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www.thedesignermagazine.com
Cover Feature
Being an industrial designer is about more than simply designing products that look and feel good. Today, designers are also expected to help drive the overall strategy of their clients’ business. Michael Schmidt explains to Stacey Sheppard how his approach has brought continuing success to both his company and to his clients
ONLY
a few decades ago, the role of industrial designers was
very different from what it has come to be today. In the post-war period for example, it was quite normal for all aspects of a product to be tackled by in-house engineers. The use of professional design specialists was a rarity until at least the 1980s when their advice was sought out for the user-facing elements of products, such as the aesthetics and ergonomics. Throughout the 1990s, it became
recognized that design professionals, when employed strategically, could offer a far greater range of product development services. This was primarily due to the fact that they had extensive knowledge of a variety of manufacturing processes across a wide range of industries and often had a better understanding of consumer needs and desires - allowing them to offer innovative product development services that championed the user. Today, design professionals are being
employed at a far earlier stage of product development and play an important role
in driving the strategy of entire businesses. They are no longer hired to simply make products look nice but to create and execute design solutions that encompass the form, usability, ergonomics, marketing, brand development and even sales of a product. Their ability to deliver such solutions means that businesses are increasingly seeking out design professionals in order to improve their bottom line and market share. Michael Schmidt is a German industrial designer who has built a company and a career around the fact that companies now look outside themselves for guidance. His client list comprises some very well known brands including the likes of automobile giants Audi, BMW and Porsche, office furniture manufacturers Haworth and Drabert, as well as a number of manufacturers of high-end bathroom and wellness products such as Falper, Hoesch, Duscholux, Hansgrohe, Keramag, and heating company I-Radium. Schmidt started his adventures in design as a student of aeronautics with an ambition to design aeroplanes for a living.
Michael Schmidt sees himself as a design author, turning stories into products
The origami kitchen concept designed for Hettich
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