the ideal (junior) industrial designer

The Ideal (Junior) Industrial DesignerA study of skills and traits for new industrial designers

Michael Rollerhttp://michaelroller.com/

The Ideal (Junior) Industrial DesignerMichael Roller

http://michaelroller.com/ 2

BackgroundOver the past few years, I’ve written about the integration of skills and traits essential to being a great industrial designer. In that same period of time, I’ve taught Design Communication to students at the University of Cincinnati and hired many co-ops and interns at Kaleidoscope. Over time, I’ve developed a passion for helping students understand, navigate, and cope with the diverse range of qualities needed to achieve success.

This study aims to clarify the balance needed by young industrial designers with two years of experience or less. It does not aspire to lofty definitions of contemporary industrial design, nor will it provide specific approaches for how to improve certain skills. The survey focuses on understanding and organizing what is most important to the senior designers and hiring managers who hire young talent.

Finally, it is important to remember that this study is largely qualitative and open to interpretation. I welcome a rich discussion of this document on my blog.



100 Respondents

Based on the backgrounds of the study’s participants, the perspectives in this survey are widely informed and best applied to junior industrial design opportunities with consultancies in North America.

54%Consultant

79%North America

10%Europe

6%Asia

4%No Response

1%South America

24%Corporate

22%OtherAcademia, Anonymous, Unknown



Designers Weigh InThe survey began by asking respondents to rank four aspects of the designer using a likert scale. Design Solutions, Personality, and Problem Identification all scored as having high importance, while Presentation & Execution barely missed the cut. All skills and traits were relatively important to respondents, but Design Solutions had the highest score, at least in part because it received the most scores in the “very high” category.

Please rank the importance of the following skills and traits when considering a junior industrial designer for your team.

Low Importance Medium Importance High Importance Very High Importance

4 Presentation & Execution (2.98)

1

2

3

Design Solutions (3.20)

Personality (3.11)

Problem Identification & Framing (3.06)



PresentationOther names for presentation skills, in this situation, could be process skills, or even communication skills. These are the hard skills that industrial designers use to communicate to peers, managers, and clients. Overwhelmingly, the survey confirms that ideation sketching is the most important of these skills at which a junior industrial design should excel.

Responses from “Other” include: insightfulness, illustrating design strategy, physical modeling, following directions, teamwork, Illustrator/Photoshop, positive attitude, and fast acquisition of beer.

Which presentation and execution skills are most important when considering a junior industrial designer for your team?

89%

38%

30%

26%

23%

21%

15%

Ideation Sketching

CAD Modeling

Verbal Presentation Skills

Graphic Design/Visual Communication

Sketch Rendering

Other

CADRendering



Design SolutionsThis question aims to remove all presentation aspects of the solution out of the equation and focus on the concepts and ideas at the core of a solution. While not as definitively important as ideation sketching, more than half of the respondents reported that both the quality of the idea and the idea’s aesthetic were the most important.

Which aspects of the a design solution are most important when considering a junior industrial designer for your team?

69%

52%

38%

28%

24%

14%

6%

Quality of Ideas

Aesthetic Sensitivity

Attention to Detail

Quantity of Ideas

Materials& Processes

Blue Sky Thinking

Other

Responses from “Other” include: systems thinking, variety of product/industry sensitivities, global design awareness, and offering a fresh perspective.



Problem IdentificationNot only does an industrial designer need to know how to solve problems, she also needs to know how to identify the right problems to solve. This can be done in a variety of ways, depending on the project. Compared to the other sections, this question proved to have the least obvious answer, with Ergonomics and Human Factors scoring the highest. Four other choices varied by only 8%.

Which problem identification or project framing skills are most important when considering a junior industrial designer for your team?

55%

32%

32%

28%

24%

15%

Ergonomics & Human Factors

Ethnographic Research

Opportunity Mapping

Marketing Knowledge

Other

Other Business Knowledge

Responses from “Other” include: consideration of interaction design, idea generation and brainstorming, observation & analysis, work ethic, and exposure to other methodologies.



PersonalityHard skills matter, but personality traits are important too, since many industrialdesigners work in teams where these traits can have an impact on it’s success.Although respondents considered a positive attitude the most important, threeother traits (passion for career, cultural fit, and professionalism) also combine forthe ideal junior ID personality.

