If you were asked to envision a Jeep, iPod or Coca Cola bottle, you could do it without a problem, right? That didn’t happen by accident – a skilled industrial designer was behind the scenes, creating that image so that it would stay emblazoned in your mind. You know those times when you think to yourself, “Wow, what a great idea…but how could I ever make it come to life?” Closing that gap is exactly what industrial designers specialize in.

Overview

Most industrial designers specialize in one specific industry, like automobiles, housewares or furniture. This career requires imagination, creativity and strong communication skills. Industrial designers are involved with various aspects of creating a product, from meeting with clients to working alongside engineers in development. The good news is that this type of expertise is always in demand, since new products are constantly being thought up by businesses both large and small.

Job Responsibilities

It’s the industrial designer’s job to create an aesthetically pleasing product that fulfills a need for consumers. From creation to planning and styling, the focus is greatly on how products look. Commodities that require these skills range from cars and electronics to food packaging and even medical equipment.

Aside from aesthetics, a product’s usability and ergonomics have to also be taken into account. From there, function, design and even marketing efforts can be improved. Ultimately, an industrial designer will create a product that is either currently needed by consumers or will be “needed” by consumers after implementing a clever marketing strategy.

Step-By-Step Process

Industrial designers work closely with one – or several – specialists in their industry, often including an engineer, accountant and marketer.

1. First, the industrial designer will meet with a client to discuss how to either improve existing products or introduce new ones to the market.

2. Then, the industrial designer will work with the Market Research Department to figure out which characteristics consumers are looking for. This way, each product can visually communicate that it does, in fact, possess the necessary traits.

3. The next step is to sketch various design ideas and present them to the client, who will then choose which idea to move forward with.

4. Before a product can be physically built, virtual mockups are created to show the client a visualization of the final product.

5. Once the client accepts the product, the last step the industrial designer takes is to work with the engineering department to manufacture the item.

The entire process can be lengthy from beginning to end, because it’s not easy to take an incomplete idea and turn it into something that will perform well in the market while staying in line with the client’s original concept.

Background Requirements

The minimum education requirement for an industrial designer is a Bachelor Degree in industrial design or a related field, like engineering or architecture. For most entry-level positions, both a completed internship and a work portfolio are required. Often, industrial designers will pursue a Masters Degree in Business Administration, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This is because many clients want the industrial designer to create a product to accompany and benefit their complete business plan. In order to do this, an industrial designer should have knowledge of everything from accounting and project management to marketing. Additional skills that an industrial designer should have in order to compete in their field include drawing, creativity, technical knowledge, sense of color, working knowledge of balance and proportion, and solid communication skills.

Graffiti artists these days are a dime a dozen. It doesn’t take much for someone to snatch up a spray can and paint the name of their clique on a wall for people to see. However, to produce poignant, artful images is another story.

Many taggers do it for the rush, others to incite social awareness, and some even for the thrill of running from the cops. But at the heart of the street art movement is the desire for change, or to at least encourage the everyman to open his eyes and question his surroundings. 2013 has already seen amazing work over the last few months, but with the summer approaching, many people are wondering what’s next.

Phlegm

When it comes to large-scale pieces, Sheffield’s own Phlegm is a man worth keeping an eye on. Drawing inspiration from the characters in his own Phlegm Comic, this UK bad boy uses graffiti as a way to reinvigorate run down areas in his hometown and abroad.

There are many recurring themes in his work, but he is often drawn toward simplicity that over time becomes more complex, such as the expansion of ecosystems. One of his latest pieces, a collaboration with London artist, RUN, was painted for the Chichester Street Art festival and occupies nearly the entire side of a building.

Now, creativity is something that comes and goes and sometimes you need a push. Well, this article is meant to do just that. In the following text, you will be able to see some the most famous buildings ever constructed. You have most certainly come across all of them, and if this is the case, then this article will serve as a reminder. Hell, there’s nothing wrong with using some ideas in order to create your own. As far as I know, that’s the way people do these things.

Anyway, without further delay, here they are:

1. Guggenheim Museum, Spain

First of all, a museum is something that is pretty much related to art. When talking about this museum in Spain, you cannot say anything else than something along the lines of: “well, this looks amazing”… Look at the image and see just how much effort was put in this by the designer Frank Gehry, a Canadian-American architect. The oval shapes are most certainly there to make the art showcased inside a bit more beautiful, if possible.

