Author
Symmons Industries
This week, we have the pleasure of recapping our interview with Mike Daikubara, industrial design expert and brand development champion at Symmons Industries.
Symmons: What duties does your role at Symmons include?
Mike: I’m responsible for industrial design, as well as brand development. Whether it is the development of a 3-dimensional product or a 2-dimensional graphic, my job is to deliver something our customers will value while also elevating the overall Symmons brand. This is a very exciting and challenging position, and that’s what makes my job enjoyable.
Symmons: How has your time here changed your outlook on design and the design industry?
Mike: A great deal has changed. While I still do a large portion of the hands-on execution, I also guide, mentor, and set direction for other designers and interns. I believe a portion of design leadership is about being able to let go of the small details so that other designers can provide their own input. This is balanced with not losing sight of the larger picture and the ultimate design intent.
Also, I used to be fascinated with competition winners within the design industry. I still tune in with what is happening, but now I’m much more focused and interested in meeting our customers’ needs instead of designing a product that is going to win a competition.
Symmons: How do industrial design and graphic design overlap?
Mike: I was trained as a traditional industrial designer, but I’ve always had a need to visually communicate my 3D designs. This is where using the principles of 2D graphics became powerful. Most 3D products have a strong association with graphics, whether it is the logos on the actual product, the interface for digital products, or the many marketing materials. An understanding of both 3D and 2D disciplines makes it easier for the product and support materials to work together cohesively. For the past 10 years, I have been working on my master’s degree in graphic design taking one class a year. Although it has been a slow journey, the ability to immediately apply what I learn in class to real-world situations here at Symmons has been excellent.
Symmons: Has your work at Symmons ever inspired any of your personal artwork?
Mike: At the fundamental level, I see design as an act of trying to solve problems for other people. When I design for Symmons, I am trying to solve for our customers’ needs. I am successful when the customer is happy. However, when I create art outside of work, I am mostly trying to solve for my personal needs. I am successful when I am happy.
Symmons: Is there any advice you’d like to give to any aspiring designers out there?
Mike: I have three tips for aspiring designers:
- Never lose your curiosity. I believe having a rabbit-sense curiosity is what makes designers special. It’s being able to look at the world and always maintaining a fascination for everything, making ties between unrelated things, and constantly asking, “Why?”
- Learn to visually communicate fast. Basically, learn to sketch. This is not about being able to draw well but, instead, being able to communicate efficiently and effectively through sketching.
- Learn empathy. Design is about being able to solve other peoples’ problems. Without understanding how others feel, this is hard to do.
Symmons: What’s one thing you love most about working at Symmons?
Mike: I get to work on everything design.
Symmons: What is your favorite hobby outside of work?
Mike: My favorite hobby is sketching, mainly “urban” sketching, which is the act of sketching on-location from direct observation. It’s a hobby I started in 2000 in order to communicate better and faster as a designer, which then turned into my passion. Now I sketch for the pure enjoyment of it.
I’m also excited to mention that my book on my sketching philosophy and techniques has been published by Quarry books. You can find my book here! I have a fascination with drawing the hotel rooms I stay in by measuring and drawing to scale. It started out as a small hobby in 2006, but since then I have drawn every single room I stayed in, now counting over 120 rooms. I have stayed in numerous hotels equipped with Symmons fixtures. This has been helpful in seeing what interior design trends work well with our products. I self-published this book in 2012, and I’ll be working on the second edition of the book soon.
Symmons: If you were moving to a desert island and could only take three items, what would they be?
Mike: My sketchbook, fountain pen, and watercolor kit!
