Skill Guide for a Designer
By: Esha Mehta
Tags: Creativity, Product Design, Industrial Design, Skills, Product Development

Skill Guide for a Designer

A device which changed the air, the way it smells and the way it spells. Yes, the one that happily sits on your car’s dashboard — Godrej aer. But ever wondered who would have come up with that smooth and complete design?

Well, we had the pleasure of hosting that designer. “Industrial Design has a feel that attracts you, a very sensorial feel,” says Hardik Gandhi, an Industrial Designer and Design Educator. An experienced Creative Head, he has a demonstrated history of working in the design industry. His skills range across domains from Contemporary Furniture to Visual Communication, Spatial Design, Concept Development and Design Thinking. He is a design professional with a Master’s degree focused on Industrial and Furniture Design from National Institute of Design, India.

So how do you design a design that is accessible by multiple people?

The breadth of our culture is unmatched and so varied are people within each culture. Here comes the role of a designer to weave all these unique attributes together while balancing the practical aspects to create an object of wonder. The design essence can be said to form of 3 features — eclectic ie. deriving ideas from a broad range of sources, haptic which is characterized by the liking for the sense of touch and democratic ie. delivering design solution to the maximum users at the optimum price and delightful quality.

“While designing, there is a demand and you supply or you supply and then create a demand,” says Hardik.

Not every building is as lucky as the Leaning Tower of Pisa to stand on a poor base, which makes it important to first think about the platform, the system. CMFTP, as Hardik calls it comes next as the colour, material, finish, texture and pattern of the product needs to be attended to. And concluding the design journey comes the part where the designer thinks about how it’s going to be launched, how will it reach the users and so on.

“In the Industry, the client approaches you and says that this is what we want to design and you can help us with it,” says Hardik, “ or there is another option called pitching where you approach the Industry and say that this is what I feel works for your brand. And, this takes a lot of courage and a strong intent.”

How convenient is life with the internet! At the click of a finger, you have the history of a product at your disposal. But does that really suffice under user research? Nothing can replace the rich insights user interviews and survey shed light upon. This forms the define stage of product development as it gives a clear direction. Then comes sketching and modelling the idea which forms the develop stage. And finally collaborating with other stakeholders like the branding team, marketing and sales team forms the delight stage.

“Most of my ideas are a result of my dreams,” says Hardik. Dreaming is a very powerful way of visualisation. Dreaming about the idea and then getting it on paper can work wonders. Sketching, prototyping and 3D Modelling are some other skills that one needs.

Great ideas need to be accompanied by great presentation skills as well. And this highlights the importance of soft skills. Empathy, communication, teamwork, entrepreneurial spirit and networking form some of the soft skills. Since designers design for the people, it becomes very vital to understand their viewpoint and one just needs to be up for criticism or difference of opinion. And with Hardik concludes on a very thoughtful note.