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Published by Robert Irwin
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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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 environmental criteria as a primary design requirement, right alongside cost, form, and function. Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
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
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 innovation. If you juggle human factors, aerodynamics, and sustainability, this episode is your playbook. Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
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 REFERENCES USInventor.org cardsharkskin.com Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
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.theidpodcast.co https://www.patreon.com/theIDpodcast Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
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
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 or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
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
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 Institute of Colorado, for 6 years, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Online Division, and was Senior guest critic at the Rhode Island School of Design for 14 years. He's also designed products for Colgate-Palmolive, and continues to be mentor for industrial design students at UCONN and beyond. www.theidrender.com www.renderinginteriors.com Books 1. Hybrid drawing techniques for interior design, Routledge. (https://amzn.to/3KxQpMt) 2. Perspective Sketching, Freehand and Digital Drawing Techniques for Artists and Designers, Rockport. (https://amzn.to/3FWEFPV) 3. Ungrading, Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do instead), by Susan D. Blum. (https://amzn.to/3nPQLEw) 4. Sketching by Koos Eissen and Roselien Steur, and Sketching The Basics 5. Design Sketching by Erik Olofsson and Klara Sjolen. How to Render:the fundamentals of light, shadow and reflectivity. Have ideas or just want to say hi, shoot me a note. Support the show
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
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
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
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Observed September 20, 2026.
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