hi! i want to do a bachelor of mechanical engineering/masters of mechanical engineering but the only design qualification i can take is a minor in design. would this be enough for me to possibly get a career in product design engineering/industrial engineering or something along those lines? or would i be better off doing a design related masters, or a dual of engineering with industrial design. i would much rather do the first option though because it is the university i want to attend and it is an accelerated program so i can get a bachelor and masters within 5 years, but please any advice would be appreciated!!

I’m working on an exciting project to explore how spatial computing can elevate the creative process. My goal is to enable creative individuals to deeply immerse themselves in information, inspiration, and collaborative creation by leveraging the power of spatial computing. Whether you’re a designer, artist, developer, or anyone who loves to create, your input can shape the future of this tool!

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Hello, Reddit community! I’m Maeve, and I’m currently working as an Industrial Designer. I graduated from Virginia Tech’s ID program in 2022. I have been working for a company that makes custom acoustical product for corporate interiors focusing on mainly product design in AutoCAD and product visualization using Fusion 360 and KeyShot. I also did 2.5 years worth on internship doing 2D texturing in illustrator and some basic modeling in Maya for a gov. contractor making VR sims for the Navy. I’m now considering a career pivot into UX/UI design because the earning potential and opportunity for fully remote work that I see in the market currently just is not that great. I feel like I basically have two options… build on my current skill set and become a master at rendering— go the architectural rendering route or gaming route or break into UX/UI with a small foundation from ID school. Would love to hear your thoughts and advice on the best path forward.

Background:

•	Current Role: Industrial Designer with experience in product visualization and rendering.
•	Skills: Proficient in AutoCAD Fusion 360 and KeyShot; have a solid portfolio of product designs.
•	Interests: Keen on exploring UX/UI design due to a growing interest in user experience and interface design.

Current Challenges:

1.	Experience Requirements: Many entry-level UX/UI positions require 1-2 years of digital design experience. Given my background, how can I best position myself for these roles?

2.	Education Options: I’ve looked into various educational paths, including bootcamps and certifications. What’s the best way to gain relevant skills and make a compelling case for potential employers? Do I need to do this or could I just self learn figma and make a new portfolio…

3.	Free Templates and Portfolios: Is it acceptable to start a project with a free online template if I significantly customize it? How should I present this in my portfolio?

4.	Remote Work: I’m also interested in roles that offer remote work and flexibility, especially since I enjoy traveling. Which field—UX/UI design or product visualization —offers better opportunities for remote work?

Specific Questions:

1.	Portfolio Building: If I learn tools like Figma and Adobe XD, would creating portfolio projects from online prompts be sufficient, or should I invest in a bootcamp or certification?

2.	Job Market Trends: Based on current trends, would it be more beneficial to focus on product visualization or pivot to UX/UI design? How do the earning potentials and remote work opportunities compare?

3.	Learning Path: Given my current skill set and the fact that I struggled with asynchronous learning in the Google cert program (never finished), would a bootcamp with hands-on instruction be a better fit?

What I’m Looking For:

•	**Advice on building a strong UX/UI portfolio and gaining relevant experience.
•	**Suggestions for affordable and reputable bootcamps or certification programs.
•	**Insights into the job market for both UX/UI design and product visualization/remdering, especially regarding remote work opportunities.

Aiming to make 100k at some point.

Keep going down the Industrial Design/3D path I’m on or make the UX/Ui switch now while I’m young??

Thanks in advance for your help and insights! I’m excited about this potential career transition and eager to learn from your experiences and recommendations.

Hello, I'm working on a project and it's main objective is to be able to take any 3D model file and give it to the application and it spits out a 2D pattern that could be cut and folded back into the 3D model in real life. I've found tools like pepakura that does the 3D to 2D pattern aspect of the project but it's my understanding that in order for this program to be effective you'd need to give it a low poly 3D model.

So my question is how would I go about simplifying more complex 3D models so they can be ready for a 2D pattern.

Which do you think looks better -- a plastic housing with simpler tooling that results in 3 degrees of draft on the sides of the enclosure or more complex tooling with slides that would allow for zero draft but would result in witness lines on the corners?

I design a lot of CE products with injection molded plastic enclosures. For a product family I worked on recently, engineering pushed us towards the simpler tooling design. Initially the supplier wanted 1.5 degrees of draft which looked okay but eventually that had to increase to 3 degrees which I think makes the entire product family look cheap. The side walls on some of the products are fairly tall.

Hey guys I’m currently building a pet feeder for a crate, it has to give out a certain portions at time intervals but it cannot have any electronics fully mechanical Can anyone help what I could use..?

The company I’ve been at for the last 2 years is a small company with 150-250 employees. My title has been industrial designer and I have been the only designer since starting. The work I’ve been doing since they’ve hired me has been that of a senior and lead designer.

I want a title change on par with the level of work I’ve been doing. However, I’m not sure which to ask for when I go to negotiate my title. I don’t want other prospective employers to say, “why does your title say lead designer after only 2 or 3 years.”

On the other hand, I really am doing a lead designer’s work but I’ve yet to have the opportunity to lead a team of ID’s. However, I do lead in other ways.

What should I do in this situation? Could you articulate your reasoning other than just yes or no?

Edit: yes I know what the Dunning Kruger effect is.

Hi all, I'm curious to see how many of you come from an Engineering background and found a way to get into Industrial Design. I'm a Mechanical Engineering student and would like to hear your perspective on how you managed to make the transition.

Hey gang. Long time lurker. First time poster.

I’m struggling to not get super deflated. Nearly 6 years in the industry, a few short stints at design consultancy's. Most of my time has been in big corporate. To preface I studied ID to do ‘cool design’. In reality, most of the consulting gigs I’ve done have largely been a bait and switch. Where I was told I’d be designing things, only to get there and find they need a CAD jockey to execute whatever poorly thought out billable project they had. Any voices on ‘how to do it better’ were quickly crushed. While corporate is dull, methodical where we never do anything new. But follow the market leader.

