Industrial Design Pride

Industrial Designers were just ranked #9 on Career Cast's top ten highest ranking jobs to have in America. The list was talked about on the CBS early show, featured on the Wall Street Journal's website, and of course bragged about on Coroflot. The study considers pay, working conditions, employment outlook, physical demands, and stress. They seemed to miscalculate one detail as Coroflot points out: "when you rate 200 different jobs, you're bound to miss a few tricks: the site also claims designers work an average 45 hour week. AS IF." I'm not yet in the industry but I know our lives are run by deadlines that are always quickly approaching. Industrial designers are so overlooked. It's very rare that I run into someone who knows what industrial design is. I (along with every other designer I've talked to) most often get the response, "So, you design factories?" Ummmm....actually we research, design & develop the aesthetics, ergonomics, color, feel, and human interaction of every 3-Dimensional product you own. You know -- anything from appliances & furniture to toys & vehicles. Not quite like designing factories.