Building careers out of clay
MIAD, GM team up to develop automotive modeling skills
Aflying squirrel, a cuttlefish, a cheetah and a triceratops skull — these are just a few things inspiring industrial design students at the Milwaukee Institute for Art & Design as they envision cars of the future.
The students have pulled together 50 to 60 sketches of shapes that might impress representatives from General Motors, who are offering critiques for the projects and may grab some talent for their team.
This is the first year GM and MIAD are officially partnered to develop automotive modeling skills. For Robyn Dohnke, GM’s creative sculpting model manager and a MIAD alumna, the effort is a way to educate and find talent in a highly specialized field at the crux of engineering and creative design.
“We’re really looking for the story,” Dohnke said. “We want to see the process and how they think.”
Although digital technology has made it easier for engineers to map out designs on computers, leaders at the Detroit-based company still like to see three dimensional ideas, such as the clay models the students will complete by the end of the semester.
“We can’t get rid of clay because it allows us to be fast and fluid,” Dohnke said.
The students work with members of the GM design team to sculpt a one-fifth-scale clay model they will present to company representatives. The mission is to create what is called a “speed form,” that includes the general shape of a car, without details like the grille and wheels.
“On a deeper level, GM is looking for a sensitivity to form,” said the course’s instructor, Joe Ellice, who manages the project on a week-to-week basis.
GM representatives made their third of four trips to campus Thursday evening, and students presented designs for the threedimensional models they plan to create by the end of the semester.
By the end of April, the students will be ready for the final critique of their models, including finished renderings and supportive sketches. The big prize, though, is the possibility of landing an internship at GM.
“I think this is awesome,” said Evan Hoffman, a junior studying industrial design. “It’s harder to find a job, so it’s great to get plugged in with businesses.”
MIAD is one of only a handful of schools offering classes in clay modeling design, placing it on the shortlist for schools that GM regularly visits. MIAD also has a number of alumni working at the automaker, helping to solidify the relationship between the two institutions.
John Caruso, an industrial design professor at MIAD, said clay modeling is a specialized designing skill with a long learning curve. It’s a skill that is gaining greater relevance in the design industry with the advent of three-dimensional scanning and printing technology.
“The digital front is all about making, not designing,” Caruso said. “But with clay, you can see the form — figure out the curve.”
Over the years, other businesses such as Harley-Davidson Inc. have supported the industrial design programs at MIAD.
“This is truly a student-focused program,” Caruso said. “It’s incredible mentorship.”