2. The Bird’s Nest, China

This building is a stadium, and if you remember the 2008 Olympic Games, well, they were held here. Jacques Herzog, as well as Pierre de Meuron – these two are the ones that designed it – put a lot of effort in this one. Making something concrete and stable, as this building is, based on something that is random, like a birds nest, is something that cannot be easy, but I think they did it just fine.

3. Burj Khalifa, Dubai

If you are someone who thinks that the Empire State Building is the tallest building in the world – news flash – it’s not. This architectural marvel is and its peak is 830 meters high. When you look at it from the ground, it looks like it is stabbing the sky. It was an extremely expensive design, done by Adrian Smith and it was finished in 2010. If you have seen the latest Mission Impossible movie, you can see the main protagonist, played by Tom Cruise, hanging from it – a cool scene, but not that good a movie, in my opinion.

4. Lotus Temple, India

Nature is something that people lost touch with, and one of the reasons for that is our modern way of life, where we are alienated from nature by tall, monotone buildings… it is a bit depressing, isn’t it? Well, this architectural marvel serves to prove the opposite. It is inspired by one of the world’s most beautiful flowers, and it is, if nothing else, truly beautiful. Using motives from nature has been a source of inspiration for artists for thousands of years, and although some might argue, architecture is a form of art, so… you catch my drift…

5. California Academy of Sciences, USA

Speaking of nature, this project is designed to completely fit in with the natural landscape surrounding it, when viewed from above – it has plants on the roof. It is said to be the greenest museum in the world, and I think it really is.

I hope that these five were enough to get you going. Keep in mind though that nowadays, it is not enough that you have a good idea, a good design, and a good project. You have to make sure that your idea gets adequately promoted and recognized, so that your project sees the light of day. Many architects have many projects that ended in the trash only because no one wanted to invest in it. You neither want another piece of paper in the trash, nor another file in the Recycle Bin, do you? So, get those juices flowing and go out and make your building built. You do have the means to do it!

Currently this website provides three different ways for you to promote your work.

1. You can join the Flickr group and submit your images (Please make sure that they’re not locked and I can download the image. I don’t really have the time to print screen the page and manually crop in in Photoshop).
2. If you’re on Tumblr, you can submit your artwork here: gallery.inspirationfeed.com/submit 
3. If you have a personal project that deserves attention, you can contact us here: inspirationfeed.com/contact-us

Today we will showcase a mix of high quality works for your viewing pleasure. Our Flickr group pool contains over 19,666 items and 2951 members. We do these showcases frequently, so if you wanna see your work here, make sure to join our group. Please note that every single image is linked to their original author, so don’t hesitate to check out more of their work. Enjoy!

Today we’ve provided twenty-five beautiful icon sketches to get you inspired. All of the icon sketches were designed by professional designers. Our hope is for you to get inspired from their beautiful work and encourage you to never skip the pencil & paper approach. Enjoy!

Sketchy Icons The Third by Joshua Bullock

Doctor search iOS icon by Pawel Kadysz

TechNote App by Dash

Contact by Eddie Lobanovskiy

Bag icon sketch by Ramotion

Inkwell icon by Kondratieva Anna

Sketches by Loggia

Icon Sketch by Underbelly

Developer Icon by Parthiban Mohanraj

Icons sketches by Jackie Tran Anh

Halloween gifts for Spaces.ru by Iconka

Ice cream cart sketch by Tibor Tovt

FireWire drive sketch by Plexform

]]> http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/illustrations/beautiful-brainstorming-25-inspirational-icon-sketches/feed/ 3 http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/typography-inspiration/expressive-lettering-and-calligraphy-by-sergey-shapiro/ http://inspirationfeed.com/inspiration/typography-inspiration/expressive-lettering-and-calligraphy-by-sergey-shapiro/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 15:16:03 +0000 Igor Ovsyannykov http://inspirationfeed.com/?p=33633 Sergey Shapiro is an independent graphic designer from Moscow, Russia. He specializes in calligraphy, custom lettering, logotypes, typography, t-shirt designs and much more. His amazing work is heavily influenced by modern freestyle techniques, a wide range of writing tools, and a strong passion for clean expressive style. His work is bound to inspire any graphic designer who appreciates minimalism. Enjoy!

Stefanie & Brandon

Critically Acclaimed | Logo for a clothing label from UK

Dunked Logo

Trblmkrs Logo

Streathers Logo

Bananastreet Logo

Teelocker | Hong-Kong based clothing label

Linden | Tattoo design for Stuart L. Crawford

Ena Nuts | Logo for a clothing designer based in Moscow, Russia

Burnt Toast | Logo for a motion graphic company from Canada.

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