‍Take Apart Day

Isis Shiffer led a fun hands-on workshop at Parsons School of Design on taking apart everyday consumer products — an afternoon where we disassemble products to understand how they're engineered and manufactured. It's one of our favorite things to do as a team: reverse engineering physical products is one of the fastest ways to understand what good product design and manufacturing actually require. The most interesting moments are always the ones where something looks simple from the outside and turns out to be anything but.

Sherry Chiu  judged for the IDSA Student Merit Award presentations at New Jersey Institute of Technology. ‍

Evaluating product design work from the outside is a different exercise than doing it — it forces you to articulate the things that make a physical product succeed or fail, which is useful for any designer working in product development.

"Guest judging reminded me of the contagious energy, curiosity, and idealism of students — they're all way sharper than I ever was, and now one's off to the finals!" - Sherry Chiu

Careers in Industrial Design — WID NYC Panel at NYU

Our founder Isis Shiffer joined a panel at NYU organized by WID NYC, IDSA's Women in Design New York City chapter. The conversation was an honest look at what careers in industrial design actually involve — how designers get into the field, what product design work looks like day to day, how studios operate, and the parts of the job that don't make it onto anyone's portfolio. The students came with good questions and the discussion went to real places.

Thank you to WID NYC for the invitation and for building community for women and allies in design across New York. These conversations matter.

Spitfire Industry is a full-service industrial design and product development studio based in Brooklyn, NY. We work with brands and founders from concept through manufacturing.

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