This is the first of many episodes where we dive into addressing the top 10 questions young industrial designers face.  What skills are most important for a successful career in industrial design? Students are keen to understand which technical skills (such as sketching, CAD software proficiency, and model-making) and soft skills (like communication, teamwork, and creative thinking) are crucial in the industry. How do I build a strong portfolio? Guidance on what constitutes a compelling portfolio, how to showcase different projects, and what employers look for in a portfolio are comm ..read more

There's a sea of industrial designers out there, how can you stand out? Everyone is trying to stand out... but how can you actually do it? Skill Stacking We talk about the ins  and outs of skill stacking with the help of Sushant Vohra. You can read his LinkedIn post on the topic here. We also address the question "should I show it all?" when it comes to your portfolio.  Are you interested in a fix the 'folio program? Be sure to reach out to us at info@thevariable.design to let us know your thoughts!  LINKS: Follow The Variable on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVariab ..read more

I used to enjoy my job, and now it's terrible. I aspire to be a great industrial designer, but I feel like I'm pigeon holed in my current role. I'm not growing as a creative. I feel stuck but I don't know how to get out of my rut.  Sound familiar?  Well.... there's good and bad news. Bad news is, you're the problem. Good news- you're also the solution. That's right, when it comes to getting where you want to go in your creative career, there's only one person behind the wheel YOU.  In this episode we talk about specific steps we've taken to get out of a rut and see posit ..read more

You won't always be able to give something 100%... heck sometimes 50% is all you've got.  What do you do when you want to hit a home run, but you feel like you've struck out? In this episode we breakdown strategies for handling these kinds of situations with professionalism and share a few takeaways that will help you make those lemons into lemonade.  LINKS: Follow The Variable on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVariableDesign Support The Variable www.patreon.com/thevariabledesign WEBSITE: www.thevariable.design UPCOMING EVENTS: https://www.thevariable.design/qna NOMINATE ST ..read more

In this episode we jump on a call with Jack Marple, the Associate Director of Industrial Design at Enlisted in Salt Lake City Utah to discuss design education and the top things that keep young (and old) designers from having job-winning presentation in their portfolios. We discuss eye-opening realizations we've had as educators and best practices on how to not only be able to identify good design, but apply it to your work.  LINKS: Follow The Variable on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVariableDesign Support The Variable www.patreon.com/thevariabledesign WEBSITE: www.thevariable ..read more

In this episode we jump on a call with Jack Marple, the Assistant Director of Design at Enlisted in Salt Lake City Utah to discuss design education and the top things that keep young (and old) designers from having job-winning presentation in their portfolios. We discuss eye-opening realizations we've had as educators and best practices on how to not only be able to identify good design, but apply it to your work.  LINKS: Follow The Variable on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheVariableDesign Support The Variable www.patreon.com/thevariabledesign WEBSITE: www.thevariable.design UPC ..read more

In this episode of The Variable Design Podcast we dive in and discuss Sushant Vohra's LinkedIn post: If you are a design student in 2023 don't fall for these 12 traps ↘ 1) Being first in your class and thinking that design life is gonna be easy. 2) Copy pasting ChatGPT responses to comment on a post just for 'networking' sake. 3) Having those slider scales for each software in your CV (seriously drop it). 4) Writing a wall of text in a cold email to a potential employer. 5) Only having college/academic projects in your portfolio. 6) Having no internships because you want to work on your ..read more

Steve Cozzolino, an award winning and distinguished industrial designer with over 25 years of consulting experience, earned a BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Notre Dame in 1993.  Early in his career, Steve collaborated with Eva Zeisel and was Design Director at Karim Rashid Inc. from 2002-2006.  In 2006, Steve launched Cozzolino studio LLC. Steve has received multiple "Red Dot" Design Awards, the industry's highest standard of excellence, has been featured in The New York Times and was honored by the City of New York with a 2011 "Excellence in Design" Award. He's repe ..read more

About Joey: Prior to starting his own practice, Joey led design teams over the past 15 years while working for companies like Clarks, Continuum, Smart Design, Steelcase, and HP. His design work has been recognized with over 40 awards and featured in Design Milk, Dezeen, Fast Company, Interior Design, New York Times, TASCHEN and Wired. Joey graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Industrial Design.  Topics we cover in this episode: Be open to new paths: In design school, from shoe obsessed to story obsessed. Ugly design on purpose: In my first design job, I had to ..read more

Recognized as 1 of the 50 most notable designers over the last 50 years, Brian Roderman is the President and Co-Owner of IN2 Innovation, an experience innovation design agency that provides a global range of services from inspiration to integration. IN2 Innovation currently has offices located in Dallas, Austin, and Atlanta. Brian has worked in the design consultancy business for over 30 years and is frequently a featured speaker on design and innovation at events and symposiums worldwide. He has extensive design experience in consumer electronics, consumer products, housewares, transportatio ..read more