Designing in the Wild · 28 Oct 2026 · 43m · Episode 6
Norio Fujikawa, Executive Director at PA Consulting and former founder of Astro Studios, discusses the evolution of industrial design over 30 years, emphasizing human-centered design, ethnographic research, and the critical collaboration between designers and engineers. He details his workflow from hand sketching with ballpoint pens and iPad Procreate to using AI visualization tools like Vizcom for rapid prototyping, while navigating the transition of his firm from a boutique consultancy to a division of the large engineering firm Jacobs. Fujikawa offers career advice for emerging designers, stressing the importance of curiosity, mentorship, and proactive networking in a challenging job market, and recommends books like 'Being and Belonging' and 'The Creative Act'.
Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.
PrototypingVizComprinted in hours
A designer converted a 2D sketch of a watch into a 3D file using VizCom and 3D printed the result in hours.
“one of our designers uh took a 2D sketch, took it into, I believe it was VizCom, then created a 3D file from that that uh VizCom file, and then actually 3D printed it in a matter of, I want to say hours.”
Norio Fujikawa · Hear it at 35:20
established companies
Other shows on the same ground, closest first.
Ian McEachern, founder of the product design firm Nerdy Incorporating, discusses his upcoming presentation at the PDX Product Development Expo. He contrasts the manual, clay-modeling methods used for the Jarvik 2000 LVAD with modern workflows that integrate 3D printing, advanced simulation, and automated testing to drastically reduce development cycles. McEachern emphasizes the importance of engineers understanding the broader industry landscape and leveraging new tools to accelerate the transition from fuzzy requirements to finished hardware.
Rob Leonard, founder of Vector7 and former leader at Pensar and Tactile, discusses the critical trade-off of integrating industrial design with engineering, arguing they should not be separate islands. He details his journey from IT to hardware, highlighting how his work at Orb Optronics and NextLighting led to leadership roles at Pensar and Tactile, where he championed holistic product development. Leonard also shares insights on his current consultancy, Vector7, and his art practice, Mathscaper, which uses CNC machining to create mathematical sculptures.
David Kelley, founder of IDEO and Stanford’s d.school, recounts his career from designing the 'Lavatory Occupied' sign at Boeing to collaborating with Steve Jobs on the first Apple mouse. He explains how IDEO merged to create a multidisciplinary design firm that popularized design thinking, prototyping, and flat organizational structures. Kelley discusses the challenges of balancing aesthetics with functionality, citing his non-functional Anormé telephone, and shares how IDEO helped transform corporate culture and even Peru’s education system through human-centered innovation.
Industrial designer and AI consultant Rupert Warries joins hosts Tom Constable and Phil Staunton to discuss how generative AI is transforming product design workflows. Warries explains how tools like Vizcom and ComfyUI allow designers to accelerate ideation and 3D rendering while managing stakeholder expectations regarding the realism of AI outputs. The conversation covers the legal ambiguities of AI training data, the risk of over-reliance on AI as a 'crutch', and the future impact of AI on design roles and hiring practices.
Joe Hebenstreit, CEO of Shaper, and Adi Rao, Product Lead at Shaper, discuss the evolution of Shaper Origin from its early prototyping days to its current ecosystem of hardware and software. They detail the development of Shaper Studio, a simplified digital design tool for craftspeople, and Plate, a precision jig that blends analog woodworking techniques with digital tracking. The conversation highlights Shaper's philosophy of augmenting human skill rather than replacing it, targeting both experienced woodworkers and digital natives.
The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Designing in the Wild. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.