Themes from the 2009 IDSA conference: Project Infusion
Andy Hamilton / Industrial Design
After spending four days in beautiful Miami, sitting in freezing cold conference rooms, listening to a diverse collection of intelligent people talk about the field of industrial design, I noticed a few recurring themes. I recognize that there were probably many young industrial designers, much like myself, who didn’t have the opportunity to go this year due to budgetary constraints. So I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the themes I picked up on while I was there…
Simplicity
Products and systems have become increasingly complex. A theme that was presented on the first day by the first general speaker, Story Musgrave, was reiterated again and again throughout the week. Story, an astronaut and artist, explained how the simple yet robust design of tractors he would repair in the field when he was 10-years-old allow them to still operate today. He used these same principles in contributing to the design of the Hubble Telescope and actually had to put them to the test when he was launched to repair it. I think this is very interesting as I look around at the products I use day-to-day. Some of the ones that I rely on the most I am completely incapable of repairing myself or even understanding how they really work. My cell phone, computer and car are all becoming more and more complex, requiring specialized tools and knowledge to operate and maintain. As designers we should strive to strengthen the connection between people and the products that fill their lives and in a growing number of cases this means making them more simplistic. I mean, I love my cell phone, but do I love it as much as Story loves his tractor? Will I still have it when I’m 74? Will it still work?
Collaboration
The theme of collaboration goes hand in had with simplicity. More than one speaker presented a graphic showing how the increasing complexity of the problems we face necessitates the need for more collaboration. There was a time when problems were simple enough that they could have been solved by lone tinkerers. But now there are so many requirements, locations, and invested parties they require a larger and more diverse team working together to address them. This is a trend we can already see happening in business, as large corporations bring design thinkers into the higher ranks. They have already seen the benefit of using designers as facilitators of collaboration and the value of a collaborative creative process. What will be interesting is when these ideas finally begin to permeate through our government and academia. Then we will really be able to make some progress.
What is the future of industrial design?
In light of the recession and the current state of our economy there seemed to be a lot of people questioning the future of our profession. While some of it sounded like the only value it had was shock value, some interesting points were raised. Where does industrial design fit into a post-consumerism society? Are our schools and universities still giving industrial design grads what they need to succeed? Does IDSA as a professional organization still fit into this new and ever-changing word? The answers to these questions have yet to be determined, but I’m glad they are being asked in advance. I think the traditional roles of an industrial designer are certainly in a decline in the US as design and manufacturing has become more of a commodity that can be outsourced to Asia. This is a trend that started in manufacturing and is working its way toward the preliminary stages of the process. Design research and strategy have yet to be impacted to the same degree, but as Jon Kolko of Frog Design would probably agree, it’s only a matter of time. While he is adamant that if there is truth that that projection, it is ‘okay’, I think there are others who are more concerned. I feel like the field of industrial design is definitely in a period of adjustment, but so is everyone else. If I were going to make any kind of projection as to where industrial design is headed I would start by looking to how we got here. Traditionally the skills of an industrial designer focused around the ability to design physical artifacts that are optimized for manufacturing and for consumer desirability. Then the idea of design thinking allowed us to apply our process to any number of other problems that didn’t necessarily include physical artifacts. It seemed that some of the attendees at IDSA wanted to say the next evolution of industrial design wouldn’t include physical artifacts at all. But as I look around my desk, and think about the things I love to do, I have to acknowledge that we live in a physical world, filled with physical artifacts. And the physical objects that surround me are considerably different than the ones that surround a 25-year-old industrial designer in Asia. As they should be. Any concern about the future of my field turns to excitement as I think about the possibilities of where it could go. I want to be a part of designing the future, and while I think that does include physical artifacts, it also includes so much more.
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