Strategies for Securing a Long-Term Success in Design: Professional Tips from Kevin Bethune
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Kevin Bethune, a seasoned designer and VP of Strategic Design at BCGDV, shares his insights on the importance of design, empathy, and staying ahead in the rapidly evolving world of VR and AR technology.
Bethune, who found his passion for design mid-career as a mechanical engineer, emphasizes the significance of contextualizing design work to help others understand the rationale behind it. To gain management buy-in for more investment in design and design teams, he suggests creating evidence of the design team's impact on projects and clients.
When it comes to VR and AR design opportunities, Bethune advises designers to build foundational skills in 3D modeling, user experience (UX) design, and interaction design specific to immersive environments. Gaining familiarity with VR/AR development tools such as Unity or Unreal Engine, and learning programming, like C# for Unity, is also crucial.
Staying updated on hardware developments and platform capabilities is essential for designing experiences that take advantage of the latest technology. Understanding human factors in immersive environments, including spatial awareness and user comfort, is equally important.
Creating a portfolio showcasing VR/AR projects, emphasizing creativity and technical proficiency, is key to showcasing one's abilities. Engaging with the VR/AR community through workshops, meetups, and online forums can provide valuable insights into best practices and emerging trends.
Bethune predicts that in the next 5-10 years, organizations will require teams to make sense of industry trends and use these indicators to elevate user experiences. He also believes that the demand for human connection will increase as new technologies offer designers opportunities for immersive human connection.
Bethune encourages designers to never stop learning and to master the fundamentals while also investigating their curiosities to build their breadth of knowledge. He is offering an advanced course on How to Design for Augmented and Virtual Reality to upskill designers for niche design opportunities in the VR and AR world.
In addition, Bethune will be hosting a webinar on Disruptive Design to help designers learn how to find the right balance of breadth and depth for themselves and their organizations. He advises designers to assume good intent and accommodate other professionals in their process, creating room for learning curves of other departments.
Bethune's journey into design began as stretch assignments, working on footwear design and innovation projects under the mentorship of Nike's design team. He later pursued a Masters of Science in Industrial Design at the ArtCenter College of Design to formalize his creative foundation. As VP of Strategic Design at BCGDV, Bethune led a team of strategic designers who influenced corporate ventures (startups) with large enterprise clients.
Bethune wishes he understood sooner the organizational psychology and political paradigms that exist within corporations in respect to how they view design. Nevertheless, his insights and experiences make him a valuable resource for designers looking to navigate the complexities of the design world and stay ahead in the VR and AR landscape.
- To stay ahead in the VR and AR landscape, designers are advised to build foundational skills in areas like 3D modeling, user experience (UX) design, and interaction design specific to immersative environments.
- Understanding human factors in immersive environments, such as spatial awareness and user comfort, is equally important for designers working in VR and AR technology.
- For designers looking to upskill and leverage opportunities in the VR/AR world, Kevin Bethune is offering an advanced course on How to Design for Augmented and Virtual Reality.
- As designers navigate the complexities of the design world, it's important to understand organizational psychology and political paradigms within corporations, according to Bethune, a valuable resource for designers in the industry.
