Designing in the Wild: The Industrial Design Podcast

Designing in the Wild is the podcast where industrial designers, inventors, and changemakers reveal how they turn messy, real-world constraints into market-ready solutions. Each episode unpacks the mindsets, methods, and aha-moments behind sustainable innovation—whether it’s re-thinking plastics, hacking circular supply chains, or simply sketching faster under pressure. If you’re passionate about design’s role in a resilient future (and can’t resist a good behind-the-scenes story), this is your campfire.

“Real-world design stories for a world that needs better ones.”

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Episodes

#012 Season 2: Robert Irwin - Senior Industrial Designer, Founder of LearnIndustrialDesign.com, Principal Sustainability Consultant at irwindesigned

Senior Industrial Designer Rob Irwin charts two decades of sustainable practice, from biomimetic lawn-dart redesigns to net-zero houses with $12 power bills. Along the way he demystifies lifecycle thinking : extraction, processing, manufacturing, distribution, use, upgrades, end-of-life, and transport. Rob critiques the limits of current LCA tools—“CO₂ is not the whole story”—and spotlights hidden health impacts like polyester microfibers. He closes with a challenge to designers: treat environme...

May 01, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 12

#011 Season 2: Jason Belaire - IDSA Chair(2021-2022) | Belworld Creative, INC. Talks of living abroad, childhood abuse, empathy, social projects around the world, and sustainability

In this episode we speak to Jason Belaire about being different, cultural shock, designing amidst new cultures, sustainability, and the need for more to be educated on the direct impact the industrial design profession has on our environment, communities, and thought process. Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Sep 28, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 11

#010: Andre Brown - Principal Engineer on Amazon's Transportation Sustainability Team - Digital vs. Physical Prototyping, Creating Flat Hierarchies within Teams, Innovating Faster, Designing in Virtual Reality, Eggs and Vacuum Cleaners, Procedural Design.

Digital vs. Physical: When to Prototype—and When to Simulate Andre Brown, Principal Engineer on Amazon’s Transportation Sustainability team (and former Shark/Dyson R&D lead), joins Rob to unpack the art of knowing which problems need cardboard, which need CFD, and which belong in VR . From drag-cutting truck fairings and crowd-sourced race-car CAD to Dyson’s “egg-inspired” robot vacuum, Andre shows why flat hierarchies, cross-discipline sketch-offs, and procedural design tools accelerate inn...

Mar 01, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 10

#009 - Unleashing Creativity Through User-Driven Storytelling - Sam Feller - Human-Centered Engineering, Team Management, Tracking Deliverables, Tactics for Problem Solving

Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Feb 21, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 9

#008: Blood In The Water: Americas Assault on Innovation - Kip Doyle - Patent Process, Product Innovation, Defending Patents, Napkin Sketch to Manufacturing

We sit down and speak with the amazing, Kip Doyle - Author, Inventor, Patent Defender. We talk about her painful story of inventing a product and then going up against Big Tech to defend her patents. She offers up invaluable insights on how to go about protecting your IP, which lawyers to hire, and her new book release, Blood In The Water: America's Assault on Innovation. BOOK LINK: https://amzn.to/3LxUm3Y CONTACT Email: ANGRYMOB@BLOODINTHEWATER.COM Instagram: @cardsharkwalletskin OTHER REFERENC...

Feb 14, 2022•59 min•Ep. 8

#007: It's Time We Start Thinking Beyond the User - Dan Griner - Director of Design, Innovation, and Strategy at University of Colorado Denver

Dan comes to the interview with a level of humility for design that we all should aspire. In this episode we walk the path of Dan's story from accident to excellence. We talk about the responsibility that designers have to go beyond just making the pretty object and expand into realms of meta-design to go beyond just the end user and truly think in terms of a products life cycle, cradle to cradle. Contact Info Dan Griner daniel.griner@ucdenver.edu / https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangriner/ www.the...

Feb 07, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 6

#006: The Creators Revolution + Mid-Week Update - February 2, 2022

Creative disciplines have been undervalued since the industrial revolution began. I drop a quick anecdote to the misunderstood values industrial design offers...and catch you up on what's next! Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Feb 02, 2022•5 min

#005: Industrial Designer Turned Concept Artist, Todd Hebenstreit - Facebook Oculus Designer, VR aficionado, UI/UX Savant, Analog to Digital, Game Design, Era Specific Influence, and Process

Buckle up! This ones a longer format interview, but much warranted. We talk with Todd Hebenstreit, a Graffiti Artist, turned, Industrial Designer, turned Concept Artist. He's worked for Dell, Facebook (Oculus Rift), and others influencing the gaming industry for nearly two decades. We dig into his story talk about through how he navigated his way through the nascent ages of UI/UX, software evolution, and pull out techniques for digital concept creation. He's just an all around badass. Have ideas...

Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 5

Mid-Week Update - January 27, 2022

Quick drop on what I've been up to behind the scenes at, Designing In The Wild, and what to expect in the coming weeks. You won't want to miss out! Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Jan 27, 2022•2 min

#004: Why We Need to Be Tinkering More: Industrial Designer Jorge Paricio - Open-Ended Exploration, Sketching and Ideation, Material Knowledge, Confirmation Bias, and Getting Out To Talk With End Users.

Jorge Paricio - We talk, self-discovery through exploring, failing, and experimenting more! Being a mentor, and being mentored. How to start your own tinker shop, Human factors, Why 200 sketches are better than 2 polished renderings, Speaking with end-users in order to make a better product, Confirmation Bias, The evolution of Industrial Design, and Tools for the trade. Jorge is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut. He's taught as a full time teacher at the Art Insti...

Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 4

#003: Getting A Design Job Out Of College

Your host, Rob Irwin gives you pointers taken from his experience navigating his first design job straight out of college. He offers practical knowledge and tips for nailing your first job as a designer. Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Jan 21, 2022•9 min•Ep. 3

#002: Rob Irwin Takes Us On His Journey To Becoming An Industrial Designer

Your host, Rob Irwin introduces himself and his story. He takes us on a journey to becoming an Industrial Designer, the mentors he had along the way, and the epiphany that shook him back to the calling of Design. Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Jan 17, 2022•19 min•Ep. 2

#001: Do you really want to listen to this Podcast?

A quick heads up on what this podcast is all about, so you can decide if it's the right time for you to...level up! Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show

Jan 14, 2022•2 min•Ep. 1

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