I am a freshman in architecture and so far I love my first year. We're learning about design, not really anything related to buildings yet. I am considering, however, switching over to industrial design. I had originally selected architecture b/c being in a top 3 school, it would be easier to switch from arch to another major rather than vice versa. In the future I see myself as a designer of everything- from buildings to products to furniture- in a firm like Starck. I am just wondering if anyone has advice on whether or not I should stick in the arch program or switch. For what reasons are you happy you choose architecture rather than industrial design and vice versa? Thank you so much for helping me with this decision.
you can do both...why not? that was my problem in college. you don't need a degree or major to tell you what you can or can't do.
you could work on one as a minor, or intern at a firm that does both...
Thanks for the reply! That would be the ideal solution. What did you major/minor in? I've already talked with my studio profs and they said It wasn't possible to double major, but I could take a few furniture design courses. We do have required co-op at our school. Do you know of any specific firms have successfully intertwined the two fields?
off a tangent to this topic, does anyone know of design firms in the US (preferably east coast) that does a wide variety of work similar to Starck's? (ie, objects, graphics, architecture, etc.)
I would recommend getting your degree in architecture and taking as many classes as possible in industrial design (specifially 3D computer programs). It is much easier to move into industrial design from architecture than the other way around. A good program is going to include product design in its studies. I think architecture is the grandfather of all design fields and the most respected by prospective employers. And there's always the option of grad school, where a Master's in ID would take 2 years, but a Master's in Arch after getting a Bachelor's in ID would take 3 years at most schools.
I cannot thank you enough for the great advice. Do you know how hard it is for someone w/ a 5 yr arch. undergrad can into a masters in id- and of any school in particular? thanks again
designrocks, i would think as long as your sketching/modeling skills are good and you have a decent understanding and interest in ergonomics, you'll do fine. obviously, you also have to have an interest in designing product for a consumer based market. the big difference between architecture and id, is scale and the fact that your work has to sell.
i got a masters in architecture. practiced for about 10 years and then went to work for frog. they sought individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to create well rounded teams. i know the same is true of ideo and others. good luck.
I think you should go for the id degree. While I think it's possible to go from it's not going to be easy. I think a lot of firms in both fields have a kind of skills checklist they're going to be looking for in young employees. Taking classes in both fields will help, but an employer probably won't really care if you have an "interest" in id, if there's someone else with a "degree" in id, trying to get the same job.
If you enjoy your design studies, I'd also say go for id. Especially in your earlier years of architecture, you're not going to be doing a lot of designing, especially compared to your work in school. This can be very frustrating for young workers. I imagine it's similar in the id world, but my brief experience working in a design field other than architecture makes me think other fields are more likely to give younger designers a more significant role in the design side of a project rather than strictly production.
Finally, many id firms have an environments department, or something like that, which is often a sort of interiors/environmental graphics department. So that might be a sort of in between option if you wanted to go with id.
"e" you must be pretty talented. I don't think many people could just role into a job at frog, I'm impressed.
you are right that interest alone won't get you in the door. your backgound and your past work will have to do the bulk of the work to prove to them that you are a good fit. the nice thing about id firms is that they have a fairly diverse focus as pencrush stated. many firms need people with interface design experience and digital experience too. these skills will only help you understand how and why people would want to use a product you design. some may also dabble in print and brand work too. if you are interested in print/brand/digital design, you should seriously take a typography class. i was amazed at the number of comments about architects not being able to handle type well.
pencrush, it's all smoke and mirrors baby.
Dec 16, 04 6:33 pm ·
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industrial design or architecture
Hello!
I am a freshman in architecture and so far I love my first year. We're learning about design, not really anything related to buildings yet. I am considering, however, switching over to industrial design. I had originally selected architecture b/c being in a top 3 school, it would be easier to switch from arch to another major rather than vice versa. In the future I see myself as a designer of everything- from buildings to products to furniture- in a firm like Starck. I am just wondering if anyone has advice on whether or not I should stick in the arch program or switch. For what reasons are you happy you choose architecture rather than industrial design and vice versa? Thank you so much for helping me with this decision.
you can do both...why not? that was my problem in college. you don't need a degree or major to tell you what you can or can't do.
you could work on one as a minor, or intern at a firm that does both...
Thanks for the reply! That would be the ideal solution. What did you major/minor in? I've already talked with my studio profs and they said It wasn't possible to double major, but I could take a few furniture design courses. We do have required co-op at our school. Do you know of any specific firms have successfully intertwined the two fields?
off a tangent to this topic, does anyone know of design firms in the US (preferably east coast) that does a wide variety of work similar to Starck's? (ie, objects, graphics, architecture, etc.)
I would recommend getting your degree in architecture and taking as many classes as possible in industrial design (specifially 3D computer programs). It is much easier to move into industrial design from architecture than the other way around. A good program is going to include product design in its studies. I think architecture is the grandfather of all design fields and the most respected by prospective employers. And there's always the option of grad school, where a Master's in ID would take 2 years, but a Master's in Arch after getting a Bachelor's in ID would take 3 years at most schools.
I cannot thank you enough for the great advice. Do you know how hard it is for someone w/ a 5 yr arch. undergrad can into a masters in id- and of any school in particular? thanks again
I loved architecture school.
its competitive and its about getting lots of work done.
you get a good work ethic and have good discipline.
i am applying to grad schools now and i am going
into art. but lately i have been thinking that
i would love to go into i.d. as well.
either way. put everything you have
into it.
-n0010
designrocks, i would think as long as your sketching/modeling skills are good and you have a decent understanding and interest in ergonomics, you'll do fine. obviously, you also have to have an interest in designing product for a consumer based market. the big difference between architecture and id, is scale and the fact that your work has to sell.
i got a masters in architecture. practiced for about 10 years and then went to work for frog. they sought individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences to create well rounded teams. i know the same is true of ideo and others. good luck.
I think you should go for the id degree. While I think it's possible to go from it's not going to be easy. I think a lot of firms in both fields have a kind of skills checklist they're going to be looking for in young employees. Taking classes in both fields will help, but an employer probably won't really care if you have an "interest" in id, if there's someone else with a "degree" in id, trying to get the same job.
If you enjoy your design studies, I'd also say go for id. Especially in your earlier years of architecture, you're not going to be doing a lot of designing, especially compared to your work in school. This can be very frustrating for young workers. I imagine it's similar in the id world, but my brief experience working in a design field other than architecture makes me think other fields are more likely to give younger designers a more significant role in the design side of a project rather than strictly production.
Finally, many id firms have an environments department, or something like that, which is often a sort of interiors/environmental graphics department. So that might be a sort of in between option if you wanted to go with id.
"e" you must be pretty talented. I don't think many people could just role into a job at frog, I'm impressed.
you are right that interest alone won't get you in the door. your backgound and your past work will have to do the bulk of the work to prove to them that you are a good fit. the nice thing about id firms is that they have a fairly diverse focus as pencrush stated. many firms need people with interface design experience and digital experience too. these skills will only help you understand how and why people would want to use a product you design. some may also dabble in print and brand work too. if you are interested in print/brand/digital design, you should seriously take a typography class. i was amazed at the number of comments about architects not being able to handle type well.
pencrush, it's all smoke and mirrors baby.
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