This is the first report of my journey through the Design Sojourn Mentoring Program. Unfortunately I am not able to reveal all the details of the content, because some of them are quite personal and other things need to be kept confidential. But I would like to give you an impression of the journey we are going through so far.

During the program we had 3 different ways of communicating: Skype audio/chat sessions and discussions on a dedicated and hidden forum at the Design Sojourn site.

In the forum we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to each other and to learn about our current status and our short term goals. We also exchanged thoughts and advices on our design career path and questions.
The Skype chat sessions were used for quick talks about things like meaningful designs and good portfolios. The audio conversations on Skype were one on one talks with Brian who was explaining and giving advices in more detail.

The first part of the program was focused on our portfolio, which was reviewed by Brian. The second part was a complete skills assessment, review and improvement. Each of us was asked to do a personal SWOT analysis, which meant that we needed to analyze our own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities to improve and threats that could affect our career. 

My program was a bit customized, as I was middle in my job hunting in the last 2 months. So I had the opportunity to ask Brian for particular advice on my approach to get the job that fits best with me.

Here I would like to share the most important and useful advices that has been given me to in relation to my portfolio review and my SWOT analysis.

For my current portfolio, as I have enough professional work to show, I could remove all my university work, except my graduation project that I can still keep for a while. With 3 years work experience, it does not make sense to show university work, unless they are really good and relevant to a potential employer. In general it is good to show the best work only, to a maximum of 10 projects. Another thing I need to work on for the next revision of my portfolio is the visual presentation, which is not really graphical attractive now. It is a bit too plain and dull.

As for my career, the most important thing I have to do for the coming 2 or 3 years is that I have to build a better sensitivity towards good design content, which I can gain from doing as much design work as possible and being critical in design thinking and observing during my work. This is one of my goals, which is based on my SWOT analysis and discussion with Brian.

I do believe that I currently have the opportunity to bring my skills to a higher level at my new job at Speck Design Shanghai, where the designers strive to invent meaningful designs that resonate with the users. I have just had my first week at Speck, and it feels great to be back full time designing.

To be continued in a next report…

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I don’t know about you, but I love a good science fiction movie. I grew up watching films like Back to the Future and I must admit I’m still waiting for 2015, hoping to see if flying cars will be landing in my neighborhood or if those self adjusting jackets are going to come in several colors. But, geekiness aside, there are some key elements in which design –along with a good marketing campaign- intervenes, making these kind of movies possible. Whether it’s concept design, and to some extent product placement and reverse placement, the eye and the mind of the designer are always there.

You might be wondering what product placement is and how it can be related to the world of design and its imprint on the silver screen. This being a form of advertisement, it’s a way for branded goods or services to be placed in the context of a film, which sometimes remains undisclosed at the time such a product is featured. Reverse placement, however, is more difficult to find, as it implies creating products in real life to match those depicted in fictional settings.

If we look up carefully sci fi and action movies from the last twenty years, we could certainly name several cases that have made product placement part of the plot, basically those which are based on video games, comic books and even action figures. But there are also products portrayed as we know them or which have been modified to become some sort of breakthrough yet recognizable product. And that’s when the designer steps in.

Such is the case of the Delorean DMC-12, used as the time machine for the Back to the Future trilogy, styled by American production designer and illustrator Andrew Probert and production designer Ron Cobb. These movies are a paradigmatical case in how many ways product placement plays a key role in concept design. The finest example of this is of course the DeLorean, a stainless steel, gull-winged car which was styled to take part as the time machine used by Marty Mc Fly and ‘Doc’ Brown to go back and forth in time and space. Despite being a commercial failure, the DMC-12 became a cult object and it was initially set to return to production in 2008, thanks to the rise in popularity by the cult state of the movies.

Taking a closer look at the environment of the 2015 Hill Valley, we can find many examples of styled-for-the-occasion product placement and concept design. The creativity displayed in concept designs can be seen in hovering/flying cars, hover boards-conveniently manufactured by Mattel®- and the wonderful pieces of clothing that are Nike’s self- adjusting sneakers and jackets. Among other quirky devices, we can find electronic IDs run by fingerprint scans and telephonic eyeglasses. But, as the need to advertise actual brands needs to be fulfilled, we get to see how the McFlys use a Black&Decker food Hydrator, drink Pepsi from a very stylish bottle that resembles a glass with a lid and even have in-wall fax machines provided by AT&T, among regular product placement of ‘vintage’ products such as Apple computers, Perrier and Texaco®.

