art/Art/
Not ID but I'm sitting at my summer internship (Mechanical Design) right now listening to Motor Psycho and working with Catia. So far I've been here three weeks and have most of my A coupe drawn up in 3D. (All in my "spare time" of course) I was cleaning out some stuff at my parents place a couple weeks ago and found a bunch of model airplane plans I drew up and dimensioned probably when I was about 12. Forgot completely about them. My brother-in-law is a Mechanical Engineer for Oshkosh Truck, he's also on the Hamb. (Hank) When I was getting drunk at Denises place after Detroit Autorama, I was pretty surprised how many people were into drafting/design/engineering etc, pretty cool.
not one myself, but my brother is. graduated from the art ins***ute of pittsburgh, and worked for homelite john deere's lawn product and chainsaw division, MTD out in arizona, and now for porter cable, delta, and devilbiss in tennessee. he's the one that actually turned me on to this place in 99 because it was a helluva cool site. i dug all the pictures on the main board at the time, but didn't find the HAMB will 2002!
I bet there are some new industrial designers on the board since this topic was on the top over two years ago.
Got to learn some machining back in the 80's ,,wish I could have spent more time doing it,,but learned that just about anything is possible. Gave me a different way to look at things and how many things can be used with other things with a lil reworking Hope that made sense
10 year 'veteran' of industrial design. Born/raised in sunnyside, wa. in the yakima valley (wine country) on the family farm, which is where a 'do it yourself' at***ude/ap***ude was instilled. Bounced around in graphics/signs/airbrush shirts before discovering ID. Back to school on the Significant Other Scholarship (thanks dear!), graduated Western Washington University in 98. Youth spent on legos, Star Wars, comic books, drawing, bmx, tractor piloting/wrenching, and 2nd/3rd hand dirt bikes all fed into the mix. Didn't discover industrial design until my early 20's when I'd been making site signs for engineers and architects, asking them if they liked what they were doing. Probably 9 out of 10 said that if they had to do it again, they'd become industrial designers. Curious about ID from the descriptions, I showed up at the Teague studio in Redmond unannounced one afternoon. The CEO at the time AMAZINGLY spent 40 minutes showing me, some 'kid' off the street, the entire tour. Sketches, models, prototypes, CAD software, CNC model shop, finished products, etc. I was totally hooked. Told the wife, quit the job, went back to school for 4 years. Since then I've designed or worked on a ton of different stuff (from toothbrushes to mugs to , but the majority have been consumer electronics (5 year stint at Dish Network) and now food and beverage containers (Aladdin and Stanley). 2 completely different product categories, but each very interesting. It's a blend of problem solving (for the consumer/user), design (form development), manufacturing (restrictions, materials, processes) and feeling the kick of seeing your stuff on the shelves. I feel damn lucky that I've found a career that 'fits' so well. Fairly limited in where it can be done, but I can't imagine doing anything else. For those completely bored, here's a link to a fairly updated portfolio of work: http://www.coroflot.com/tylergilbert
Yeah, I got a degree in Industrial Design -- more into mechanical design and less into the artistic side of it. I wound up working in scientific research though. I get to design experimental things, prototypes, etc. pretty often, so it's interesting. But there's a lot of boring maintenance of machines, and too much paperwork. I love designing stuff whenever I get a chance though.
I'm a design engineer in Ontario, Canada. I started a government sponsored apprenticeship as a mechanical designer in 1965, and attended community college for my engineering math. I have been designing prototype machinery and industrial automation for 42 years. I spent the first 32 years on a drafting board, then switched over into "computer world" in 1997. I worked for 3 years in Autocad, then made the jump into 3D solid modeling about 7 years ago. I now work exclusively in 3D Solidworks, and also teach 3D design and drafting courses to other engineering companies. I worked for other companies untill 7 years ago, then started my own business as a design consultant. www.rupnowdesign.com I have been fascinated with all things mechanical since I was a little boy, and have been actively involved in hot rodding for over 40 years (including drag racing with a front engined dragster in the late sixties). I love what I do, and hope to work for at least the next 7 or 8 years. Some people on the HAMB will recognize me, as I have done a number of "how to" technical articles on the HAMB and used a number of my 3D models to show what I was talking about.---Brian
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