I’ve kinda been caught in this trap for a while now. Especially after finding out that many of the local ‘emerging talent’ are either struggling or have had their parents support & boost their careers (an option I don’t have). I constantly get students asking me ‘how to get a job’ and I don’t really have any good advice to give them. Throw in cost of living, delaying adult life goals thanks to wage stagnation…

TLDR: is anyone out there doing the ‘cool design job’ we were sold? And any advice how to get there?

Cheers

Anon

Love me some grasshopper. Enjoy

Excuse me if the question might be silly, but i am a citizen of EU and have always wondered if it would be possible to get a job in another EU country and work remotely from my own.

I'm a Product Design student who just finished the 1st year so i'm not very wise when it comes to such things, but given that i can practically work anywhere in EU i was thinking if Industrial Design would be a field that allows full-time remote working.

If it's not possible: Why wouldn't it be? Are there other Design-related fields beside ID that allow it?

If it's possible: How "easy" is to get such a deal? Are there additional steps that the employer must take to hire you that are not taken when hiring someone local?

I finished my 1st year of product design in May and i'll start the 2nd year in October, the courses were very beginner friendly in the 1st year (maybe too beginner friendly) so we didn't really had time to explore deeply into 3D, we learned bits of Rhino, 3Ds Max and Modo but it was so rushed that i can't even do a chair anymore. They were rushed because the professors indroduced them to us and we were supposed to learn them on our own, but the thing is i never liked any of them, Rhino looks like Paint 2007, Modo crashes if you sneeze and 3Ds Max doesn't even work on my PC for some reason (i had to use the school PCs)

I explored other softwares to find one that suites me and fell in love with Blender (as i see most beginners do), i have used it ever since and can say that i got to be quite good at it to the point i don't need tutorials that often anymore, but obviously i have a long run to be able to make anything i want on it.

Yet i know i will not be able to use it for everything, i know at some point i will need to make objects at scale and other things that Blender sucks at and is not useful for, but i still have a long run to understand most of this one single software that i used for almost a year and i simply can't even think how i will start learning several other softwares and be good at them.

Now my question is, should i stick to only Blender for a little longer until i feel comfortable exploring other options or start working on them now? And if we are already here, which ones to you recommend for Industrial Design? (and character design as a hobby haha)

Does anyone have any best practices tips for taking models between Solidworks and Blender?

I actually do this regularly to build models at scale in Solidworks and add aesthetic tweaks in blender, however my process usually ends in Blender and then I move onto 3D printing. Right now I'm designing for CNC and I'd like to resolidify my model in Solidworks so I can export a drawing for quality reference. However, taking my blender file ( often STL ) to Solidworks results in a highly complex solid body that is both heavy and impossible to look at.

Suggestions?

Hiya, I’m a product design student on my placement year, working with digital products pertaining to UI and AI. Which seems well placed in today’s economy.

Looking at the current job market, there seems to be a fair abundance of high-paying jobs in this field, definitely when compared to industrial design such as working at a design consultancy. (In the UK at least)

Has anyone gone through this switch, and would perhaps recommend any pros and cons of making such a career move.

Did a one point perspective sketch of a keyboard concept. Any critiques are appreciated!

Hello all, I am in the process of launching a furniture design project in my own name, at the moment I’m at the step of demarching many manufacturers to find one to work and collaborate with for my future projects on a long term. The problem is the same that is often met in all design fields; when showing a design to manufacturers, or big companies, for them to study if the realisation is in their capacities or if they are interested to collaborate with me, there will always be a risk of the design being stolen. I wanted to know about the different ways you know of to prevent this to happen.

Talented freelance designer needed to help design premium cordless tools with an aesthetic that differentiates them from what's currently on the market. Willing to negotiate hourly pay and a relaxed timetable!

Hey team! I am developing a drink fountain atm for outdoor spaces (parks etc). I need to do a structural stress test on the frame to ease some minds and help advance into a prototype. It’s a solidworks multi body part and my company dosent have the add on to test within solidworks. Wanted to know what tools or resources you all use to do these tests? The main aim is to see how much weight it will support / where it may break.

if not, then which specific industry are you working in ?

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Hi. I am an industrial design student who is currently deciding upon their thesis idea. I have a few questions regarding an idea I am currently researching on. It is a handheld device for spatial analysis, targeted towards professionals like architects, civil engineers, urban planners and even interior designers. The motive behind this idea is to cater to the problems faced while doing site analysis. Such professionals while collecting initial data doing site visits use multiple tools for tasks like sun mapping, wind patterns, initial measurements etc with tools like laser meters or matterport. This device would provide them a quick overview of such factors by providing them a n overview of all the information. So you guys think this idea is solid enough for a thesis? My concern is that this focusses more on the technology part rather than the design part of the device. Another approach for this idea can be focussing on only one job that is measurements during site visits. My inspiration behind that is tp-7 from teenage engineering. Just like that device turns, "transcription hell into transcription heaven" for copywriters, I would like you create a device for architects and other such professionals that does the same for them for site analysis and measurements that later on helps them in making plans and the user experience of the device is designed apt for such professionals. Let me know about your opinion on this idea.

I need to choose between these two, today. UI Ux is interesting but polymer and composite also include mold design which is a crucial part of product design.

For example I found a way to share designs with AutoCAD tough a web link. Not my favorite though. Do you have other suggestions or programs?

I was thinking complement some engineering with design my options are Material enginering Mechanical enginering Electronic enginering Biomedical enginering But I need one feedback to assure me that can coplement each other and be a good option