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

- Show: [Designing in the Wild](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild)
- Published: 2022-01-17
- Length: 19m
- Episode: 2
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2022-01-17-002-rob-irwin-takes-us-on-his-journey-to-becoming-an-industrial-designer

## Summary

Host Rob Irwin, an industrial designer with 17 years of experience and work for Fortune 500 companies, recounts his journey from a high school shop teacher's mentorship to a crisis of conscience triggered by Victor Papanek's 'Designing for the Real World.' After leaving college to pursue personal enlightenment and minimalist living, an epiphany during a tribal gathering led him to return to school with a focus on sustainability, biomimicry, and circular economies. He details how reading authors like Daniel Quinn, Bill McDonough, and Janine Benyus reshaped his approach to design, moving away from planned obsolescence toward responsible creation.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2022-01-17-002-rob-irwin-takes-us-on-his-journey-to-becoming-an-industrial-designer#t=0) Introduction and Early Influences
- [1:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2022-01-17-002-rob-irwin-takes-us-on-his-journey-to-becoming-an-industrial-designer#t=62) High School Mentorship and CAD

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Designing in the Wild (other)
- Art Institute of Colorado (other)
- HGTV (other)
- Tiny House Big Living (other)
- K-State (other)
- New Tribal Ventures (other)
- Eco Raw Tribal Gathering (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Design and Engineering Shouldn't Be Separate Islands | Pensar, Tactile, Mathscaper, Vector7 | Rob Leonard](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/tradeoffs/2026-07-27-design-and-engineering-shouldnt-be-separate-islands-pensar-tactile-mathscaper-ve) (TRADEOFFS)
- [8 - Evelio Mattos from Package Design Unbox'd](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2019-10-01-8-evelio-mattos-from-package-design-unboxd) (People of Packaging)
- [S2E14 How Knowing Nothing Can Make You a More Creative Engineer | Phnam Bagley](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-03-19-s2e14-how-knowing-nothing-can-make-you-a-more-creative-engineer-phnam-bagley) (Being an Engineer)
- [11 - Chris Davidson, PhD - Director of Corporate Sustainability from WestRock](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2019-11-27-11-chris-davidson-phd-director-of-corporate-sustainability-from-westrock) (People of Packaging)
- [5 - Brandi Parker from Pearlfisher](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2019-08-13-5-brandi-parker-from-pearlfisher) (People of Packaging)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2022-01-17-002-rob-irwin-takes-us-on-his-journey-to-becoming-an-industrial-designer. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Designing in the Wild.