Piston Slap: Some Venom for Andrew's Vellum?

Andrew writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I always enjoy reading your nuggets of design wisdom and critique on TTAC. From your articles, its obvious you know some rather talented designers, and definitely have some interesting stories.

If you could spare a moment of your time for a TTAC reader, I’m looking for some feedback on my industrial design portfolio; I’m trying to land my first proper design job that I’ll be happy with after graduating in April of last year. I’m currently working in a somewhat related field in a job that pays well but gives me no joy.

My website is at http://www.lowe9.com, I’d like rather honest feedback, whether harsh or good. If you were a hiring manager a design firm, would you give me an interview? And if not, what needs to change?

Much Thanks,

Andrew Lowe

Sajeev answers:

Andrew, you a certainly a gifted designer…definitely like one of the guys I’d just watch in amazement when I was in design school.

Your portfolio is pretty impressive for someone right out of college, especially working cross-functionally with engineering students on the Moon Buggy! I love it. I hope every Industrial design professional would like the content on your website. Only a real douchebag (of which there are many) will have serious problems with what is presented. Don’t let them bring you down.

My recommendation is twofold: I need your ideation sketches. How do you sketch something? How does your sketch sell the premise of the product to your manager? To their manager? To a potential investor?

While I never officially put my time at CCS to good use, I did use my (pathetic) drawing skills to good use in the world of the MBA Business Plan competition. I sketched a product, wrote its key features, and showed it to my team for criticism. Then I made a nicer one to show to our professors and those who will be critiquing our business plan. Finally, I made a stripped down drawing with minimal text for our official PowerPoint presentation to use at the actual competitions.

I personally think this kind of experience should be mandatory in Design School. But that would require a lot of Entrepreneurs/MBAs in the mix. And maybe, after seeing both sides, that will never work in higher education. For shame.

My second recommendation? Industrial designers and most artists are too damn verbose. I always thought portfolios should use more bullet pointing of key features/actions/etc of your projects to show things off as purely as your renderings. Again, that’s the MBA in me speaking from Elevator Pitch experience. But then again, if a kid that went to CCS can do cold calling and corporate-level sales in the same decade…maybe there’s something to it.

I wish you the best of luck; you obviously have talent and know a bit about marketing and sales. If you didn’t, you’d be like every other I.D. student: unable to read the comments posted by our Best and Brightest because of your letter to me. And if for some reason you become miserable in Industrial Design, be like me and get an MBA. I think you will enjoy learning that end of the “business.”

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com . Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.