Small Consulting Firm
A small consulting firm is perfect for designers looking to work on an endless variety of products.
As a design consultant, I help clients of all different kinds with a wide variety of products. One week, I could be designing an ironing board; the next could be a blender or a device to help test lab samples or something completely different. Unlike working for one company, working at a consultancy allows you to work on many different product categories in a shorter period, jumping in and out of the process when the client needs support. Consulting is great if you like to get experience working on many different products. Every day is something different, whether it’s the product I’m working on or the skill set you’re exercising.
Our Women In Industrial Design Board Member and Co-founder, McKayla Barber, works at Beyond Design, a small product development consultancy in Chicago, Illinois.
McKayla Barber, is our WIID Co-Founder and Industrial Designer & Design Strategist at Beyond Design based in Chicago, Illinois
A little about McKayla, Industrial designer & our WIID co-founder
McKayla Barber is an Industrial Designer and a Design Strategist with a background in design consulting. Currently based in the Midwest [Chicago-based], McKayla has worked with a diverse range of clients, such as Yamaha, Instant Pot, and Zebra Technologies, on everything from consumer appliances to industrial tools.
Passionate about understanding how products can improve the lives of consumers, McKayla believes great design is a right, not a privilege. She uses her dual experience as an industrial designer and design strategist to help clients understand and translate user insights into tangible, innovative solutions. Committed to design advocacy and giving back, McKayla helped co-found Women in Industrial Design Chicago, an organization with the goal of growing and strengthening the community of female industrial designers in the field. In her free time (and when finicky Midwest weather allows), McKayla likes to rock climb, camp with friends, and hike.
“Working at a consultancy allows you to work on many different product categories in a shorter period, jumping in and out of the process when the client needs support.”
Working at a small consultancy allows you to do a variety of things that you may not be able to do at a larger company, such as participating in both the research and design phases of a project.
The smaller the company, the more it can make you feel like you have a voice in the company and your projects’ direction. You get experience working on so many different products there is inevitably some cross-pollination of ideas which is advantageous when you’re trying to innovate a product category.
Working at a smaller company also means you get experience wearing many different hats and for someone who gets bored easily and enjoys always learning new things, this can be a great fit.
Photography provided by McKayla Barber, featuring Beyond Design’s office, complete with office dog Layla.
“It makes you feel like you have a voice in the company and your projects’ direction.”
Photography provided by McKayla Barber, featuring McKayla’s desk at Beyond Design.
During the pandemic, my team and I had the opportunity to work on a product designed to help dentists and patients stay safe while preventing the spread of Covid-19. This project was somewhat of a rare opportunity. It’s not every day that you are working on something that could immediately impact the safety of people you know.
The idea for this project came from an entrepreneur whose day job is a dentist. It was a special project for him and became a special project for too. Not only did we get to help him design his product, but we also helped him launch his business by setting up product photoshoots, creating a website, and helping him set up manufacturing. It allowed us to flex some different design muscles and work on something very impactful.
“One week, I could be designing an ironing board, and the next could be a blender.”
See the launch of one of the projects Mckayla worked on at the consultancy, an ergonomic focus!
One of the products I worked on, a set of electrician’s hand tools, was recently launched. Beyond Design was asked to help IDEAL, a tool manufacturer, design a new modular handle to fit their already established visual brand language.
An Electrician’s Hand Tool, a project McKayla worked on. Photography provided by McKayla Barber, our WIID Co-founder and Industrial Designer & Design Strategist at Beyond Design.
An Electrician’s Hand Tool, a project McKayla worked on. Photography provided by McKayla Barber, our WIID Co-founder and Industrial Designer & Design Strategist at Beyond Design.
Final takeaway by McKayla, for those interested in working at a small consulting firm. Working in a small consultancy is great for the designer looking for a fast-paced environment with a variety of clients, juggling multiple different projects at once."
THANK YOU, McKayla, FOR GIVING US A GLIMPSE INTO YOUR CAREER & WORK AS AN INSPIRING WOMAN IN DESIGN.
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