Mary Khoun is an industrial product designer for Conair Corporation. She
designs for many of their brands, from hair and grooming products (such as
Conair, BelissPro, BabylissPro) to kitchen and travel (such as Cuisinart and
Travelsmart).
"I chose design because I wanted to improve lives through innovative products,"
says Khoun. "Often I pick up a product and question why this was done and
how I would have approached it differently. On the other hand, I've picked
up products that I found so innovative it blew my mind.
"People need to become more aware that a functional product can be beautiful.
Art and design is an experience visually, emotionally, and physically."
Asked to describe the personal qualities that product designers need to
have, Khoun offered the following:
- You are mainly a problem solver. A problem is placed in front of you
and you need to try to find the best approach to the project that appeals
to yourself and your client.
- A sensitivity and understanding of color, materials, and form is a big
part of designing. How to make it all work together in unity and work with
your client's budget, yet won't deter from your design intention.
- Working as a team. You will be working with other designers, marketing,
clients, and manufacturers on a project to bring it to real life.
- Understanding your market and consumer experience. You can't design a
good product that is both functional and well designed unless you know who
you are designing it for.
- Finally, the ability to multitask and perform many functions. For example,
draw, think, sculpt, present.
Chris Kowal, a 3D renderer and designer, says attention to detail is an
important skill for this line of work.
"You've got to think in three dimensions," says Kowal. "You've got to
be pretty good at spatial relationships.
"And you have to want to waste your life in front of a computer," he says
with a laugh. "It's a lot of work."
Kowal earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts before attending an architectural
technologist diploma program at a technical school. "In architecture, I'm
the cheapest person to build the building," says Kowal. "I'm going to be the
first person to discover, 'Oh, that doesn't work... this detail's not finished,
this floor height doesn't work...' You're the cheapest person who's going
to put that building together first and find all the problems."
"There are many personal qualities required for this line of work," says
Dwayne Ellis. He's the president of a 3D rendering and design company.
"Some include self-motivation, self-confidence, artistic ability, technical
ability, communication, creative problem solving, determination, eagerness
to learn," he says..
"Some of the not-so-glamorous ones are [the ability to] work long hours,
function well on little amount of sleep, patience with client changes, ability
to sit at a desk for long stretches of time, [and being able to] juggle and
prioritize time."
Ellis's company offers four basic types of 3D visualization services --
forensics (e.g. recreating vehicle accidents), architectural, product design,
and visual effects for TV commercials and films.
"The common theme is that we provide our clients the ability to see something
in three-dimensional space that they couldn't practically see
otherwise," says Ellis.
Ellis became interested in this field at a time when it was still very
new.
"In the beginning, I was drawn to it because there weren't very many
people doing it," says Ellis. "There were about four schools in all of North
America offering 3D modeling and animation programs.
"The technology back then was extremely cutting edge and I suppose the
challenge of that was also what drew me in," Ellis says. "The most rewarding
thing about this type of work is that you can be any kind of artist you want,
all without leaving the 3D medium.
"You can, paint, sculpt/model, light design, animate characters, simulate
fire and other effects... The possibilities of what can be done are only limited
by one's imagination. Making clients say 'wow' is also rewarding!"
Khoun is also passionate about her work as a 3D renderer and designer.
"I love my career," says Khoun. "It's my passion and it's something I chose
because I enjoy it and can see myself happily designing and 3D modeling for
the rest of my life. Choose your path because you love it and it's fun."