This is the first of many episodes where we dive into addressing the top 10 questions young industrial designers face.  What skills are most important for a successful career in industrial design?Students are keen to understand which technical skills (such as sketching, CAD software proficiency, and model-making) and soft skills (like communication, teamwork, and creative thinking) are crucial in the industry.How do I build a strong portfolio?Guidance on what constitutes a compelling...

There's a sea of industrial designers out there, how can you stand out? Everyone is trying to stand out... but how can you actually do it? Skill Stacking We talk about the ins  and outs of skill stacking with the help of Sushant Vohra. You can read his LinkedIn post on the topic here. We also address the question "should I show it all?" when it comes to your portfolio.  Are you interested in a fix the 'folio program? Be sure to reach out to us at [email protected] to let us know...

I used to enjoy my job, and now it's terrible. I aspire to be a great industrial designer, but I feel like I'm pigeon holed in my current role. I'm not growing as a creative. I feel stuck but I don't know how to get out of my rut.  Sound familiar?  Well.... there's good and bad news. Bad news is, you're the problem. Good news- you're also the solution. That's right, when it comes to getting where you want to go in your creative career, there's only one person behind the wheel YOU.  In this...

You won't always be able to give something 100%... heck sometimes 50% is all you've got.  What do you do when you want to hit a home run, but you feel like you've struck out? In this episode we breakdown strategies for handling these kinds of situations with professionalism and share a few takeaways that will help you make those lemons into lemonade.  LINKS: Follow The Variable on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVariableDesign Support The...

In this episode we jump on a call with Jack Marple, the Associate Director of Industrial Design at Enlisted in Salt Lake City Utah to discuss design education and the top things that keep young (and old) designers from having job-winning presentation in their portfolios. We discuss eye-opening realizations we've had as educators and best practices on how to not only be able to identify good design, but apply it to your work.  LINKS: Follow The Variable on YouTube:...

In this episode of The Variable Design Podcast we dive in and discuss Sushant Vohra's LinkedIn post: If you are a design student in 2023 don't fall for these 12 traps ↘ 1) Being first in your class and thinking that design life is gonna be easy. 2) Copy pasting ChatGPT responses to comment on a post just for 'networking' sake. 3) Having those slider scales for each software in your CV (seriously drop it). 4) Writing a wall of text in a cold email to a potential employer. 5) Only having...

Steve Cozzolino, an award winning and distinguished industrial designer with over 25 years of consulting experience, earned a BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Notre Dame in 1993.  Early in his career, Steve collaborated with Eva Zeisel and was Design Director at Karim Rashid Inc. from 2002-2006.  In 2006, Steve launched Cozzolino studio LLC. Steve has received multiple "Red Dot" Design Awards, the industry's highest standard of excellence, has been featured in The New York...

About Joey: Prior to starting his own practice, Joey led design teams over the past 15 years while working for companies like Clarks, Continuum, Smart Design, Steelcase, and HP. His design work has been recognized with over 40 awards and featured in Design Milk, Dezeen, Fast Company, Interior Design, New York Times, TASCHEN and Wired. Joey graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Industrial Design.  Topics we cover in this episode: Be open to new paths: In design...

Recognized as 1 of the 50 most notable designers over the last 50 years, Brian Roderman is the President and Co-Owner of IN2 Innovation, an experience innovation design agency that provides a global range of services from inspiration to integration. IN2 Innovation currently has offices located in Dallas, Austin, and Atlanta. Brian has worked in the design consultancy business for over 30 years and is frequently a featured speaker on design and innovation at events and symposiums worldwide....

There are a number of ways that we as creatives can inadvertently keep ourselves away from progress. In this episode we talk about common ways we shoot ourselves in the foot as industrial designers, how to avoid them, and what to do to find balance and improve in our craft.  This episode was a recorded clubhouse session that took place on May 12,2022 Join our weekly discussions on Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-variable Other (non-recorded) Clubhouse events hosted by Justin...

Questions we cover in this episode 1- Industrial Designers do human factors testing and ethnographic research to drive all their decisions. When is it appropriate to let intuition trump validation? Is validation always necessary? We always hear about how prospective employers are looking for “good decision making skills” in student portfolios. What the heck does that even mean and how the heck do we show that we’re good at making decisions in our design work? Is that just subjective or can we...

If you've been in the field of Industrial Design or you're just about to enter the field, then you've probably already noticed that there is a very traditional expectation you must meet. In MANY aspects. - How you present. - How you draw. - How you act or express your opinion. - How you 'live and breathe design' When you don't fit this mold: - It's frustrating to experience AND to watch happen to someone else. - It's already a competitive field, and this just adds to the mental load. - It...

