Industrial Design by Correspondence

Does anyone know of a school that offers a certificate in Industrial Design via correspondence or long distance learning? Failing that, can anyone suggest a good book or books they have read that would act as a self help introduction and review of Industrial Design including how a person can get started in this profession?

I am currently a Director of Marketing for a software company but am interested in preparing myself for a second career in Industrial Design sometime in the future. I live in Alberta, Canada.

thanks
Dan

Dude, pony up and go to school full time if you’re serious about it. ID is a competitive profession. There are not any corespondence courses that I know of, if there are i would say they would only be stealing your money. Design history, form theory, ergonomics, sketching, rendering, and modelmaking are all best taught hands on, in person.

Here are some links to some designers sites that I like to frequent, this level of skill can only be achieved through full time dedication.

http://www.drawthrough.com/
www.haraldbelker.com

http://www.bombdesign.net/
http://www.evodesign.com/portfol/concepts/sandals.html

Best of luck. I think you’ll find there is no substitute for a good design school. After all you wouldn’t try to cut corners on a medical degree would you?

We were asked to read “A whack on the side of the head " during our sophomore year and I thoroughly enjoyed this book besides that another good one I read was the” Design of everyday things"… hope that helps. :bulb:

i know the last message was saying the poster should not bother trying to do a id course online, but that is a bit snobbish, not everyone has the time to take 3 or more years off work and go back to college. I for one am one of them, i have set up my own company and am trying to teach myself at the moment, while also working on my existing designs, and looking for places to get them manufactured, i know of a few sites offering courses, design boom has a teaching site - design aerobics
Apart from that i have been drawing a blank, if anyone else knows of any courses let me know

Hey People! While we are on the subject of education…does anyone have any suggestions on great Design schools in Europe? Which schools have the best reputation. Nice greetings! :slight_smile:

On the contrary I just think you would be wasting your money. It’s not like taking an accounting class through the mail. 2+2 isn’t always 4 in this world. There are a lot of subjective jugment skills that I believe would be difficult to teach on a website.

Of course if you have been through a design program allready, such as Graphic Design, Interiors, etc. You’re half way there. You could go back for two years and get a second degree in design. Or go to Art Center at Night or other Coninuing Education program at a local design school.

There are plenty of inexpensive design schools internationaly, many schools offer huge scholarships to people with other types of experience. i would lean toward spending my time and money on something I know will return me value in the proffessional world and give me the skills I need to advance and better myself.

Just my take from someone who has been a practicing product designer for awhile, nothing personal or snobbish intended. you could prove me wrong. I would be intersted to hear from someone who has done it otherwise, there are

you can check with that school in san franisco they are going to have online ID and transpertation design :smiley:

I know that the university of Alberta has an ID program. I’d talk to some of the professors there and get to know them. They may be able to offer you good advice. If possible, I’d try and enroll there for evening classes or something. I’m sure an ID degree through correspondence is possible, but quite honestly, you need human teamwork and feedback, you need shop facilities, and you need expensive software to really develop a competitive skill set. I’d forget correspondence and go to the UofAlberta program.