Our next Engineer Spotlight interview answers this time come from the Koenigsegg challenge winner Sylvain Gerber. Industrial designer by profession, here is an insight into the Frenchman's background, the design-engineering crossroads of his career and of course, his winning model.
GC: What is your background in engineering? Where/how did you start and which turn did your career take?
Sylvain: In fact ,I am not an engineer, I am an industrial designer. I studied product design for 4 years in CREAPOLE in Paris.
My first opportunity after graduation was working for L'Oreal where I improved my skills in style. It was also at this time when I started looking at 3D.
There was one person who did the 3D modelling for perfume bottles and I was completely fascinated by this world. From this, I realized that we could not do the design on one side and the technical development on the other. So I started to get closer to engineers in order to design products that are functional, aesthetic and ergonomic ... not forgetting the aspect of manufacturing and industrialization.
This took me to work as an industrial designer at Alcatel (French manufacturer of phones) and then in a design agency (7 years) where I worked on products that require a more technical approach.
For three years now I work in a mechanical engineering office as a designer but fully integrated into engineering teams. The engineers and designers are working together on a project which in my view really is the essential design cycle of a product: Design for engineering and engineering for design.
GC: Do you remember your first experience with CAD software? What was it and how easy/difficult was it to create a satisfactory model?
Sylvain: As said, my first meeting with CAD software was at L'Oreal in 1998. The person was using an old Silicon Graphics workstation!!! I love these machines ... they bring back good and bad memories and also symbolizes my beginning in 3D!!!
I remember that with the capricious machines handling the software (unigraphics) was not obvious! The main challenge was to try to show others that 3D could be a great tool to do the design and development of products.
Afterwards I turned to 3D software such as Rhino, a bit of Alias and now I work mostly in SolidWorks for reasons of integrating my work and the work of engineers.
GC: In your opinion what are the critical skills of a product engineer today? The core physics/maths knowledge? Keeping up with all the innovation in materials? Being a fast learner of all CAD software? Expanding skills to design (all the rendering and animation is becoming more and more popular)?
Sylvain: It is true that today everything goes very fast and technology is evolving at an impressive speed. As a designer, I try to stay tuned and pay attention to these developments especially for staying innovative in the way I approach the product design.
Concerning CAD software, from my point of view, I think we need to keep abreast of major changes in software. It is true that the tendency is to adapt to market requirements. Each client uses its software (CATIA, SolidWorks, Pro-E etc ...) and we must ensure to evolve on the same platform.
I also think that among the wide variety of software, it is necessary to choose and develop these skills on one software, the one that fits you best - in my case I chose Solidworks. I find it easy to learn and flexible. I can not fix my design too early and the software leaves me a margin for experimenting with different shapes before I focus on the technical and industrial aspects.
Concerning renders ... It's one of my favorite parts! I love it when I get to this project phase. I've always loved making renders and software in recent years have made a great leap forward! Previously we had to wait hours to make a render and there was no certainty that it will end up meeting our expectations!
Today, the software incorporates the real time technology and the bridge between CAD software and render software is more and more seamless. It all goes faster and ends with more and more beautiful renders!!!
I attach great importance to the renders. This is the final step of the project and a poor render can give a bad impression of your concept. Communicating ideas, concept or design is always as important as the concept itself.
As with rendering software, the spectrum is very wide and you must choose the software that fits your needs. I especially like KeyShot & Shot. I find them very suitable for our needs. They allow you to import many different file types. I feel that the world of renders with these two software has finally turned to Design and Engineering. I can spend hours refining the textures and lighting... I use a lot HDRI maps to give an overall ambience to my renders. And I also spend a lot of time on the composition - it is important to boost the image.
I approach each render with a clear idea of what I want and act really like a photographer who will prepare a shooting. After rendering I always make a turn in Photoshop for the final adjustments for the final composition.
For animation it goes a bit of the same way as with rendering. I would even say that it is a rendering extension. This is really the icing on the cake! I use a lot Showcase that allows making animation simply and effectively. The great strength of this software is the ability to edit configurations.
GC: You seem to work on a lot of product concept ideas. How does this creative process look like for you?
Sylvain: It is true that I have the chance to work on very different projects but the process is still the same most of the time. The creative process is different for everyone, everyone is influenced by different things. My research generally revolves around the automotive, mechanical, nature, cinema, SciFi ... everything around me and everything that suits my mood of the moment!!