As a designer how do you find the balance? Should we expect to always be grinding into the late hours of the night working on designs? Or should there be a clear separation of work and personal life?  In this episode we talk about the realities of design work, how we can be authentic to ourselves, and how to find balance and leverage all the seasons of career development to our advantage.  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/thevariabledesign)

Dave Joseph is the founder of Ovie Smartware and Camp design. It's his mission to make meaningful products that impact people's lives. His design philosophy is to reach for the fusion point between aesthetics, brand, and function. The harmony between these elements turns a product into a treasured object in a person's life. People can support Dave and his ventures by visiting/following his various channels. https://www.instagram.com/fridgesmarter/ www.ovie.life The Variable is a top 10...

Stephen Wurth jumps in the deep end and shares the power of design thinking within a corporate environment.  Join the discussion on Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-variable Other (non-recorded) Clubhouse events hosted by Justin Adleff https://www.clubhouse.com/club/objects-experiences?utm_source=clubhouse&utm_medium=share_club&utm_campaign=hAr6ifilAK2P84UTJTMbmw-27939 LINKS: Support The Variable www.patreon.com/thevariabledesign WEBSITE:...

Watch the Original YouTube broadcast: https://youtu.be/y8KCHmiDBzU Read the article mentioned in our food for thought segment https://vanschneider.com/blog/portfolio-tips/the-old-case-study-is-not-working/ Other (non-recorded) Clubhouse events hosted by Justin Adleff https://www.clubhouse.com/club/objects-experiences?utm_source=clubhouse&utm_medium=share_club&utm_campaign=hAr6ifilAK2P84UTJTMbmw-27939 LINKS: Support The Variable www.patreon.com/thevariabledesign WEBSITE:...

A degree in industrial design gives you many career options. One of the paths we don’t mention often- but is in high demand- is retail and environment design. As designers, we have the power to influence shoppers, drive sales, and solve unique problems for retailers through innovation and design thinking.  Neon Carrot is a design studio full of creative thinkers who are professional problem solvers. We are passionate about the world around us. We are enthusiastic learners and encourage each...

The best designers are able not only to create noteworthy concepts, but present it in a compelling way that tells a memorable story. That's why we reached out to James Adams and Thomas Manning, the leadership team at Epic Light Media, to help lead our Design Breakroom discussion on storytelling.  This event was hosted on Clubhouse and broadcast live on YouTube.  The Variable on Clubhouse https://www.clubhouse.com/club/the-variable LINKS: Support The...

John Mauriello is an intensely driven independent industrial designer and adjunct professor of industrial design at California College of the Arts. John works with clients to create best-selling designs that display quality, function intuitively, and meet real-world constraints around manufacturing, deadlines, and cost. John's industrial design skills have allowed him to help clients create new brands and ship groundbreaking products in new and unexplored product categories. John strives to...

About Reid A NYC based Industrial Designer with a solid history working in the design consulting and education space. Currently an Associate Design Director at Aruliden and an Adjunct Professor at The Parsons School of Design, teaching process drawing+digital visualization and Studio 4. In his spare time Reid partners with brands and shares his design work on his instagram account (138k followers), creates online design curriculum and is designing and building a bespoke cabin in upstate NY.

About Spencer Nugent As the founder of Sketch-A-Day.com, Nugent has been engaged in providing free, high-quality online design sketching tutorials and on-site sketch workshops since 2008..  Nugent has worked with General Motors, Astro Studios as well as brands including Adidas, Dell, Intel, Hasbro, and more..  Through his own business, 50/50 creative labs, he provides creative experimentation and consulting in the categories of Industrial Design, UX, Graphics, Illustration, Prototyping, and...

What does it take to create a game and launch it from the ground up? How do you prepare concepts to pitch to major retailers like Target and Wal Mart? Tim Walsh shares his uncensored advice on how to successfully navigate the challenges of creating games and toys in the play industry.  About Tim Walsh  TIM WALSH is a professional speaker, author, game designer and filmmaker. As a play advocate, Tim is out to prove play is a means through which we find our passion,pique curiosity, encourage...

When is the last time you've been deeply inspired by the world around us and the amazing things we have created? Yorgo Lykouria shares inspiring insights on his design process, how we can make an impact, and what it takes for us to create our ideal environment.  This audio was taken from a live YouTube Q&A segment featuring Yorgo. You can view it here. About Yorgo Lykouria Rainlight is an integrated design studio, operating between offices in London and New York with client...

In this episode we discuss how having clear vision/mission statements can make or break your final design. We talk about mentorship, how to choose final design solutions, and what makes a designer more or less successful.  This episode was a live recording that aired June 4,2021 and can be viewed online on The Variable YouTube channel. The "daisy chain" mentioned in the podcast:  Design ...is one of many... Outcomes ...which are created by... People ...who are attracted to... Culture...