Industry crunch hitting design students hard
Another casualty in the collateral damage of auto industry woes: Graduating car designers are no longer finding jobs. The LA Times reports that in years past, manufacturer representatives would attend the Pasadena's Art Center College of Design's senior showcase and welcome a few visionaries into the hallowed world of car design. Now, manufacturer representation is down to one or two (if any), and those who show don't always end up hiring. For students who weren't chosen by manufacturers, the fallback was often working for a supplier, but these days, prospects there are just as bleak.
The fallback plan now for studious car design aspirants tends to be interiors or the world outside of car design. Those who can find any place at all in the car world will settle for penning A/C vents for now, and those who can't are looking at consumer appliances like cellular telephones. Although we have no doubt that current designers can deliver worthy goods when given the freedom to do so, as car enthusiasts, we look forward to when the gates open up again for the greatest minds of the collegiate generation.
[Source: LA Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
mmstowes 10:49AM (12/26/2008)
Kinda Catch-22. Most these students will spend 4 years or more plus upwards of more than $60,000 on an education, only to get hired to draw cupholders and "FM/AM" buttons for years. Granted you have to pay your dues, but everything is "design by committee" now (no wonder auto design is currently in the crapper). You don't have the really beautiful designs of the old italians or the old Chevy's and Buicks and things of that nature. Every once in awhile you get a gem, but there's no real inspiration these days.
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Take Out 5:29AM (12/27/2008)
What the LA times article and others fail to mention is the talent that did graduate this past term at Art Center. The class was small yes, but also very strong with diverse strengths and interests.
Anthony Cioffi presented a wide range of motorcycles and mopeds with a high degree of concept and haute couture. With inspiration ranging from classic films to graffiti art. Julius Bernardo showed a passion for environmental responsibility and production feasibility. Pierre Villanueva demonstrated a mature understanding of proportion and surface with models looking better than there sketch counterparts. Sean Whang presented a myriad of concepts ranging from products to transportation design demonstrating what the college is famous for--professional design process with Hyun Kim fulfilling many automotive designers’ dreams by designing a Bugatti.
There's no doubt that those graduates are well prepared for a career in industrial design, it just a shame everyone is focusing on the economic environment.
AZZO45b 1:01PM (12/30/2008)
TakeOut: There are HUNDREDS of "veteran" designers out on the job market that have those same diverse interests. The difference??? These men & women have experience on actual production programs... that trumps a "rookie" student.
With the economy, these veteran designers are also going to accept lower pay & will have an advantage getting hired.
Big 11:00AM (12/26/2008)
Everyone's going into limbo.
Those who continue to develop/innovate
will prosper. This is like the early 1900's
with guys with names like morgan & olds built cars
without the massive investments that Toyota (scion) &
GM (saturn) had to lay out.
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UbiHard 11:16AM (12/26/2008)
As a student of industrial design, this is bad. I planned on attending Pasadena as a grad school but i guess we'll just have to stick to hand tools and electronics for now. i only wish i spent only 60k for school, double that and add interest rates and that's what i'll be paying back. as for inspiration, i see a lot of it really. in my opinion, knowing that companies like Bmw, Lotus, and Nissan coughing out fresh designs like the M3, Evora, and GT-R (respectively) is more than enough inspiration. /sigh lets hope something sparks the rest of us students back into the game
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mmstowes 11:57AM (12/26/2008)
My estimate was tuition only and it was a best case guess for a lesser known school. I know The Art Center's campus in (I think) Philadelphia or D.C. can run to something like $80-120K for the length of a degree.
H15A 3:59PM (12/26/2008)
I actually graduated this fall from Art Center College of Design in Illustration (entertainment arts). I was surprised to see that only 5 people graduated this term in Transportation Design. 5! Other majors had at least 30 people. A couple days before graduation, all of us are required to put up a "Grad wall" displaying our work. This was called the graduation show. The first night of showing is "Industry Night" where companies come to look at our stuff. Let me tell you, it was EXTREMELY disappointing. It was such a small turnout. I rarely got to talk to anyone. I probably only talked to maybe 3 or 4 people, and none of them were in hiring positions.
