Hasta La Ideas

Nick Oakley’s first design job was in Terence Conran’s London studio back in 1979, where he labored under the legendary figure for a bit less than US$1 per hour. The 30 years since then have seen the RCA and Northumbria graduate developing consumer products, professional equipment, corporate identity, and transportation programs, before focusing in on mobile computing while working at IDEO in the 1990s. As design lead at Intel’s Mobility group, Oakley is one of the company’s primary sources of next-generation mobile computing concepts, responsible for projects ranging from the far out blue-sky to market-ready notebook designs–many of which have seen production under third-party nameplates in the past decade.

This relative anonymity, coupled with the extraordinary technical fluency necessary to work at a relentlessly pragmatic firm like Intel, poses some unique challenges for hiring designers, which is why we’ve asked Nick to join us on the panel this Thursday at the Portland installment of the Coroflot Creative Employment Confab.

His two questions:

1. How is seeking and hiring designers different in the US vs. the UK? Do you find certain qualities easier or harder to find in the two countries?

I think there’s always been a difference between Euro, and certainly UK designers vs. the US equivalent. It’s always seemed as though UK design education and practice tuned designers in to a different set of sensibilities–perhaps supporting ideas and approaches based around the meaning and qualitative attributes of products. The US in contrast has always seemed to me more research- and process-based, and tends to encourage more rationalist, process driven designers. As Intel is fundamentally a data and process oriented company, US designers probably wind up being a better fit.

2. Do you find that Intel’s reputation as an engineering-led company makes it easier or more difficult to attract and retain highly qualified designers?

Intel is an ingredient brand and a technology driven company, and therefore not an obvious first choice for a highly qualified designer. Much of the work is conceptual, exploratory and for internal consumption only, so very little makes it to volume production, which for many designers trying to build a portfolio can be a bit of a turn-off. With unconnected business groups within the company approaching design in different ways, it’s also probably difficult for a prospective candidate to get a ‘read’ on a career opportunity with us, and whether it would be a match for long term career aspirations.

Oakley, along with directors and recruiters from Nike, Ziba, and Cinco Design, will form the core of the Portland Confab, an afternoon-long informational and networking event for designers, creative directors and recruiters from the product, apparel, branding and interaction design fields. Tickets are still available, and this will be the only Confab in the Pacific Northwest; check out the Confab page for details and registration info.

Coroflot’s Creative Employment Confab
Thursday, June 11th, 2:30-6pm
University of Oregon, Portland – White Stag Block
70 NW Couch St. @ NW 1st Ave, Portland, OR

Additional Confab info:

2 Questions for Beth Sasseen of Nike
2 Questions for Chelsea Vandiver of Ziba
Fast Company coverage of the Austin Confab in March

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For a high-profile, design-driven company like Nike, populating the studios with the best designers on the planet is more than just an aspiration, it’s a matter of brand survival. And while much can be said for the company’s famously pro-designer culture as a tool for attracting top talent, picking the right applicants out of an enormous pool can be a daunting task.

Beth Sasseen has been doing creative hiring since the early 90s, first for Lucasfilm in California and Singapore, then for Nike starting in 2007. This long experience finding great designers from across the globe who are also great fits, and getting them to stick around, is what draws us to put her on the stage for next week’s Creative Confab in Portland, Oregon, a few miles from the Nike World Campus in Beaverton.

1. Given the highly specialized nature of many design disciplines, and the difficulty of identifying a truly great portfolio, is it crucial (or even helpful) that a recruiter of creative professionals have some design training herself?

Learning a list of job requirements is easily done, but if the role for which one is recruiting is more specialized, deeper training is a good idea. For design recruiting, having an inherent interest in things that are more creative than analytical is helpful, if not necessary. I am a visual person, so I sympathize greatly with the creative process designers go through. I’ve tried recruiting for finance and accounting roles before and that just didn’t come as naturally.

2.You’ve mentioned that a good recruiter has to serve as a career counselor for misguided applicants sometimes — under what circumstances does this level of engagement become necessary, even with a designer who’s not getting the job?

The opportunity occurs most often with students and professionals in transition, two circumstances in which everyone, not just designers, probably feel most vulnerable. The career counselor in me comes out when I sense defeat in a candidate’s voice. The hiring process is full of hurdles, so the last thing a candidate should feel is failure if they haven’t gotten the job.