Yet, this paradigmatical case of study regarding concept design and product placement wouldn’t be complete without an example of reverse placement. The sneakers Marty wore in 2015 were just a concept design until almost 20 years later when Nike –upon request of many fans who ran the Mc Fly 2015 project- released the Nike Hyperdunk 2015, also known as ‘Air Mc Fly’. The limited edition of 1000 pairs was inspired in Marty’s futuristic sneakers and hit the shelves in the summer of 2008. Of course they didn’t include any electronic devices, but they have the look and feel of the most famous fake shoes ever known.

There is no doubt that the influence of industrial design at the service of concept design for the movie industry is much more powerful than we can eventually think. I might never see any flying cars landing in my neighbourhood, but I’m sure the ideas those concept designs inspire, help enrich our everyday life and challenge our senses beyond the imaginable.

About the author - Andrea Musso is a freelance designer from Argentina and is currently engaged in the design and production of ceramic ware. You can contact her at www.lacabezadelareina.com

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Last week I had the pleasure to talk with Roger van der Linden, a Dutch industrial designer who is living and working in Shanghai since 2004. He graduated at the same university as mine, which is the Delft University of Technology. And I already knew him as my mentor at Philips, who supervised my team when I was working on a shaver design project during my study.

Currently Roger, together with his Dutch partner and industrial designer Chantal Voskuilen, is running his own design engineering and prototyping company and so far he is really enjoying his work and life in Shanghai. You can learn more about his services at:

http://www.chinacreativecompany.com
http://www.prototypingchina.com/

Could you please tell us about yourself and how you came to Shanghai?

I was born and raised up in Maastricht (Netherlands). After graduating as an industrial design engineer at the Delft University of Technology, I started to work for Philips DAP as design engineer and researcher and worked there for 4 years on the development of shavers, working together with Philips design, marketing and ergonomics departments. During my job at Philips I got interested to work in China, Hong Kong or Singapore, where Philips design offices are located as well.

In 2004 my girlfriend and current partner Chantal was offered a job in Shanghai and I was thinking about what I could do to join her. At that time I also observed that the Chinese economy was really booming and I was aware of the opportunities in the design industry and finally I decided to work for myself as a freelancer in design and sourcing in Shanghai.

It was very easy to settle down in Shanghai, because of the international character. And I was able to find my group of friends in a short time and therefore Shanghai became my second home very fast. In the beginning of my stay in China, I only experienced a culture shock when I did sourcing work outside Shanghai, because of the industrial landscape, the factories and the poorer region.

Please tell us more about the services your provide

We are mainly focused on design engineering and prototyping work. Occasionally we do design as well.  
By the way, when people search for prototyping in china at Google, they will find us at the top of the search results! So it is great that we are able to market ourselves at very low costs.

Please tell us about the work you are most proud of

We worked on the engineering and manufacturing of a child seat for Kids Nautique that can be attached on a sail or yacht boat and we helped the client to deliver a large batch of seats within 3 months. It was a very new concept and the challenge was to find the appropriate manufacturers that are able to realize the product and we needed to protect the product from copying. So we involved a couple of manufactures with different capabilities to work on different parts of the product and therefore we prevent that none of them would be able to rebuild the complete product.

What have you been working on recently?

We have been working on a water alarm for Kids Nautique and a prototype design clock for the Deutsche Telecom, a design and engineering for a teppanyaki Cookingplate with a fan and currently working on a walking beverage dispenser for Heineken and on new air refreshers for SC Johnson.

What are the advantages and disadvantage being in China?

The biggest advantage is the incredible source of manufacturers and vendors. You can find anything you can almost think of. And the manufacturing speed is high as well. As for the minor things in our work, I think that in general the Chinese manufacturers are not very strong in planning, so often we need to put a lot of effort into following up with them to make sure that the manufacturing process runs as smooth as possible.

Furthermore I love the night life and food, which is fantastic here! But for green landscape you need to drive 2 hours outside Shanghai. And China is surrounded by beautiful places and countries for outstanding holidays.

What are the challenges being in China?

The opportunity in design innovation and management is an interesting challenge.

I also would love to work for Chinese clients, which is certainly a great challenge in terms of difference in culture and communication.

Ultimately it would be interesting to design for the huge Chinese market or helping the Chinese to launch a product in the western market.

How is working with Chinese clients/vendors/manufacturers?

I like to travel and discover the different kind of manufacturers and cities and meeting people from all levels and to understand how they live and work.

To communicate with suppliers is sometimes difficult, especially on a detailed technical level. As the sales person from a factory can usually communicate in wonderful English, their technical knowledge isn’t at a high level, so that can deliver some misunderstandings! So, we have made it a habit to communicate with a lot of pictures and renderings, together with bilingual ( English and Chinese) descriptions.

What is your opinion about industrial design in China?

