10 Things Every Designer Should do (at least once)...

Speak at a conference or two.

I concur on every post above having to do with knowing the process by visiting the factory. Visit a factory wherever the center of that things production happens to be. Different countries approach things differently, German factories for example, awesome automation and machine control. China factories, scale. American factories, ingenuity.

For an advanced degree, every designer should do the following

  • Spend more than five months at year working and developing at factories. Beats the typical work flow of reviewing each iteration on a seperate trip, especially large projects with multiple parts and technologies coming together. [ personally: Quebec, California, Italy, China]

Live at the factory and design in the front office to be able to implement the ideas. Half the battles with new ideas ar convincing the factory that you know what you are talking about and the presence makes you “in touch” as well as a fantastic education. [ California, Italy, China]

Design a factory from the ground up. Not only eat eat your own dog food, make your own dog food grinder. :smiley: . [Quebec, California, Utah]

Design production machinery to make the unmakeable. [California, Italy, China]

Agreed. I spoke at the Fuse conference and will be speaking at IDSA Central District in Cleveland in April. This helps you form your point of view as well create contacts. Nothing makes you check yourself more than speaking in front of your peers. We spend most of our days convincing non-designers. When we have to talk to ourselves it takes on a new meaning.

I am going to add one…I think all IDs should establish a career mentor. This can be challenging, but it is very important for your professional development. This is very different than a professor that you may develop as a mentor in college. This is find someone that you can trust in your professional network that you can bounce ideas off of and that can give you solid career advice.

J

Having done the kids thing, I disagree. People take having kids too lightly and watching the amount of dumbass parents around me (not excluding myself), I definitely do not encourage everyone to have them. I lean towards the side of thinking that parenting should require a license or something

Well, this is exactly why I didn’t write “have a kid”. Telling young guys to go and father kids would be rather
irrisponsible as building a family is a different and much more complicated job, than just “having” sprogs.

But building a deep and trustful relationship, that can cope witht the stress of having two little ones made me a
better worker for sure. It covered up resources that I didn’t know I still had, helped me to focus my energy better
and I sure hope it made me a more empathic and relaxed team player. And some of that does compliment my wife
and my boss more than myself, I might add.

This is what my number 11# is about and writing it was triggered by the general anti-kid behaviour of the German society.
The birth rate is falling constantly over here as employers and politicians are unable to fathom out why especially educated women do not give birthe anymore. Which I think Is a shame and a loss for all of us. (end of rant)

mo-i

That’s a good one.

could also be…“become comfortable speaking to large unfamiliar audiences.” Helps project your POV back in the office

Totally agree, a mentor or at least a role model

As far as the “being fired/getting laid off”…

It could be summed up as going through serious defeat, then learning from & getting past it

Travis - you nailed it!

I feel like my most serious defeat was when I wasn’t fired from a job, but I was wasn’t smart enough to leave either!

mo-i: I’m starting a family in June. I wish I had started 10 years ago. I’ve heard it said that one should have kids when you understand how not prepared you are to have kids. I think I always knew I wasn’t prepared hehe.

I want to this - How did you approach these companies for the tour?

It was actually part of a pretty amazing summer program my school offered for a small fortune. 2 weeks touring Norther Italian factories and design studios followed by a 6 week intensive course in Milan. It was pretty amazing. I wish I could do it again now.

Yes! I did the same thing. The company going out of business at the height of the recession is what finally made me lose my job. It did definitely make me think about what I wanted to be doing. However, at the time I was completely unprepared for that event and needed work fast, so I had to fall back on what I was doing but with another company. It’s not ideal, but I do know more about what I want and what I don’t want than I ever did.

Another to add-

#12 (or whatever we are at)-
Fire a client. (More applicable to a consultant, but equal in corporate would be to say “no” to an internal team or boss on a project request).

One of the hardest things in business is knowing when to say “no”. Doing so will not only reinforce why you do what you do, but make doing it that much more purposeful.

R

On a similar vein, deliver bad news personally to a client and adress the solution. Nothing builds long term credibility than honestly dealing with an issue and learning the proper way to discuss it. Issue, not problem for example.

Good one. On that note, it also builds a lot of character to tell a client “you were wrong”. Going back after reconsideration of a concept you presented and a client bought into can be a humbling experience but if the means justifies the end, that is ultimately what they are paying you for. Ideally it’s a “I suggested x, but here’s y I just thought of, and why it’s better”…

R

Another related one, pass on a project because it just wasn’t something you wanted to do (put ethics, passion, or interest above money)… On the flip side, try it the other way and see how that works out. I passed on a few big projects (disposable floor cleaner and tech exploration program I thought was a dead end) because I wasn’t interested and I just didn’t feel they were ethically right somehow. I’ve also taken a few projects I wish I hadn’t of, only to kick myself halfway in when I was bored but too busy to take another possible project that actually would have been awesome. Live and learn as they say.

Add to that turn down a project that would pay y0ur company more than $1,000,000 :cry:

I’m late, as usual. Finally hit my day-off (my annual Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant refueling gig) and catching up on my CORE reading.

Touring a factory was mentioned previously. I would have to add WORK in a factory to the list of of experiences every designer should “endure”. Nothing teaches/clarifies manufacturing processes like actually operating equipment. Injection molding machine operator, foundry work, and tool & die shop machinist positions helped pay my way through school.

Discover something you once designed in its final resting place in a junk yard, on a beach etc.

Oh man, that is a good one!

I saw a tea kettle I designed sitting on the side of the street once… not a cheap kettle either. It was for Chantal. It came out about 10-12 years before, so hopefully people got some good use out of it… I hope.

I think about this every time I see an M&M’S or Snickers wrapper on the ground. Drives me crazy!!

J