Did you ever wonder why your cell phone’s keypad is sized the way it is, or who chose the materials for the office chair you sit in all day? Those people are industrial designers, and Rhode Island is chockfull of them. In fact, only Michigan has a higher number per capita.
Since last February, the state also has had its own chapter of the Industrial Designers Society of America, which will hold its monthly Young Professionals Night meet-and-greet tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 29) from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Local 121 on Washington Street in Providence.
The chairman of IDSA-Rhode Island is Matt Grigsby, a RISD alum who is co-founder of the Providence-based company Ecolect and a 2007 Rhode Island Innovation Award winner. Grigsby talked with Providence Business News recently about IDSA-Rhode Island’s first year, what the plans are for its second one and the growth of industrial design in the Ocean State.
PBN: What is the mission of the IDSA and its Rhode Island chapter?
GRIGSBY: The Industrial Designers Society of America is a nonprofit organization consisting of more than 3,000 members. They support the design profession by encouraging and advancing the positive impacts of design.
Our Rhode Island chapter was established to create a presence for the organization here in the state, extending the national organizations’ mission locally. Our goal is to respond to and nourish the unique design ecosystem that exists [here]. Since our chapter’s founding in 2008 we have held educational events and community-building gatherings with the aim of increasing awareness and the value of industrial design. Events such as the Young Professionals Night have allowed us to reach new young designers, engineers, architects and tech specialists in the area, offering an atmosphere for friendships, networking and collaborations.
PBN: What role does industrial design play within the Rhode Island economy?
GRIGSBY: Many young designers have decided to make Rhode Island the base for their startup firm or full-time job after they graduate. In May 2007, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked the state of Rhode Island as having the second-largest number of industrial designers per capita in the United States. Despite the economy, we have seen many industrial-design jobs hold strong in the state. We have around 500 industrial designers working in Rhode Island and involved in a wide variety of projects, and their average annual income was [estimated] at around $55,000.
Our industrial design community plays a vital role for the local economy, servicing businesses both in and outside of Rhode Island. Passionate leaders, top-notch schools, visionary thinkers and affordable spaces have all made Rhode Island a perfect environment for the creative industry and entrepreneurs. It’s truly remarkable that the majority of designers in the state have the opportunity to work on projects which are diverse, engaging, meaningful and profitable.
PBN: What activities has the IDSA-RI chapter undertaken in its first year? What’s in store for 2009?
GRIGSBY: 2008 marked the launch of IDSA’s Rhode Island chapter and our programming efforts. In our first year, we concentrated our efforts on raising statewide awareness of the industrial-design community and the launch of our new chapter. We have been coalescing our state’s design community, engaging our communities, while at the same time kicking off our series of educational events. We launched our chapter’s new Web site, www.idsa-ri.org.
We hope to build off the successes of our inaugural year as we enter into 2009. Our goal is to expand our efforts in developing a more educational programming, additional networking activities and closer student involvement among the universities and academic groups.
PBN: What are some examples of people doing innovative work in Rhode Island’s industrial design community?
GRIGSBY: Here are a few examples:
• Ximedica (a subsidiary of the Item Group), located in Providence, is among the largest medical-device design firms in the nation. Founded by Stephen Lane and Aidan Petrie, they specialize in the design, development and supply of innovative new medical devices. The firm provides medical device companies comprehensive, innovation and development services to speed up the process of getting new products to market. They are also leading a collaborative effort to redesign the Emergency Department Critical Care units at hospitals, improving safety and increasing the opportunity to save lives. Working with the Business Innovation Factory, the University Emergency Medical Foundation, and Rhode Island Hospital, [Ximedia] has been observing, interviewing and analyzing the critical-care environment to identify opportunities for improving the space during critical activity.
• Kaiju Studios is based in Providence and was founded in 2001 by RISD alums Ayako Takase and Cutter Hutton. It is constantly striving to bring success to the work they provide by offering exceptional services. Its focus is on creating meaningful products and experiences through simplicity and a harmonious balance of function and form. To name a few, their clients include Herman Miller, Gillette and DuPont. Kaiju’s agile, flexible and talented team consistently produces innovative and creative results for clients of all types. Kaiju has worked on a diverse rage of products from razors to bicycles to furniture and suitcases.
• Matt Cottam and Nick Scappaticci are co-founders of Providence-based Tellart. Their mission is to create products, services and environments which address human needs and shape human experience. Tellart does work which ties the analog to the digital world, and the visual world to the physical. Cottam is an instrumental faculty member in the industrial-design department. [Cottam and Scappaticci] have also formed close ties to Umeo University in Sweden. In addition to working with clients such as Nokia, they have developed SketchTools, an application which allows for quick prototypes of interactive products and services.
• Asher Dunn, president of Keeseh Studio and a recent graduate of RISD’s Industrial Design Undergraduate program, designs furniture, interiors, products, and gadgets, both of its own initiative and through commissions. Keeseh Studio has united our younger designers who share similar outlooks on design and its context, helping one another realize new and innovative ideas. The studio offers a community for designers, inventors, artists, craftsman, tinkerers and makers.
• In the academic sector, Brown University and RISD have recently partnered to form a group called Better x Design. This initiative, led by Steven Daniels and Sharon Langevin of Brown, is a continuation of last November’s successful Better World by Design Conference, a collaboration between Brown and RISD, which brought global thought leaders in humane design to Providence. A Better World by Design posed some critical questions to designers, engineers and economists. If you check out the Web site and hear the answers from dozens of world-class professionals and academics, it will change the way you think about global crises and push the limits of user-centric, affordable design.
PBN: What trends do you see for the coming year in the industrial design community?
GRIGSBY: Providence is quickly becoming a national incubator for young, design-driven businesses. We are seeing the trend of innovative, new approaches to problem-solving, design-thinking and social responsibility. We are aiming to aid designers in their efforts, supporting the growing number of passionate young entrepreneurs in our state.
Rhode Island has a long legacy of being positively influential, radical and innovative in the areas of manufacturing, design and technology development. Rhode Island is uniquely positioned as a design and innovation capital. Our own Slater Mill in Pawtucket is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, and RISD has spawned such creative icons as Shepard Fairy, Boris Bally, Stuart Karten, Seth McFarlane, Nicole Miller, Gus Van Sant and David Macaulay. Rhode Island is a center for growth, innovation and experimentation with an environment that supports cutting-edge ideas. •