I believe there is a great amount of creative talents in this country, but somehow the Chinese industry, especially the large companies, is not making good use of it yet. But I do see some interesting design work coming from a few local design studios that are influenced by western design process and management.
I think that the design industry in China now is quite similar to Korea’s industry from 10 years ago, when the Korean also made a lot of copycats. Many foreign designers went to Korea and they left their western design influence and as a result Korea is doing very well now in terms of innovation. For instance Samsung has created some beautiful designs and innovations. China is experiencing the same situation and it takes some time to reach the same level.

What is your plan for the coming 3-5 years?

I would like to expand my company and try to do more design and innovation work. Furthermore we are looking for opportunities in Vietnam, which is a very interesting place to live as well. We have already been to Ho Chi Minh for a few times and it is a really attractive city and it is developing very fast and it is experiencing the same change that Shanghai had 10 years ago.

Do you have any tips for people who want to come to China for setting up a design business?

Just do it! Be bold and try things out and you will learn and improve a lot from it.

 

You can learn find more info about Roger van der Linden and his services at:

http://www.chinacreativecompany.com
http://www.prototypingchina.com/

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Whether you’re trying to win some money, gain exposure, or just build out your portfolio, design competitions are a great way for young designers to develop themselves. Over the past few years, I’ve entered many competitions for many reasons. I’ve even won a little bit. From my experience, here are the five keys to winning the next design competition you enter.

1. Enter for the Right Reason.

Why are you entering a design competition? Before anything else, make sure that you’re doing it for the right reason. Is it to get yourself more exposure or to make money? If you’re trying to get more exposure, consider the other options and compare the possible value of each. Starting a blog, becoming more active on twitter, or just promoting your own concept product to sites like Yanko Design could be more beneficial. Think hard about entering the competition just to make money. What if you don’t win? Go for freelance work instead.

The best reason to enter a design competition is to build out your portfolio, keep your skills sharp, and experiment outside of whatever professional work you do. The chances of winning can be pretty slim, so the exposure and prizes that come with success should be seen as a bonus, not the goal. Design competitions are about some form of self-improvement.

2. Pick the Right Project.

You’re about to invest a bunch of your personal time into this competition. How do you pick the right one? Again, the answer to this question should be form of self-improvement. There are a ton of opportunities, so make sure you pick a project that will make you a better designer even if you don’t win. When I was a student I entered one of Design Engine’s Photoreal Competitions. It was a great way to do a great rendering for a product I’d already designed. In the end, I was able to use it in my portfolio. Later, I entered Scion’s Floorplan Competition to experiment with environmental design. I didn’t win either of them, but entering both competitions helped me improve my skills.

3. Be Passionate.

Why would you enter a competition if you weren’t interested in the project? Building off key #2, you’re about to spend a bunch of your own time towards this. Designers live off passion and die by apathy, so don’t waste your time on something if you aren’t really excited about it. Plus, who do you think has the best work, the best chance of winning, the best exposure, the most success? Once you’re passionate, everything else falls into place for a designer.

4. Make sure you can do it quickly.

A lot of students ask me how I manage personal projects and design competitions in my free time. You might disagree with this point, but my experience tells me the competition you’re most likely to finish is the one you can complete effectively and efficiently. Read the brief carefully and decide if your skill sets are a good match to complete this project in a timely manner. Once you have the passion required (key #3), finish the project before it fizzles out.

One of my favorite competitions was the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition. Young designers are invited to create martini glasses inspired by the well-known gin. The brief is easy to follow and I was able to create a finished concept over a weekend. As a result, I entered three years in a row (eventually winning finalist & second prize honors) because I was excited about the opportunity and able to complete the project quickly. Follow this rule, your family and friends will thank you for it.

5. Find a partner in crime.

If there’s one final thing that will help you, it’s a close friend that shares the same excitement for entering design competitions. You might encounter a lot of naysayers in your quest for design honors, so friends act as as support network to help you maintain your energy for a project and help you refine your work by giving you an outside opinion. Think of them as your design competition creative director. They should give you helpful feedback to make your project the best it can be. Your friend can carry you when your passion wanes, and if you enter together, the projects can come together quicker than if you entered alone.

Two of my partners are Brandon Lynne and Finn McKenty. Brandon and I worked together in school at UC and we’ve used these competitions as a way of staying in touch and working together. Finn and I collaborate on projects at Kaleidoscope, where he has a design background but now focuses on business strategy. With both partners, our points of view overlap enough that we are efficient but different enough that when we work together we do better work than any of us could do on our own.

Even if you follow these five steps perfectly, I can’t guarantee you’ll win every competition you enter. However, putting yourself in the position to win is all you can do. The rest is a bit of luck, in the hands of the judges and their personal biases. Remember that the value to you shouldn’t come with winning, it should come with entering. If you want more information, check out Coroflot’s article on the subject. Have you had success entering design competitions? What other tips do you have to share?

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