The Intern’s Lessons

One year as an industrial design intern at Narrative. These are some things my brain learnt about the world.

Industrial design in the real world

Less is more.

The engineering side of industrial design — technical feasibility, manufacturing processes and materials characteristics. Things I did not learn in school but are extremely fundamental in designing great hardware. These constraints are real and can no longer be swept under the carpet. Constraints are also big opportunities for innovation, if they can be solved.

Sketching, CADding and form making skills are essential.

A lot of other activities are necessary to get a product into the hands of users such as marketing, sales and operations. Even more activities are necessary for users to continuing using that product such as customer support, HR and business development. Design is only the beginning of a series of value creation activities. All the aforementioned activities have their individual goals and might sometimes be in conflict with a designer’s. Know when not to compromise.

It is overwhelming and difficult to balance the differing goals and the world’s gravitational laws at the same time. A true and tested way to start is to listen to users. User centered design takes a lot of effort. Recruiting, NDAs, testing and synthesizing information is hard work. But without them, products fail.

Good design is about making good decisions.

Startup life

There are infinite number things that should and could be done. Attack the wolf (problem) that is the nearest because it will be the first to kill you. Pick yo battles wisely to survive.

Startups survive and thrive on speed. When a decision is made is much more important than what decision is made. Make decisions fast and adjust along the way.

All organizations are made up of people. They are the greatest asset, so invest in them. The best thing HR can do is to give a shit. Give many shits. Give autonomy, mastery & purpose. Happy people work better. Happy people are intrinsically motivated. Happy people go the extra mile.

People stay in startups because of culture. Culture does not magically appear and needs to be cultivated. If done properly, it feels like you’re saving the world with your best buds.

Swedish management style is flat and flexible. With great autonomy comes great responsibilities.

Make things happen. If not you, then who?

“Hardware is Hard”. The combination of hardware and software is exponentially harder.

Just an intern

It is okay to not know something. It is okay to not have the skills today. It is okay to ask stupid questions. Figure it out.

A lot of people don’t have a clue either. Fake it until you make it.

As an intern, I was given a super huge ass responsibility, even when I wasn’t ready for it. It was truly empowering. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could really change the world. At the same time, I wasn’t able to make big strategic decisions. Something that I struggled with was to find that delicate balance. Should I make a stand when something is not right, or let it go because I might not know any better. Am I being annoying or am I just trying to help out. Should I make a decision or make a suggestion? I haven’t quite figured this out.

Have personal goals for the internship. Know why you’re there. Don’t just work on whatever that needs to be done at the moment. Understand how your work fits into the larger workings of the company.

Interns aren’t there to just be a learning sponge, but to contribute as well. Sometimes it takes a pair of fresh eyes to realize why or what isn’t working. Question the status quo. Speak out when you think something is not right. Talk about them, suggest solutions and fix em.

Structure, or the lack of

Take full ownership over a project. Put your name on the line, call the shots and move forward.

Have regular stand ups / sit downs / critiques / whatever you call them. Report, communicate and receive feedback consistently.

Create routines and automate the unessential. Make lesser unimportant decisions so you can make better important decisions.

Have a clear design process and document everything.

Design career

Startups aren’t the best place to start a career as a designer. You simply don’t know how to be a designer.

It takes trying a few things to understand what you enjoy the most in life. Doing an internship gives you the opportunity to experiment without commitment.

For me, it was my little journey of self discovery and validation in the design world. It was validating my love in industrial design beyond the four protected walls of school. It was discovering the type of design I like best. Until I find something else that takes my heart away, I’m enjoying it. I love designing mass manufactured consumer electronics.

Being in the startup world has also tested my threshold for chaos. I tasted the perks and uncertainty of startup culture and the thought of being a hardware startup founder still lingers. However, I feel very inexperienced. I feel like the time is right for me to hop on to the other side, the big corporation. I might like it, or I might not. Let’s see. Next stop: Dell Inc.

Dear Narrative,

It has been my pleasure to ride the waves of sky high ups and sinking downs together.

For the first time, I actually poured my heart and soul into it amongst most of my previous half-assed commitments. Narrative will always be like my first love.

Sincerely, thank you.