Which personality traits are most important when considering a junior industrial designer for your team?

61%

52%

51%

43%

9%

8%

3%

Positive Attitude

Passion for Career

Cultural fit with brand/company

Professionalism

Other

Dress/Personal Style

Relevant interests outside of work

Responses from “Other” include: cross-functional team fit, pro-active attitude, independent, self-motivated, good time management skills, and willingness to take direction from managers.



Putting it all togetherIt’s a relatively simple task ranking skills with a single category, but rarely do designers compartmentalize these aspects in real time. To simulate a real scenario like an interview or portfolio review, respondents were asked to select their top choices when everything was on the table. With all skills and traits on the table, ideation sketching remained the top scorer. Presentation skills and Design Solution skills distributed fairly evenly across the entire range, while the majority of Personality traits scored near the top. Problem framing skills scored closer to the bottom.

Of all traits covered in this survey, which are most important when considering a junior industrial designer for your team?

Ideation Sketching

CAD Modeling

Verbal Presentation

Graphic Design

Sketch Rendering

Problem Framing Skills

CAD Rendering

Personality Traits

Quality of Ideas


Attention to Detail

Quantity of Ideas

Materials & Processes

Blue Sky Thinking

Ergonomics


Opportunity Mapping

Marketing Knowledge

Presentation Skills

Business Knowledge

Design Solution Skills

Positive Attitude

Passion for Career

Other

Cultural fit with brand

Professionalism

Personal Style

Interests outside of work



DealbreakersOften a skill or trait is more important when it is noticeably weak rather than when it is strong. To gain insights around this framing, respondents were asked which skills were the biggest turn-offs when evaluating a junior industrial designer. Junior industrial designers who showed a negative attitude were considered the worst. Personality traits in general jumped up the rankings across the board.

Which skills or traits quickly disqualify a candidate for a junior industrial design position with your team?

Poor Ideation Sketching

Poor CAD Modeling

Weak Verbal Presentation

Weak Graphic Design

Poor Sketch Rendering

Poor CAD Rendering

Low Quality of Ideas

Weak Aesthetic Sensitivity

Poor Attention to Detail

Low Quantity of Ideas

Poor Mat’ls & Processes

Weak Blue Sky Thinking

Weak Ergonomics

Weak Ethnography

Weak Opp. Mapping

Low Mktg. Knowledge

Low Biz. Knowledge

Negative Attitude

Low Passion for Career

Weak Cultural Fit

Unprofessional

Poor Personal Style


Problem Framing Skills

Personality Traits

Presentation Skills

Design Solution Skills



Analysis and RecommendationsAfter studying and interpreting the feedback, five key recommendations can be made to junior industrial designers to help them better understand what senior designers and hiring managers are looking for in an ideal candidate.

_Sketching is (still) Tablestakes_A Problem with Framing_Attitude Adjustment_Staying on Top_One Final Look



Sketching is (still) TablestakesIt’s not surprising that participants of the survey considered ideation sketching to be very important. However, what was surprising was the extent to which they found it important. Eighty-nine percent felt it was the most important of all presentation and execution skills, the largest gap between any two skills throughout the entire survey. Even though presentation skills overall were considered the least important category (p.4), sketching scored at the top when ranked among all options. Poor ideation sketching was the fourth most popular reason that one may be disqualified from a potential job opportunity. Despite all of the changes happening in the design world that may indicate otherwise, ideation sketching remains an important gauge to which experienced designers evaluate junior talent.

AnalysisWhat’s the most important skill for a junior industrial designer?

89%

Idea

tion

Sket

chin

g

CA

D M

odel

ing

considered sketching the most important executional skill



A Problem with FramingConceptually, problem identification and framing were considered to be of high importance, but respondents found it difficult to identify the specific skills that were key to it’s importance. It is possible that these traits are of low importance because senior designers or managers in other functions usually set strategies through the application of these skills. These results may also indicate industrial design’s challenge of better defining the more strategic arm of its function. It would seem risky for young designers to ignore the development of these skills altogether, especially given the recent popularity of design thinking and design research. The feedback on this category leaves the most questions unanswered, suggesting that more research should be done to better understand it.

