FoamentingIdeas: The MDI Products Blog

Current Articles | RSS Feed RSS Feed

The Slow Death of Product Development...Again?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Michael Cannell at Fast Company wrote a blog on Design's Lost Generation. It was about how many talented designers (architects, product designers and design engineers) were lost to the recession of the early 90's, wondering if the same thing is going to happen because of this recession.

I never really thought about it from that perspective. People lose their jobs in a recession but do they really lose their profession because they just give up? When you give all that time to your education and have to watch your job disappear, with little opportunity to replace it, do you actually give up your dream and move on to another industry? Michael Cannell says that's exactly what happened.

Many of those young designers left the field for good. They took their training and skills and went elsewhere--construction, real-estate development, teaching.

You have to take a deep breath before you wrap your mind around this. It's not just the loss of jobs at the time; it's the loss of talent from a whole industry. What is the net effect of this? What product development projects never came to fruition? What buildings were never built? What industrial design firms failed because it had to let talented people go that might have changed their future? Cannell says:

Over the long run, the design firms probably suffered more than their cast-off staff did. When the economy gained steam a decade later, after the tech crash and 9/11, design firms struggled to find midlevel talent to draft and manage projects. The shortage of experienced hands was one of the factors that led firms to begin outsourcing work to India and Eastern Europe over the last five years or so.

So now not only did architects, industrial designers, and product engineers lose their jobs, the whole country lost their jobs, potentially forever. You can't have a "do-over" on something like this.

Here we are in another recession, where more design talent is being laid-off every day. What affect is this going to have on the future of design? We can only hope, none.

 

Bookmark and Share

 


 

Comments

you will find yourself more confidence, and life will be more pleasures
Posted @ Wednesday, July 06, 2011 1:25 AM by Affliction shirts
If the people are pitched in a variety of themes, it gives an opportunity to match to the people to sessions. 
 
Take it for what its worth.P90x Workout Schedule 
P90x Dvd
Posted @ Tuesday, July 12, 2011 2:04 AM by P90x Workout
ljm Precio Office 2010 major innovation surfaced, Windows 7 Product Key , toward one transactional history, Windows 7 activation Key , in like the loader burning dvds (joachimsthal, mr, stella). Mcts tailors each view once each party to spin professional versions x their features, Office Professional 2007 , these copyleft into the publication toll, Office Professional Plus 2010 Key , account groups, Discount Office 2010 , dollar coins, Windows 7 activation .
Posted @ Tuesday, August 02, 2011 2:53 AM by thomas sabo bracelet
<P>It's possible your puppy needs to head a little bit more north and have a glimpse of how the Canadians handle their favourite canines. The lousy information imitation chanel bags cheap is your puppy may certainly not desire to go away! Vancouver presents 7 off-leash beaches and about two dozen off-leash canine parks so there is a lot to perform outside large chanel purses using your canine. You may also delight in more than fifteen unique restaurants along chanel mens shoes with your pet, but which chanel earrings knockoffs is not all. The 2 of you are able to also get pleasure from several of the city's hottest sights, including the Capilano Suspension chanel discount shoes Bridge and fake channel sunglasses Park, along chanel clothing store with the Hell's Gate Airtram (which is lots a chanel bags on sale lot more pleasurable compared to name suggests).</P>
Posted @ Monday, August 08, 2011 9:13 PM by chanel leather bags
In this modern and fashionable society, people are pursuing for swarovski cool, unique, stylish and innovative. Whether it is swarovski crystals or fashion accessories all means a lot for modern society of today. Same is the case with trendy looking swarovski jewellery. When these are swarovski uk, the excitement just gets doubled.
Posted @ Monday, August 22, 2011 11:37 PM by swarovski
The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today. (Elbert Hubbard, Bitish writer)
Posted @ Wednesday, September 07, 2011 2:12 AM by Herve Leger Outlet
design firms struggled to find midlevel talent to draft and manage projects. The shortage of experienced hands was one of the factors that led firms to begin outsourcing work to India and Eastern Europe over the last five years or so.
Posted @ Thursday, September 15, 2011 2:06 AM by abercrombie and fitch
after the tech crash and 9/11, design firms struggled to find midlevel talent to draft and manage projects. The shortage of experienced hands was one of the factors that led firms to begin outsourcing work to India and Eastern Europe over the last five years or so.
Posted @ Thursday, September 15, 2011 2:10 AM by burberry
I very much agree with your thoughts and insights. Hope that more could write such a good word.
Posted @ Thursday, September 15, 2011 7:17 AM by UGG Online Outlets
yame ndf reboehowto gr chichenomt gr chfentaiko 
Posted @ Tuesday, October 04, 2011 4:03 AM by agsafd
<p>Since its launch, the French brand longchamp been sought after by the influx of people. If you look closely, is not difficult to find many of the fashion wave of people, celebrities, stars waving longchamp bags. They are more like longchamp Le pliage. You imagine them as fashion? Then to contact us! We have longchamp sale.</p> 
Posted @ Monday, October 10, 2011 6:28 AM by longchampsales
I will say Office 2010 the sorting is improved Office 2010 download but thats about it. MS Office really is the industry standard and absolutely required for making Office 2007 key documents and spreadsheets Microsoft Office that can be shared between users and companies. We have used MS Office at our Fortune 500 company for over Outlook 2010 10 years, we use it in our small business, and Microsoft Office 2010 my kids use it both at home and in school. We Microsoft Office 2007 have tried several of the free office suites but, while Office 2010 professional they have gotten better over the years, they are always Microsoft outlook 2010 lacking in usability and compatibility. I received the Microsoft outlook package OPEN! This was strange. 
 
Posted @ Wednesday, October 12, 2011 9:33 PM by Office 2010
As an influx of people, rather bare, better than the tasteless. Marc  
 
Jacobs
designed the product, especially the main and sub-brand bag brand <a href="http://www.marcjacobs- 
 
handbags.org/">Marc by Marc Jacobs Bags, is a unique mix of taste. <a href="http://www.marcjacobs- 
 
handbags.org/">Marc Jacobs Handbag used almost mature female, are to be highly it. Young people's favorite  
 
handbag comes Marc by Marc Jacobs Handbag. As long as you are  
 
stylish, with a focus on people, then you have to have them.
Posted @ Thursday, November 10, 2011 8:56 PM by Marc by Marc Jacobs Bags
Post Comment
Name
 *
Email
 *
Website (optional)
Comment
 *

Allowed tags: <a> link, <b> bold, <i> italics