Mid-Size Consulting Firm
At a mid-sized consulting firm, you will get thrown into learning experiences that accelerate your growth.
Working in a design consultancy is a test of your curiosity as a designer. It’s your willingness to jump into the unknown. Design consultants are often expected to come into a project at any point in the design process. You could be facilitating a workshop with your client to help them ideate some really blue-sky ideas, or you could be passing CAD back and forth with engineering and preparing for manufacturing. You have to keep your design skills sharp because you never know when you might be asked to surface a complex object or draw up a user workflow.
Design consultants can supplement a company’s existing design team or act as their sole resource for design. At the company I currently work for, we are what’s called a “full-service” firm. We not only have an amazing design team, but we can also supplement our clients’ needs with engineering, research, and much more.
Photography provided by Miranda Degg, our WIID Board Member and Industrial Designer & VR Guru at Delve Innovation. Featuring the Delve Design Studio in Madison, Wisconsin.
Miranda Degg, Our Women in ID Board Member and Industrial Designer & VR Guru at Delve Design based in Madison, Wisconsin.
A Little about Miranda Degg, Milwaukee-based Industrial Designer & VR Guru, Design Advocate, and our lovely Women in ID Board Member & Virtual Panelist.
Miranda is an Industrial Designer and VR Guru at Delve in Madison, Wisconsin! She lives in Milwaukee with her 2 fancy cats, her musical boyfriend, and a bunch of plants. She’s passionate about the ID community and hopes to be a force for joy and inspiration to my fellow ID-ers.
Miranda loves messy processes, multi-disciplinary collaboration, thought-provoking podcasts, and speaking her mind. She’s had her fair share of good and bad experiences (haven’t we all?) and hopes to use them to push herself and help others. Her favorite piece of advice is ‘be the change you wish to see.’ Miranda is also the Vice-Chair of the IDSA Northern Lakes Board and a member & mentor on the Advanced Design + Offside by Advanced Design team.
Recently Miranda was named one of 20 of IDSA’s 20/20 recognitions. “IDSA’s 20/20 Recognitions, chosen this year by IDSA Staff, highlight 20 professional IDSA members who have generously offered their valuable time and talents towards the betterment of others within our Society and their communities during the year 2020. In doing so, they contribute towards advancing our mission of advancing the industrial design profession through information, education, community, and advocacy.” Content from 20/20 Recognitions at IDSA.
“Design consultants are often expected to come into a project at any point in the design process.”
Why Miranda Recommends working at a Consulting firm, the benefits of experience, variety, creation, collaboration, and much more.
I would highly recommend trying out design consulting, especially if you tend to be easily distracted, constantly curious, and have no end to your creativity.
Consulting allows you to explore a wide variety of industries ranging from medical to automotive to consumer electronics. Variety is the spice of life, after all.
Delve Design Office, HUB room, in Madison, Wisconsin. Photography provided by Miranda Degg, our WIID Board Member and Industrial Designer & VR Guru at Delve Innovation.
“Design consultants can supplement a company’s existing design team or act as their sole resource for design.”
Featuring the in-house shop at Delve’s Madison office. Photography provided by Miranda Degg, our WIID Board Member and Industrial Designer & VR Guru at Delve Innovation in Madison, Wisconsin.
“Creating delight. Meaningful change demands envisioning the total user experience to design products, services, and experiences that deliver. and Uncovering the unexpected. We’re voracious readers, explorers, and dreamers who enjoy thinking about the larger context of product innovation and solutions. We love to share our discoveries. Delve’s Mission, found at delve.com.
One of Miranda’s favorite projects to date.
One of my favorite projects of my career to date was a softgoods project and not only that, but it was a mix of medical and fashion design. This project lasted a little over six months, and our design team was a part of the process from initial conception all the way up to handing off a tech pack to our client’s manufacturers. This project taught me a lot, and one of the first lessons I learned is that sketches can lie.
We found this out quite early in the process and quickly pivoted to creating a ton of prototypes. We made so many mock-ups that we lost count. All of these prototypes and tests led us to an excellent solution to the initial problem.
We even offered an alternative solution that none of us had expected when the project began. Going through the design process and discovering new things is always a wonderful feeling, especially when it leads to true innovation.
“This project taught me a lot, and one of the first lessons I learned is that sketches can lie. ”
There are times when you get to take ownership of a design process and other times when you are just needed for one specific skill. Ultimately, you will be juggling several different projects, they’ll all be at different points of the process, and you may feel overwhelmed. It takes time and practice to learn how to manage your time effectively, but once you get the hang of it, you can focus on doing your best work and enjoy the opportunity to learn a little about many things.
There can be late nights in the studio, uncomfortable conversations with clients, and sometimes you might feel like all you’ve done for two months is quick brainstorm sketches. Conversely, you’ll be collaborating with some incredibly talented and motivated people, learn how to think effectively on the fly, and become very comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Consulting is hard, but it is also incredibly fun.
Featuring the reception at Delve in Madison, Wisconsin. Photography provided by Miranda Degg, our WIID Board Member and Industrial Designer & VR Guru at Delve Innovation.
Miranda’s final take-aways, for those of you interested in working at a mid-sized consulting firm. Working at a mid-size consulting firm is excellent for designers looking to be thrown into the deep end on a variety of projects, interested in working with a diverse team of designers, engineers, and beyond.
THANK YOU, Miranda, FOR GIVING US A GLIMPSE INTO YOUR CAREER & WORK AS AN INSPIRING WOMAN IN DESIGN.
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