In general I always start by fixing the limits imposed on me by the specifications. Then I do an overview of different technologies that can be used. As I am very attached to the mechanical and industrial aspect, I immediately consult the engineers on the project to make sure that everything is possible and that everyone works in the same direction. At the same time I make sketches (hand made or on my Wacom that I love!)
I use a Cintiq and Autodesk Sketchbook for my research. I like to experiment and try different directions and this software is the perfect tool to do that! A project does not contain a single solution and the step of design sketching is crucial and allows me to explore many ideas.
I try several tools during the initial process: markers, large brushes, thumb sketches. All this just to try to find innovative shapes, and sometimes I come with an “happy design accidents”! At the end of this step I synthesize & fix my ideas!
Then this is time to start with 3D! I like to make 3D when the drawings will finally take a third dimension! It is also the time when the engineers and designers meet the most. There are discussions and idea exchange on the project, the team evokes all these issues together and only together we find the solutions.
I have seen too many projects where designers and engineers do not communicate and the result is that the project is disappointing or bad.
GC: What have been the most challenging projects so far? The most rewarding?
Sylvain: The project that I remember is the "Alcatel one touch easy." It was my first challenge as it was really the first time I was alone on the design of a project. It's true that this design can make you smile today but in 2000 Alcatel was trying to stand out from Nokia by proposing a design which gave the product a friendlier look. This product has worked well in France as well and it symbolizes my view of the design because Alcatel already had working engineers and designers in teams on projects.
GC: The Koenigsegg challenge - we're all keen to hear what it took to end up with the winning model. How many hours and handle versions did you work on before finishing the final model? What kind of research, if any, did you do? Any advice would you give to the future participants of the challenges?
Sylvain: Once again thanks to GrabCad and Koenigsegg for this great challenge! I spent five days or five nights I have to say for the all work. This includes my research, 3D modelling, rendering and retouching and video with Showcase.
I really tried to approach this contest as I usually do for all the projects I'm working on. First I accumulated a lot of information about Koenigsegg. I already knew the cars but I was looking for who they are and what is the philosophy of the brand. I did some sketches to find a track that would correspond to both the car and my interpretation.
I tried to keep the sporting spirit of the brand combined with the performance of the car.
Also, I found the design was very structured and Koenigsegg cars have a very strong identity. It is important to me to propose a design that will integrate with the car maintaining its identity and its main lines. I like when everything is in continuity and each curve of the handle must imperatively integrate into its environment. With the same approach I also tried to take the industrial constraints given by Koenigsegg into account.
That's what I tried to transcribe into my design for this challenge. The most important thing in my opinion is the start of a project. This is where it all happens! Before starting modeling you really have to do research, make sketches, especially on cars projects where design and engineering should coexist in harmony.
GC: If you could work with any engineering/design people in the world, who would you choose? Who's you'r dream team?
Sylvain: This is a hard question!!! There are so many people or companies that I want to work with and the list grows every day! Companies like HTC, Sony, Samsung, Lamborghini. Sports brand like Adidas, Nike, and more and more!!!!
If I had to choose I think I would build a team with Syd Mead (which for me is a super reference), Ron Arad, Scott Robertson, Daniel Simon, James Dyson, Raymond Loewy and I forget a lot!
What impresses me is the quantity of new ideas all the designers or companies are able to produce and the ability to constantly renew.
GC: If you could re-engineer or design any product ever created that millions of people use today, what would it be and why?
Sylvain: All right! I think if I had the opportunity, I would go back in time to 1979 to Sony to work on the design of the first Walkman: the Sony TPS-L2. The Walkman (not exactly this model because I was too young) is the first thing I bought myself as a kid and I remember that I really had the feeling of having a concentration of technology in my hands!
When I think about it, I told myself that the guys who designed the Walkman really lived on another planet! This period should be really exciting. This product is the perfect synthesis between the design and engineering.
GC: Final insights about engineering and design in France - what are the latest cool trends and expertise for which the Frenchmen stand out compared to other countries in the world?
Sylvain: Hard to say if the designers and engineers in France have an edge over other nations. There are so many talents in France like everywhere in the world. If I had to find something, I would say that perhaps everything related to luxury is something the French pay more attention to. This is an area in which the French seem to be good!
On the latest trends in design and engineering, I would say that fashion is in 'green design and eco-conception'. But hard to say that it is a French movement because today all trends tend to be global anyway!
Many thanks to Sylvain for taking time for this interview. If you'd like to learn anything more about him, leave your questions in the comments. Also, take a look at his GrabCAD and personal portfolio for more images of the design projects Sylvain has done.