And btw, mmstowes: There is only one Art Center College of Design campus. And that is in Pasadena, California. We have a south campus which is also in Pasadena, mainily used for showcases and extracurricular activities. The other "Art Centers" are just rip-off copies of the original.
tek 12:41PM (12/26/2008)
Excellent, just in time for the small-time auto maker movement... take a couple million in startup financing, hire a couple of young, talented out-of-work designers, and contract the big auto makers to build it. Some sense could eventually emerge out of the auto industry... and the big names will be nothing but OEM manufacturers for smaller makes.
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duo 9:32PM (12/26/2008)
I really do hope what you're saying about small, independent manufacturers does happen. I really can't imagine it working for consumer-class cars (Accord, Camry, etc.) but this would be great for sports, performance, and niche cars. It would be good for us enthusiasts because we get more choices plus there'll be more innovation from the various companies competing to outdo each other. Well, hope this works out cause I'm planning to go into Art Center's Transport Design or if it doesn't there's always Mechanical Engineering.
Dmeech 1:00PM (12/26/2008)
I remember when I was hopeful to be future transportation designer... Now in the final months of my education it seems I'll be lucky to find a job in any sort of industrial design related field any time soon after graduation.
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bigbear7787 1:56PM (12/26/2008)
welp... I guess I'm glad that I won't be graduating for 2 more years! Maybe... Hopefully car companies will start hiring again.
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Oluseyi 2:02PM (12/26/2008)
Based on a tightening economy, I had already postponed my plans to attend grad school for industrial design. (And then I lost my job.) This is bad news, but there's still light at the end of the tunnel. It's a long tunnel, and a difficult journey, but if we make it to the end there's an interesting and viable future ahead.
Everyone have a safe and happy holiday!
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Dez 2:32PM (12/26/2008)
It was always my dream as a kid to become an auto designer, but i some how decided to go to college for Mechanical Engineering. Although I would have enjoyed being a design student much more, I guess I made the right move telling by this ecomony and the state of the auto industry.
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Eric 3:21PM (12/26/2008)
I'm currently a junior industrial design major, and originally intended to go for transportation design, but after realizing I'd be designing hubcaps and pedals for the first twenty years of my career, I am now focusing on consumer electronics or furniture and lighting. Sad to see even less students getting hired now, but with the state of the automakers, it isn't surprising.
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xxxxxxx 12:36AM (12/28/2008)
To Eric,
"I'm currently a junior industrial design major, and originally intended to go for transportation design, but after realizing I'd be designing hubcaps and pedals for the first twenty years of my career,"
Eric, that is not true. If your sketches are good enough and show that you have an understanding of design/form you will have lots of chances to do scales and full scale models. The only time when you will design "hubcaps" which I prefer to call wheels-or wheel covers (if any), will be during the production/execution phase.
And this coming from a current car designer.
Good luck and keep on sketching.
sketch 5:33PM (12/30/2008)
Whoever told you would be designing hubcaps and pedals for the first 20 years of your career has no idea of how the industry works. There have been concept cars in the past designed by studio interns.....INTERNS. This is a creative industry and it's all about talent....it doesn't matter if your fresh out of school or you've been in the industry for 150 years....you either have it or you don't.
Don't believe me? Google Jason Castriota....he left Art Center 6th term to go intern at Paninfarina....never graduated and look where he is now.
ugg.tryptophan 3:43PM (12/26/2008)
this saddens me very much, ive always wanted to enter industrial design, but changed my major the graphic design. i guess it was a smart move now, but ill always wonder...
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AZZO45b 1:08PM (12/30/2008)
Graphic Designers make a helluva lot less than Industrial or Transportation Designers... & have more hectic schedules (with no O.T.)
VK 4:15PM (12/26/2008)
I am going to be attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for Industrial design next fall and this worries me. I've always dreamed of designing cars as a living but i have noticed that everything's the same these days and have been leaning more towards Product design of furniture or electronics. I guess my decision making came at a good time. But it is still sad to hear this happens merely because of a bad economy.
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thomas 9:00PM (12/26/2008)
yay........... this is what i have to look forward to
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