While evangelizing industrial design I frequently meet potential clients trying to grasp just what it is that I do and ask: so, are you an engineer or an artist?
a more appropriate question might be:
are you an engineer, an artist, a marketer, an anthropologist, a businessman, a sales expert, a product manager, a manufacturing technician, a materials specialist, an inventor, a sculptor, a brand identity specialist, a strategist, a problem solver, a design thinker, a researcher, a market analyst?
The answer is no,………… but as an industrial designer we need to be proficient in every one of those areas, at different levels. As a matter of fact the levels of interest and proficiency of each of these determine the type of design practice or offering
of each designer.
Ours may be one of the most complex of fields of study and I firmly believe that it is impossible to teach the whole of our profession in 6 years of college and post graduate studies. It is also one of the most dynamic and gives so much back through continual growth and challenges.