Being a designer: Starting in a new product development team.

Research on design practice examines how the role of the designer is shifting, that product design is collaborative, and design is taking on more responsibility in the process. It claims that design is no longer an aesthetic afterthought, but rather involved from inception within a multi/inter/trans- disciplinary project. As we leave University, there is an expectation that design thinking has become the holy grail of new product development and the projects completed in the labs and studios culminate everything that will be faced in industry. But, while some companies embrace and live up to these expectations, what happens when the job you want, or the field you want to work in, still sees design as “making it look good”?

Using the same methods and approaches from the design of textiles, shoes, bikes, and sofas, I shifted into prosthetic and orthotics in my final year of University. I wanted to make more radical designs that reflected today’s users and embedded themselves better into everyday life. The final project was a success and secured a few job offers. I accepted to work for a company known for innovation in mobility-assisting technologies, but who had never hired an industrial designer to work in the office.

When I started, it was a shock to the system… gone were the days of messy studios and design kids in turtle-necks. The office space was clean and well maintained with desks occupied by engineers with A4 papers in neat piles. There was no tracing paper, no pencils, no sketchbooks, no mood boards, no cardboard, scissors, or tape. When I introduced myself as a product or industrial designer, it was greeted with “so your job is to help make the product line look pretty?”. It was a challenge and I was lost amidst the company’s approach, losing touch with my knowledge as a designer and trying to adhere to theirs.

Since then, I’ve had other work experiences, reflected on changes, and made the effort to become more confident in my practice as a designer. Below is some starting advice, from one new designer to another on how to better contribute and participate in new product development teams with people from various disciplines, expertise, and backgrounds.

1. Collaboration isn’t easy

Collaboration has taken over the working world; businesses try to create collaborative spaces with bean bags and post-it notes, chat platforms are promoted for stakeholder collaboration, and institutions boast how they collaborate with industry partners. But collaboration is different from teamwork, cooperation, or sharing resources. It requires trust between team members who work together and overcome their different perspectives and expectations. They negotiate and try to develop a shared understanding, keeping others up to date on progress, confronting and compromising on some aspects of the project, and openly providing access to the expert knowledge they hold. This may also include defending your ideas according to their values, not just yours. Collaboration is a process of staying patient, asking questions, demystifying preconceived ideas about others, and thinking both within and outside your own knowledge base (and comfort zone). It’s a conscious, continuous and slow effort that, when done effectively, can stimulate great ‘big picture’ solutions to problems that a single person wouldn’t find on their own. Still, collaboration can also have adverse effects by pushing team members to compromise too much and stifle creativity, generating conventional and unoriginal solutions. This leads to the second recommendation:

2. Remember who you are and what you do

While design is known to make use of methods from many fields, disciplines and practices — from psychology, to anthropology, to engineering, or manufacturing— we are not experts in any of these. This is important to realise when taking on responsibilities in projects. Our knowledge about injection moulding — for instance — isn’t to be used to design the moulds or work on the maintenance of the machines. Instead, this knowledge is useful to be able to talk with other team members who may be experts in this and hold a discussion with them when improving the design. A knowledge about modulation, hot spots or alloys is important for a designer as a way to improve or understand the uses and limitations of the design once it is in the hands of a user. In most product design, the user is the crux of the project for a designer, but this may not always be the case for others. Nevertheless, your contribution is as a designer and you should embrace and make use of your specific knowledge, abilities, practices, thoughts, and challenges.

3. Accept the unique nature of your job

If you find yourself in the same situation as I did, then you will be the first and only in-house product designer the company and its staff have ever had. Otherwise, you may also find yourself as the newest in the team, or the only (industrial/product) designer. This means that much of what you do and the way you work may be received with some criticism, questioning, or apprehension. It is important to remember that this is not a hostile reaction, but a very normal one! After all, everyone approaches the unknown with some trepidation, inquiry and curiosity. In practice, this leads to sometimes sour faces or comments about your desk looking more like a recycling bin and although you have some idea of what to do with the 3 yards of bubble wrap, 4 disposable coffee cups, empty plastic fruit containers, a piece of lycra and a glue gun, the visual noise it creates in the office may not be well received. Nevertheless, this is you. This is how you design, this is how you create new ideas, and in all likelihood, this is why you were hired in the first place. You may be the black sheep, but it’s important to stick to it and overcome criticism, no matter how subtle, slow creeping or overtly aggressive it may seem. Do not forget your value and unique contribution to the team. As a suggestion, consider keeping some old sketchbooks from Uni at your desk or create a new moodboard for the project, even if it’s just for yourself (which is often the case anyways).

4. Be patient, understanding, nice, and firm.

I’ve gotten the comment “So you’re going to make it look pretty”, or a derivative of it more than I can remember. Do not lose patience, because although you’ve gotten this question often, this may be the first interaction the other person has ever had with a designer. In fact, see it as an opportunity to better describe yourself and set the tone of your strengths and contributions to the project. You can also agree with them since your design will likely look quite good, but explain the reasons why that may be: is it because of the study of semiotics, the use of new design strategies, the convenience for the user, the disruptive nature of the product,…? You are the new team member and it shouldn’t be expected that others will immediately agree or comprehend what you do. This isn’t the design studio anymore, and your new audience is not fellow design students and design academics. Receive comments openly, and defend your views calmly, politely and objectively. (Remember that design is not subjective, and the knowledge you have gained from University proves this).

Finally, have fun and make friends with your co-workers. It not only improves your outlook on work, but the social camaraderie can help when faced with disagreements and negotiations. Enjoy working as a designer and take pride in your contribution to the products that help create the world we live in.