Teaching Chapter 11: Industrial Design
Timing
This session can occur at almost any point in the first third of the course. If the course includes students from an industrial design program, this session can help to bridge the gap between the engineering or management students and the industrial design students and so is effective early in the course. It is also a "light prep" for both the instructor and students and so can be scheduled for a week when project assignments are particularly heavy. This session can also be effectively used in a two-session sequence with a good case on ID, such as the Braun AG KF40 Coffee Machine case (from Design Management Institute or HBS).
Objectives and Strategy
The primary objective of this session is to give the students a clear vision of what an industrial designer does and how the industrial design profession is structured. Obviously in an industrial design program, the topic of industrial design pervades the curriculum. Therefore, this session description is aimed primarily at instructors who are in engineering or management schools. Chapter 10 should give the students a good intellectual grasp of what industrial design (ID) is all about. We find that this session is a good opportunity to communicate some of the emotion and culture associated with ID. To do this, we recommend bringing in a dynamic, practicing industrial designer to speak to the class.
Session Outline
The session typically consists of two parts:
Following are a few hints for setting up the guest presentation:
Props
The guest may choose to bring a few ID models and products on which he/she has worked.
In-Class Exercise
Normally there is no exercise for this session. However, in a three-hour session on ID we have spent the first half of the class having students make 60-second presentations about a product they believe exhibits good industrial design. We ask the students to bring the product to class and to demonstrate what they like about the design.
Supplemental Reading
The book by Lorenz cited in the chapter is a good, in-depth treatment of industrial design.
An article covering the annual Business Week or Inc. Magazine product design awards is a good supplemental reading.
The Corporate Design Foundation may be able to provide copies of @Issue: The Journal of Business and Design, a quarterly publication with cases of successful design practices in various industries.
This session can occur at almost any point in the first third of the course. If the course includes students from an industrial design program, this session can help to bridge the gap between the engineering or management students and the industrial design students and so is effective early in the course. It is also a "light prep" for both the instructor and students and so can be scheduled for a week when project assignments are particularly heavy. This session can also be effectively used in a two-session sequence with a good case on ID, such as the Braun AG KF40 Coffee Machine case (from Design Management Institute or HBS).
Objectives and Strategy
The primary objective of this session is to give the students a clear vision of what an industrial designer does and how the industrial design profession is structured. Obviously in an industrial design program, the topic of industrial design pervades the curriculum. Therefore, this session description is aimed primarily at instructors who are in engineering or management schools. Chapter 10 should give the students a good intellectual grasp of what industrial design (ID) is all about. We find that this session is a good opportunity to communicate some of the emotion and culture associated with ID. To do this, we recommend bringing in a dynamic, practicing industrial designer to speak to the class.
Session Outline
The session typically consists of two parts:
- Presentation by guest industrial designer.
- Open-ended question/discussion period.
Following are a few hints for setting up the guest presentation:
- Ask the guest to tell the students something about his or her background and to show the students some of the work that he or she has done.
- Industrial designers typically archive their portfolio with 35mm slides, so encourage the guest to bring slides.
- Ask the guest to plan to use about half of the time allotted for the session. This seems to leave the right amount of time for discussion (and for the inevitable "over run" in the presentation).
- An industrial designer who is young enough that the students can relate to him or her on a personal level seems to work best. The ideal is someone with five to ten years of experience.
- The best way to choose a guest is through a referral or personal connection. Other approaches include contacting the local chapter of the IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) or by looking in the yellow pages under "Design, Industrial". If the course involves students from an industrial design program, the faculty from the ID program will undoubtedly be able to provide referrals.
- We observe that industrial designers from consulting firms often have more polished presentation skills than those from ID groups within companies, perhaps because they spend a lot of time selling their services.
Props
The guest may choose to bring a few ID models and products on which he/she has worked.
In-Class Exercise
Normally there is no exercise for this session. However, in a three-hour session on ID we have spent the first half of the class having students make 60-second presentations about a product they believe exhibits good industrial design. We ask the students to bring the product to class and to demonstrate what they like about the design.
Supplemental Reading
The book by Lorenz cited in the chapter is a good, in-depth treatment of industrial design.
An article covering the annual Business Week or Inc. Magazine product design awards is a good supplemental reading.
The Corporate Design Foundation may be able to provide copies of @Issue: The Journal of Business and Design, a quarterly publication with cases of successful design practices in various industries.