Sasseen will be sharing the stage with recruiters and designers from Ziba, Intel, and Cinco Design, as we talk about creative hiring from both sides of the process. The event also offers the chance to meet and trade notes with some of the best design firms and creative professionals in the Pacific Northwest. See the Confab page over on Coroflot for more details, and registration information.

Coroflot’s Creative Employment Confab
Thursday, June 11th, 2:30-6pm
University of Oregon, Portland – White Stag Block
70 NW Couch St. @ NW 1st Ave, Portland, OR

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In the lead up to next week’s Coroflot Creative Confab–this time held in the small but astoundingly design-y city of Portland, Oregon–we’re individually introducing each of the event’s panelists, as we did for last month’s New York installment.

The first of our four panelists to get the Two Questions treatment this time around is Chelsea Vandiver, who heads up the Communications Design Group at Portland-based, internationally focused, multi-disciplinary design studio Ziba. In an industry known for instability and frequent shifts of locale and title, Chelsea has managed to stick with the award-winning consultancy for a decade now, creating print, web and environments for clients as diverse as P&G, Nike and FedEx, and building an innovative, flexible 12-person design team in the process.

1. A lot of effort is made by many studios to retain good designers, but you’ve mentioned it’s sometimes advantageous to let a restless employee move on, knowing they may return further down the line. When is this a good idea, and why?

Working at a design studio is not that different from being in a relationship. Commitment is essential to producing great work. The designer and employer must meet each other’s needs in order for it to work. Every design studio has a unique culture and body of work, just like every designer has a unique personality and style. We’re all looking for the perfect match. When things don’t work out, it’s important to not take it personally. The chemistry just didn’t work, and chemistry is essential to the creative process.

I view turnover in the creative industry as normal and essential to the growth of the designers and the design studios. The circulation of design talent in Portland makes our design community tighter, our work better and keeps our creatives happy.

2. Ziba got its start as an Industrial Design consultancy, but has since expanded into a number of other, related fields. As head of the Communications Design group, how do you convince applicants that their work will be valued as much as at a straight-up graphic design studio?

I don’t. Truth be told, work will not be put on a pedestal here. Designers who come to Ziba, come for collaboration. Their work is one piece in a larger puzzle. We are offering them the opportunity to be part of something bigger.

Honesty is crucial in an interview for both parties. If I set false expectations, I will be setting the designer up for failure and disappointment.

Vandiver, along with three other top-of-their-field designers and recruiters, will be pulling from her extensive design, hiring, and team management experience during her hour on the Confab panel. The event also offers the chance to meet and trade notes with some of the best design firms and creative professionals in the Pacific Northwest. See the Confab page over on Coroflot for more details, and registration information.

Coroflot’s Creative Employment Confab
Thursday, June 11th, 2:30-6pm
University of Oregon, Portland – White Stag Block
70 NW Couch St. @ NW 1st Ave, Portland, OR

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If you’re in New York this weekend, industrial designer Malcolm Fontier is launching his latest travel bag collection with a special silent auction of custom painted bags by a range of talented artists to raise money for the Dress For Success non-profit organization. The exhibition in Tribeca will open at noon and the party kicks off at 7pm. More details here.

Saturday, June 6th, 2009
Solefood
38 Lispenard St. (btwn. Broadway & Church)
New York, NY 10013

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Hot on the heels of the highly-energetic, highly-crowded (140+ person) New York City installment of the Creative Employment Confab, Coroflot is bringing the panel + networking event to the City of Roses in its only Pac NW appearance, Thursday, June 11 at the University of Oregon’s White Stag Block in Old Town.

As before, the event will run for three hours, feature ample opportunity for networking with local creative professionals and recruiters, and center on an engaging panel discussion with some of Portland’s top designers and design recruiters. We’ll be spotlighting each of the panelists over the next week, but you can get start getting yourself acquainted right here:

Chelsea Vandiver – Head of the Communications Design Group at Ziba

Beth Sasseen – Senior Design Recruiter at Nike

Nick Oakley – Industrial Design Lead for Mobile Platforms at Intel

Kirk James – Creative Director at Cinco Design

In addition, there will be a limited number of dedicated Recruiter packages available for design-driven companies looking to establish a presence at the event — check the registration page for details.

Coroflot’s Creative Employment Confab
June 11th, 2:30-6 pm
The White Stag Block
70 NW Couch St. in Portland, OR

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