AnalysisIs problem identification the least important type of skill set?

Overall, problem identification & framing scored in the middle, but when specific skills within the category were listed, participants struggled to find their importance relative to other traits.

2.98Presentation & Execution

3.20

3.11

3.06

Design Solutions

Personality

Problem Identification & Framing



Attitude AdjustmentWhen observing the differences in results between the positvely- and negatively-framed questions, a clear difference could be noted in personality traits. While other categories remained relatively unchanged, every personality trait scored higher when framed negatively. In short, designers may not win a job solely based on their personality, but a negative attitude or signs of unprofessionalism may do the most to hurt one’s chances.

AnalysisHow do preferences change when the framing of the question changes?

Negative FramingWhich skills or traits quickly disqualify a candidate for a junior industrial design position with your team?

Positive FramingOf all traits covered in this survey, which are most important when considering a junior industrial designer for your team?



Staying on TopBased on the ranking of skill categories (p.4), the ideal junior industrial designer is some balanced combination of good personality, talented problem solver, and skilled technician. Mapping out all the skills and traits based both on multiple performance metrics, one can see that the ideal junior industrial designer sketches great but then quickly adds quality ideas, a positive and passionate attitude, a keen aesthetic sense, and a good fit within the team. The list continues, but this is a good starting point for any young designer looking to capture the attention of their senior peers.

AnalysisWhat traits do ideal junior industrial designers share?

High Overall Importance

Low Overall Importance

Verbal Presentation

Graphic Design

Sketch Rendering

CAD Rendering

Quality of Ideas


Attention to Detail

Quantity of Ideas

Materials & Processes

Blue Sky Thinking

Ergonomics


Opportunity Mapping

Marketing Knowledge

Business Knowledge

Positive Attitude

Passion for Career

Cultural fit with brand

Professionalism

Personal Style


CAD Modeling

Ideation Sketching

Scale =Importance within individual categories



455%

32%

Ergonomics & Human Factors

Ethnography

32%Opportunity Mapping

Problem IdentificationConceptually, problem identification and framing were considered to be of high importance, but respondents found it difficult to identify the specific skills that were key to it’s importance. It would seem risky for young designers to ignore the development of these skills altogether, especially given the recent popularity of design thinking and design research.

389%

38%

Ideation Sketching

CAD Modeling

30%Verbal Presentation

Presentation & ExecutionOverall, executional skills ranked as the least important of the four categories but that ideation sketching was considered the most important of any individual skill on the survey. 89% of respondents felt sketching was very important, outscoring everything else. The second most important executional skill was CAD modeling (38%).

261%

52%

Positive Attitude

Passion for Career

51%

PersonalityHaving the right personality traits is even more important than having good technical skills. Hiring managers most often disqualify junior ID candidates for having a negative attitude, followed shortly by being unprofessional, showing a lack passion, or being a poor fit for the company culture.

169%

52%

Quality of Ideas


38%Attention to Detail

Design SolutionsBeautiful and intelligent design solutions ranked as the most important overall. More than half of respondents considered the quality of ideas and aesthetic sensitivity to be very important.

Cultural Fit

The Ideal (Junior) Industrial DesignerAfter surveying 100 designers from around the world, these are the most important skills and traits considered by the senior designers when hiring young industrial designers (0-2 years of experience).



What’s NextAfter conducting this study, a number of opportunities have been uncovered for further potential research to ensure the quality of this information and to explore adjacent areas of interest. Although this survey used numbers and figures to measure the responses, it’s still largely qualitative. Alternative research methods as well as more rigorous screening would help ensure the validity of future studies.

Further exploration into a number of areas could help to identify the differences across region, business type, and experience level. Understanding preferences globally could help a broader audience understand their region’s specific needs or help North American students cater their portfolios to the global audience of their choice. For similar reasons, it would also be useful to better understand the differences between corporate and consultant businesses.

It’s likely that the skills of junior industrial designers are not the same for designers of other experience levels. Additional studies across a variety of experience levels would help identify which skills remain essential and which shift over time to become more or less important, allowing designers to focus their personal development to be the most effective.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the study! Your insights are truly appreciated and this document could not have been created without your input.