Hoping to open up a candid exploration here that I’m genuinely curious about:) I realize there have been numerous related discussions here but I haven’t seen anyone address this specific question:
Is it OK to design in CAD?
I want to be clear upfront that I don’t want to see our unique art form of analog sketching die. I’ve always loved that there are many hands-on aspects to industrial design, including physical making and sketching. Its one of the reasons I chose the profession. At the same time I want to make sure I am able to design the widest range of things and to focus my time on a particular set of skills to which I will excel.
I’d love to get your take on this. I’ve listed my own perceived Pro’s and Con’s below.
Context
I’ve worked as an Industrial Designer, mostly in Design firms for around 10 years. I was taught in Industrial Design school that it was “bad” to design in CAD. I was also prohibited from using digital drawing tools like wacom tablets. Perhaps my professors were a bit old school but I get the lesson they may have been trying to teach me - that good design is not necessarily about the tools we use - and that we shouldn’t use tools as a crutch. One of my prof’s used to do “renderings” with the shape tool in powerpoint to prove this point (they were actually amazing). I can still appreciate this lesson and I held onto it as dogma for a long time. Yet later in my career I found myself doing things differently.
My Current Process.
I’ve been lucky to have exposure to a number of different CAD programs in Design firm environments over the years (alias, rhino, 3DS max, fusion 360). The one that I took to a level of mastery is Solidworks. I found it intuitive, capable, and I like that it’s commonly used by our comrades in product development: Engineers. I’ve found working in the same tools, facilitate collaboration more easily. After having spent the thousands (really) of hours to hours needed to become both fast and capable in SW, I will now often begin the design phase of a project directly in 3D. I still use sketching to think through details but I no longer make them an official deliverable unless specifically requested (which is rare). The first company I worked for asked me to sketch in the high quantity traditional way but others, have not not expressed a preference for “how” I design, more so “what”. My assumption is that this somewhat unusual for design firms, but I have come to appreciate designing in 3D for these reasons:
PROS
- Greater accuracy. This one is obvious, I know, but has to be mentioned. I can see this being more important in some product categories than others. I work at a company that makes networking computers. It’s all about how much power and capacity we can fit into the smallest possible form factor. Sketching can be nice to work through some details, but in general I am playing Tetris in SW to fit boards and components into tight, machined spaces. This would be impractical on paper. I still have a “look” or in mind - but I let the details drive the result - usually not the other way around. I always have this Buckminster Fuller quote in mind:
“When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”
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Products are getting more complex. I love simplicity and minimalism but I also find new, “maximalist” form languages exciting. I have a strong feeling this language is an inevitable part of the future of Design in General, as the markets seek greater levels of novelty in every capacity, including form. I don’t want my ability to draw something to be a limiting factor. You can simply achieve more range in 3D.
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More accurate translation of design intent. Many companies, especially larger ones, seem to separate Designers into 2D (Sketching, Adobe), leaving the 3D to Engineers or folks from the CGI world. My perception is that there is the potential for loss during this hand-off. Full disclosure, I’ve never worked in a large, corporate environment, so I don’t have direct knowledge of how exactly that can work. I’m sure with the right communication and oversight, it can be made relatively seamless. Personally I have not had the best experiences, having the work of other designers handed to me. Likewise, if I need to hand-off to engineering, there can be ill considered additions or modifications. There almost always seems to be something lost in translation. When you are designing a thing on paper, it is fairly assured that you will face new, spacial issues when entered into 3D. This can sometimes drastically affect your original assumptions about what you thought the product would be. I like working through these road-blocks directly to ensure the sure any divergence is resolved well. Call me a control freak:)
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Slowing down can be a good thing. Sure, 3D might never be as fast as 2D but I don’t see that as a bad thing. I like being forced to be more deliberate. To think through each feature, each line, each curve. To ponder if that feature should exist at all. Personally, I subscribe to Dieter Rams “no more design than necessary.” In other words, too much “design” can actually get in the way. (Subjective territory, yes.)
Addresses bad stereotypes. We’ve all heard people gripe about having worked with a Designer who sketched them something beautiful but unrealistic. Unfortunately, I feel these are often fair critiques of when we have not done our job well enough. In school I was taught to create dozens of sketches or physical models to “think through” a design. This is great and fun to do, but we know it’s equally important to let market/user/customer/ research and technical feasibility/manufacturability inform decision making. Otherwise you are just “pushing shapes around a page” as one my professors used to say. Working in CAD from the start, can help address technical concerns your client or employer might have.
Iteration through 3D Printing We all know that we learn by making. In my experience, that doesn’t mean you necessarily need to physically make things yourself. For more complex products (ie computers) it probably doesn’t make sense to build in blue foam. I’ve found 3D printing is usually (not always) more practical than physically making things. There are of course exceptions, for example larger scale models might be better in something cheap like foam core.
The CONs to specializing/designing in CAD
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It could hurt your employ-ability as an Industrial Designer. This is a big one, not to be overlooked, if your goal is to work as an Industrial Designer. I don’t know this for sure but I could have hurt my job prospects at least in the ID space by putting more focus on 3D than 2D. I have tried to show “exploration” in 3D but I don’t really know how that is perceived vs sketches and hand-made models. My current employer and some companies I’ve interviewed with recently seem to appreciate my style but I’m not sure I could get a job at a more traditional design firm again without letting go of my stubbornness and focusing on sketching again. On the flip side, we can’t look into a crystal ball, but I do wonder if analog sketching, as part of real job description will still exist 10-20 years from now. ID jobs are already few.
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Potential for lost sense of gesture There are certain types of curve-driven products (see automobiles or sneakers) that lend themselves well to setching. It would be difficult (but not impossible) to achieve this in 3D. However, I believe new tools like VR CAD will eventually close this gap.
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If you focus on 3D your 2D might suffer. People who are good at sketching know that it takes hours of daily practice. The same thing is true of 3D. Unless you are a total freak, you probably won’t be amazing at both. I’ve been decent, never incredible, at sketching but it would probably take me several days to work up to presentation-level sketching again. It’s hard for me to justify putting in that time when I can 3D model 10x different designs in that same amount of time and have them 3D printed in various colors and materials within a few hours/days. I feel a bit sad about this, because I generally enjoy sketching and the evocative result it can produce. It just doesn’t feel practical anymore as a required step process or deliverable.
I’m aware I may be taking taking a risk here by becoming a sort of specialist within an already specialized field. My hope is that some day our field will evolve to become more accepting of designing in 3D. To some extent it may already be happening - they just may not be called “Industrial Designers.” Maybe it means I will eventually leave the field. But my gut is telling me that this method works. Thank you for your thoughts!
