Designers Are Wankers

The opening chapter of Lee McCormack's extremely engaging manifesto/how-to book on becoming an industrial designer begins, "Don't be a wanker! Embrace what it means to be a professional designer. Making the transition from design student to successful creative often involves a lot of reassessment, adaptation and resignation--just when you thought you'd cracked it and got that qualification, you realize that your actual education starts here ." Written in plain and often playful English, and featuring chapter headings like, "How to relate to the business mind," "Clients, they write the cheques," "Manufacturers are a different breed," "Protecting your ideas," and "Identifying the sharks," this must-have bible for any aspiring designer also contains substantial interviews with Neville Brody, Jason Kirk, Karim Rashid, Piers Roberts and Paul Smith.