Icsid is pleased to introduce the 2016 World Industrial Design Day Youth Ambassador, Ms. Yolandi Schreuder. Yolandi graduated in 2012 from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and is now co-director of …XYZ Design. Look out for her upcoming Twitter chat next month! (Details to follow…)

Q: What made you decide to become an industrial designer?

I recall having a strange allurement towards design since the age of 12. I used to have an affinity for iconic designs. I had an innate connection to design objects, such as furniture, lighting, etc., that I used to admire in décor and design magazines. I never knew that the career of industrial design actually existed at that age, but knew it wasn’t interior design or architecture that I wanted to do. When I was 15 years old, I went for an aptitude test, and industrial design came out on top. The rest is history.

Q: In your opinion, what types of people are best suited for the profession of industrial design? What is a typical industrial designer like?

A multi-talented problem-solver with an eye for detail, appreciation for craftsmanship, and someone who likes to push the limits of material and manufacturing methods. A belief that nothing is impossible. A designer eats, sleeps, and breathes design.

Q: Where did you study industrial design and what was the most important thing you learned?

I studied industrial design in Cape Town (World Design Capital 2014) under the mentorship of the “Madiba of Industrial Design”, Prof. Mugendi M’Rithaa. What I learnt was that during your holidays, do as much industry related work as possible, whether it is job shadowing, or internships in other fields within the creative industry.

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Never be afraid to ask well respected and experienced entrepreneurs for advice or sponsorship, the absolute worst that can happen is that they can say, “no”.

It’s important to stimulate your creativity, visit museums, attend design related events and network, network, network! It really is about whom you know.

Never be afraid to ask well respected and experienced entrepreneurs for advice or sponsorship, the absolute worst that can happen is that they can say, “no”.

Q: What do you believe are the major obstacles or challenges for young industrial designers today from a professional standpoint? Are there additional challenges for women in the profession?

Often companies want to employ junior designers, but expect them to have a mid-level designer’s experience. Therefore, it is recommended to gather as much work experience as possible during one’s studies.

In South Africa, the industrial design industry is still rather young compared to other countries. It often happens that people assume that you are an interior designer, a graphic designer, or an architect, simply because they aren’t aware of the industrial design profession. On numerous occasions, people see various everyday products such as a toothbrush as “something that has just been there”, and take this for granted.

They tend to forget that it started from an idea, or a need, which was developed into a concept and prototype before it turned into an aesthetic, yet practical object.

I use these opportunities to educate people about design. A life without design is impossible to imagine. Even in the earliest signs of human existence, there is evidence of innovation by the creation of hand tools.

With regards to being a woman in design, I have had more opportunities than challenges in my experience. People have been rather helpful and open in sharing their skills and knowledge. I think it’s due to the fact that strangely enough, it’s still unexpected that a female would be seen in a factory, carry knowledge about machinery, or work with power tools… The result, in my experience, is that the men in my profession often go out of their way to assist and encourage women entering the profession.

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My aim is to stay true to what I believe in and to inspire women in design. I want to encourage women to pursue a career in design. There's something empowering about working with power tools and creating something with one's bare hands and knowing that you brought a concept to life.

Q: Tell us about the projects you are working on now.

We (myself and my life-partner, colleague, and new director of …XYZ Design) are currently busy with the manufacturing of a water filtration system to be used in rural areas, which has been developed by one of the leading universities in South Africa.

After two years of product development and user testing, we’ve also launched, LEA – the bike rack. It’s a wall-mounted bicycle storage system that cradles your bike and protects its rims. You simply have to roll the bike on, instead of having to lift it onto a hook, which damages your rim. LEA includes a strong built-in cable; you just have to provide your own lock.

Behind the scenes, we are busy with Baya – the DIY desk for kids, which was an inaugural World Design Impact Prize 2011 nominee.

I was also part of the production of a book, Upcycling: From Trash to Treasure (published September 2015 by Human & Rousseau)

Q: Of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals listed by the United Nations, which do you believe represent the most important challenges facing your generation today?

Although Clean Water and Sanitation is of extremely high importance, I believe Education is the answer to many of the world’s challenges. Education should serve as a foundation and should provide many solutions to the majority of the Sustainable Development Goals. Education leads to entrepreneurship, work opportunities, understanding and awareness of the environment, development of systems, creating solutions, having respect and empathy towards one another.

Q: Thinking of those most important challenges facing your generation, do you believe that industrial design is part of the solution?

Ironically, industrial design partly contributed to many of the challenges that we are facing today, thanks to mass production and consumerism. Industrial design can, however, be part of the solution. More than ever, we are equipped with knowledge available at the tip of our fingers, as well as technology and systems that can be cleverly developed and implemented in order to successfully address these challenges.

“Design, if it is to be ecologically responsible and socially responsive, must be revolutionary and radical in the truest sense. It must dedicate itself to… maximum diversity with minimum inventory… or doing the most with the least.”
– Victor Papanek, Design for the Real World

Q: What do you most love about industrial design?

The endless possibilities and divine relationships it has with various other industries. The networking behind it, and witnessing an idea literally come to life. The ultimate satisfaction is having the luxury of using one’s own product. Not one day is the same. My soul would possibly die within a corporate structure.

Q: As an industrial designer, what is your biggest dream?

To make a positive contribution to education through design and to put a smile on the user’s face, because of the efficiency of the product.

At the age of 26 I’m fortunate to say that I’ve already achieved a fair amount of my goals and dreams, but the ultimate tick on my design bucket list would be to see my own design in the MoMA.

Q: How do you see yourself working with Icsid to design for a better world?

Thus far, I’ve been honored to be part of Icsid’s inaugural World Design Impact Prize, representing World Design Capital Cape Town 2014, as brand ambassador at the MAK- Museum of Applied Art, Vienna as part of Nomadic Furniture 3.0 – New Liberated Living, and now the opportunity to be a WIDD ambassador.

My aim is to stay true to what I believe in and to inspire women in design. I want to encourage women to pursue a career in design. There’s something empowering about working with power tools and creating something with one’s bare hands and knowing that you brought a concept to life.

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