John Feland:

I agree that companies are employing more industrial designers.  Would you 
also agree that the use of the skills of an industrial designer are a necessary but not sufficient for the development of successful consumer products.

Yes I would agree. I have worked with many good specialist people with scientific backgrounds. What I do not agree with is that people with those backgrounds would be necessarily good at doing the whole process. There is a great need for futher research and science input into the design process. But linear thinking and problem solving is not good for solving visual problems connected with form generation. This is part of the design process. The decisions are qualitative rather than quantitative.

Einstein was a great and imaginative scientist but he was not good at industrial design or (probably)modern dance or (probably) sculpture. The only figure I can think of who was good at science, engineering design and art was Leonardo. But to find 800 Leonardos for Irvine would be difficult. If they are being trained as engineers and scientists my experience is that students who have engineering backgrounds perform poorly in early stages of design courses at some important types of tasks and need to be trained to think differently when they start designing products. I think that the intention at Irvine is to produce design scientists and design researchers rather than what we would consider to be traditional industrial designers. 

It seems that some list contributors (without experience in developing manufactured products) are saying that traditional hand eye and qualitative problem solving skills are not necessary to develop products but I believe strongly that they are. This is because consumers make qualitative judgements when they buy products. For example when someone buys a television set in a department store, it is not the engineering of the design which is the primary differentiator for selecting the model to take home. Science can be used to study the decision making process and create the electronics but it cannot be used to create the form which is the primary influencer which leads to the purchase choice. There is no area of engineering which can ensure the quality and successful appeal of a piece of new music or a new manufactured product.



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R   o   b     C   u   r   e   d   a   l   e
Professor, Chair Product Design
College for Creative Studies Detroit
201 East Kirby
Detroit MI 48202-4034

Phone: 313 664 7625
Fax:      313 664 7620
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.ccscad.edu
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