If you have a passion for cars and want to become a car designer, what should you know to get you on the fast track to your dream career?
If you want a great job with one of the top car studios, you will need to do a course. The most sought after certification for a career in this field is a course in transportation design, which is a branch of product design or industrial design.
1. Choosing the best school for you
If you want a career as a car designer, you have to realize that you are going to be in great competition with a select few in the world. The competition actually begins with finding a place in a good school that offers this course. A school with a good reputation and good teaching staff should be your priority.
2. Prerequisite requirements for a good course
The most basic prerequisite requirement for acceptance into most car design courses will be an artistic and creative skill in two-dimensional drawing. A strong performance in high school art and design is quite important.
An aptitude for math and physics is the next key requirement, followed by an ability to fluently express yourself in writing, especially through dissertations, reports, and other academic articles.
Speaking and writing in a foreign language will be an added boost to your chances of acceptance into a good school.
Vast knowledge of cars will be very beneficial to you. Having access to a large pool of great cars can be helpful. Find a car seller like Ideal Auto USA. There you will be able to draw some cars, sell some cars and understand what car buyers are looking for. This can be helpful for your new car design career.
3. Your portfolio
Your portfolio should showcase your skills as much as possible. Whereas 2-D paper-to-pen skills are a must, it is becoming increasingly important to have computer skills in the common 2-D and 3-D design computer applications.
If you have other relevant artistic skills beyond 2-D work, be sure to showcase them in your portfolio in order to show your versatility.
4. The course
Most courses will take three or four years. Typically, the first year usually focuses on design theory, general industrial design, and drawing skills. The remaining time focuses on necessary specialized skills including presentation, model making, and computer skills. A period of internship with a design studio is often done especially with better schools.
If you cannot manage to get into a car design school, do not despair, some design shops have been known to hire from a broader design background including furniture design, graphics design, interior design, and even architectural design.
It is a common misconception that an engineering background is required for a good career as a car designer. The truth is that it is not – in fact the requirements are quite different. The rational and more scientific approach used in engineering can sometimes get in the way of the creative side of car design.
These four things are important but they are of course not the only important things you should know. Further research and a mentor can be very useful to fast-track your car design career.