Sarah Blott, who is currently interning at GE and will be returning with the senior class next year, was gracious enough to send a very merry christmas blog interview my way. Enjoy some great advice on what it is like designing for a huge giant like GE as well as her top three most creepiest christmas songs. “…but knowing how to apply them (skill sets) in design takes experience followed by a certain period of humility. The more that novice designers like us realize how little we know, the faster our minds will accept and utilize new ideas.”
3 Suggestions for surviving, succeeding, and making the most out of your sophomore year:
1. Dump your significant other and learn to love the sweet feeling of sleep deprivation.
2. Acknowledge ignorance. It's easy to build manual skills like sketching and modeling, but knowing how to apply them in design takes experience followed by a certain period of humility. The more that novice designers like us realize how little we know, the faster our minds will accept and utilize new ideas.
3. Play pranks on fellow classmates. It's hilarious and helps decompress everyone. If you need ideas, just ask Phelan. I believe Ben can attest to the fact that anyone who falls asleep on the studio couch is fair game.
What would you be if you weren't an Industrial Designer?
I would probably give bumming a shot. Yeah, I would definitely be a traveling bum.
How has the transition from being a Junior at WWU and then entering the professional environment for the GE Internship? What skills/things do you wish you had more polished prior to going in?
Mostly, I had to get used to hearing "no" a lot. There are so many factors and constraints that keep you from doing what you want, many of which are completely unrelated to design or engineering. But this has forced me to learn how to quickly create many variations on a design to cater to specific constraints, but still keep its integrity.
Overall I think our program has prepared me pretty well for this internship. I know my boss appreciates the education we get in design process, research, and engineering. These are things that probably aren't as emphasized at art schools.
Initially I was worried about not knowing Solidworks since that's the standard at GE, but there was plenty of time to learn.
What keeps you sane & inspired out of design?
Well the last two years in school there wasn't anything outside of design. It was the sanity, because time for any other activity seemed ridiculous. Though I do admit that venturing outside the studio for a creative trip to Cap's probably kept some of us from imploding..
But these days, with a normal schedule and hardly any time in a shop, I've been exploring new creative hobbies like sewing and becoming at least a mediocre photographer.
Name one WWU ID project that you look back and attribute to be the most memorable?
Haha, here we go... I would say the most memorable was the project we did sophomore year where we had to design trowel handles out of urethane foam. We spent so much time thinking about the ergonomics, followed by hours and hours of careful sanding and priming. But when it came time for the critique, we had really just inadvertently created 24 bright blue phalluses connected to a little shovel.
Tell me about your "general experience" so far interning at GE, the good and the bad.
Well the good thing is that I'm guaranteed to go to sleep every night, which hasn't happened in about 3 years.. The general experience is a very corporate one, which has its ups and downs. There are tons of resources available to the designers and they get a range of boring to awesome work, just like anywhere. However, they are sometimes at the mercy of other departments within GE and must constantly be fighting for the legitimacy of good design and the importance of investing in it. The good thing about such a long internship is that the other interns and I have the same responsibilities of a Junior level designer. So I am learning a ton, not only in skills and knowledge, but also what to look for in a future career.
What the heck is Louisville, Kentucky like? (For those of us who haven't been)
Louisville, or Loo-ville as the natives say, is actually a whole lot more fun and interesting than I thought it was going to be (ie. less Redneck). It's a pretty big city with a lot of diversity and various cultural influences that keep it interesting. I've especially had fun sampling all the great local eateries and breweries. I'm also looking forward to the Kentucky Derby. Apparently the whole city goes into party/festival mode for a week, and it's all for a 2 minute race.
What most are you looking forward to coming back to WWU ID next fall?
I can't wait to get back to doing student work, where I will have complete control of the project and the direction it goes. It is total fantasy and unlike designing in the real world, but it will be nice to get one more opportunity to have that freedom.
Top 3 Christmas Albums/Songs?
The classics are all good. Instead, I'm going to give you my top 3 worst/creepiest Christmas songs.
1. Santa.com Also known as "I'm Gonna Email Santa!"
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
3. Santa Baby
Here is sample from Sarah’s junior portfolio from the Form/Function project from last year, "Mango Lounge", a comfy single person chair.
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Thanks for the insight Sarah!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the perspective.
ReplyDelete