There are too few Industrial Designers that blog. So far on my travels through the vast wilds of cyberspace I have found less than 20 active industrial design blogs, the quality of which varies substantially. There are also a handful of blogs run by industrial design students, but most haven’t been posted on in over a year. Then there is a gaggle of what I call ‘design lint’ blogs. Blogs whose purpose is to showcase design (I won’t mention them directly but I am sure you can figure it out), but ultimately all they do is show ‘glossies’ of products and concepts. These glossies then do the rounds of the design lint blogsphere and more often than not disappear as more concepts come along. Thus adding a lot of lint to the design section of the internet and in no way contributing to the intellectual growth of the Industrial Design Profession.
I believe that blogging is essential to the development of the Industrial Design profession. Especially in a time when we are starting to realize that all we do is flood the world with ’stuff’, that will (unless we make a conscious decision to stop it) drown humanity in a sea of injection molded plastic. Blogging allows for many things to occur that are central to a profession that is about the creation of new products.
A blog can be a new medium to think up, develop and reflect upon new ideas, as well as get input and feedback. It facilitates recording, so you can look back upon your ideas in the future, and dissemination of ideas, so that others can find out about them and help you develop them. Using a blog to disseminate ideas leads to it becoming a platform upon which you can collaborate and connect with others.
More Industrial Designers blogging will lead to a larger online community of Industrial Designers who will connect with each other. Otherwise known as networking. Through this networking with other Industrial Designers or even designers in other professions, more opportunities will appear! These opportunities could range from exciting new projects and job opportunities, to greater conversation and understanding with other professions that designers have trouble communicating with (eg: business).
Blogging also forces you to have to read, so that you can produce (write on your blog). The act of reading will also help you exercise your brain. Which is the equivalent of going for a run to keep your body fit – it keeps it in shape and toned. Having to read and write more will also allow you to improve your vocabulary and writing skills (eg: Grammar and spelling, something which the majority of designers I have come across are hopeless at), which are useful if you are a designer for:
1. Writing about your designs or writing proposals and,
2. For getting up and presenting your designs to others.
All this reading and writing will also help when you want to be involved in any sort of intellectual debate.
More Industrial Designers blogging and sharing ideas will lead to the evolution of the profession in the long term and ultimately put a stop to industrial designers drowning humanity in injection molded plastic.
If you are interested in improving yourself, your ideas, your network/contacts and developing the industrial design profession – which will lead to helping the world at large! Setup a blog.
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Whole heartedly agree.
Here at the University of Michigan’s A&D school, the faculty is really encouraging students to blog, if for no other reason than to work out their thoughts, but the possibility of gaining some exposure is always a nice possibility as well. And blogging students translates to blogging professionals!
Hi Pete,
Welcome to design droplets, thanks for taking the time to comment.
For working out thoughts blogs are a great tool, as most people write differently if they know their words will be read by others. Often it forces the idea to be refined further before discussions/feedback occurs.
At the Georgia Tech Industrial Design Program, we are making a concerted effort to get designers blogging. You can search for the best of the best yourself, view mine , or view our studio blog here:
http://id3012c.wordpress.com/
Hi Adam,
Thank you for stopping by and participating in the discussion. It is great to hear that the Georgia Tech Industrial Design Program is making an effort to introduce blogging. If you want to find out more on how blogging can help with ID education, then let me know and I can put you in contact with a good friend and mentor of mine whom has almost 5 years experience in working with blogs and ID students. Also thanks very much for the link on your blog.
Raph
Great post man. I totally agree with you on all of this. As a current student, I wish a lot more of my colleagues kept their own blogs to see what their experiences are like while completing their studies at their respective schools. Not only that, but I wish there was a lot less industrial design blogs that simply curate the pretty stuff (the ‘lint’ as you call it) and more that focused on actual process and methods.
Anyway, here is my shameless plug: http://infrediblog.com
Critiques are welcome and encouraged
Good post, Raph. Same goes for Product Design Engineers. The line between industrial design and product design engineering is continually blurring which is why I set up Form Loves Function:
“Form Loves Function brings together artistically-minded engineers and technically-saavy industrial designers in a community that nurtures the hard work and attention to detail required to bring beautiful, useful products to market.”