In this issue:
Industrial Design: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow is a compilation of articles that highlight various aspects of the industrial design practice across a spectrum of time and provide insight into how designers are working today to prepare for what’s ahead. We’ve asked authors to provide practical tips and action items about their selected topic along with vivid visuals, which supply additional value to each article. For example, don’t tell us why design research is important; tell us how to run a successful design research program and turn insights into industrial design success. It’s only through knowledge exchange and the sharing of ideas that readers come away with a fresh perspective and actionable insights ready to be implemented into their work.
In keeping with the theme, INNOVATION has teamed up with Brian Paschke, creative lead at Google/Fitbit, for an exclusive four-part series to highlight the importance and impact of visual design language systems in industrial design. In this issue, Brian shares an in-depth look at the Fitbit design language system called “Biologic.” The system is inspired by and designed for the human body, providing the design team the flexibility to frame problems, explore forms, deliver wide-ranging concepts, develop packaging, select materials, and more. For the remaining issues of 2022, Brian will interview designers to learn more about how top global brands are building and implementing visual design language systems.
We are also excited to introduce what we hope will become a longstanding, recurring column titled “ID Essay.” (Hint: Say it aloud; it sounds like I-D-S-A!) It will feature behind-the-scenes stories about products as told by the people who designed them. Steven Umbach, FIDSA, is curating this series, which will predominantly feature stories by members of IDSA’s Academy of Fellows. Steven has written the premier essay, sharing the details behind his design of the Kurxweil 250 electronic keyboard. With the ID Essay column, we hope to provide a glimpse into the designer’s frame of mind and uncover rare archival sketches, renderings, and prototype images of days gone by.
Guest contributors:
- The Past, Present, and Future of Industrial Design by Ravi Sawhney, FIDSA
- Will the Real Product Designer Please Stand Up? by Javier Verdura
- The Need for Empathy: Designing for Product Comfort by Mohammed Imraan Jeelani
- Less and More: A Much- Needed Future for Design by Gianfranco Zaccai, FIDSA
- Mobile Ethnography: A New Methodology for New Times by Jonathan Dalton, IDSA
- You Want Progress? Here’s How by Lea Stewart, IDSA, and the IDSA Women in Design Committee
- Diversity Within the Industrial Design Profession by Claire Nelsen, IDSA
- Designing Like da Vinci by Chris Ference
- Immersive Design: What the Metaverse Means for Industrial Design by Paul Hatch, FIDSA
- Integrating Virtual Reality into the Design Process by Ian Henshaw
- Generative Design: A Tool for Collaborative Automation by Alex Lobos, IDSA
- Visualization & Storytellingby Linda Bui and Tim Zarki
Featured content:
- Tribute: Robert Blaich, FIDSA by Michael McCoy and Katherine McCoy, FIDSA
- Tribute: Cooper Woodring, FIDSA by Kevin Shinn, FIDSA
- Recruiting Before the Internet by RitaSue Siegel, FIDSA
- Creating the Fitbit Biologic Design Language by Brian Paschke
In every issue:
- Chair’s Report by Jason P. Belaire, IDSA
- From HQ by Chris Livaudais, IDSA
- Beautility by Tucker Viemeister, FIDSA
- Design DNA – Exclusive Interview with Ross Lovegrove by Scott Henderson, IDSA
- ID Essay by Steven R. Umbach, FIDSA