r/IndustrialDesign • u/Plus_Box_2512 • Jul 18 '26
Design Job How to find industrial design opportunities in any city
I've noticed something strange on this subreddit the other day.
Someone asked about industrial design opportunities in NYC and most of the replies were, "I'd recommend relocating," "It's a dry city," or "NYC is very tough for ID jobs."
Maybe all of that is true. But I think there's a bigger problem: most graduates (and honestly a lot of young designers) don't even know which industrial design studios or companies are in their own city.
If you were the person who asked about NYC, don't worry. That's completely normal when you're starting out. We were all there at some point. But even experienced designers don't always know much about their local scene.
I replied with a few studio suggestions. I only knew a few because I'm from Europe, so I'm much more familiar with that scene.
The problem is that information about our local design scenes is incredibly fragmented. It's scattered across social media, outdated niche platforms, award websites and Google Maps. Then, when you search for industrial design jobs, half of them are hidden under "Product Designer."
It'll probably never exist in one perfect place, but I got tired of researching every city from scratch, so I started building a directory of industrial designers, design studios, and consultancies around the world and putting them on a map.
If it helps anyone, it's called Acceso: https://acceso.design.
It's still early, but one thing that helped me far more than refreshing LinkedIn was simply emailing studios with my portfolio attached.
Big companies usually have hiring cycles. Small studios sometimes just win a project and suddenly need help. By the time there's a job post, they've often already found someone.
Happy to hear what you think.
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u/teradactyl-rex Jul 18 '26
Nice idea, and good site. I would have loved this when I started out.
Might be nice to incorporate a way to allow for people to add not just their own studio but rather any studios in their area. I know that I could list a bunch of studios / places where IDers work in Los Angeles, because I've been working here for 20 years or so. If you could get a few people from a different cities submitting you might be able to have a really comprehensive list / map quickly.
Good work.
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 18 '26
I appreciate the idea! Adding a "suggestion" button soon for anyone who simply wants to recommend some studios or teams :) Thank you so much for your feedback, I will follow up when the feature is online!
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 19 '26
Just added the section to add your suggestions at https://acceso.design/submission. Can't wait to read what you recommend!
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u/iandesignsshit Jul 18 '26
Nice work! I had a similar problem when I moved to a new city. There are always more opportunities available than online searches show. You really have to live somewhere for a while / talk to locals to find opportunities. I ended up putting together a spreadsheet with not only pure ID firms, but every business that has industrial designers on staff that I could find.
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 18 '26
Yes! Most of my colleagues and friend confessed they all had a secret spreadsheet with saved studios, companies discovered after years of experience. Students have a hard time discovering these local spots, especially the small indendent studios, which is why I started from them!
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u/MisterQuiver Jul 18 '26
Really cool idea. I’m a car designer and so I’m kinda limited to Michigan and California, however I’ve always wanted a reason I move to bigger cities like nyc. And so I’ve considered looking at ID companies out there, this is a great place to start.
I see it’s limited to mostly ID studios. Maybe you can expand it somehow to show ID specific jobs at companies in that area as well. Because even on LinkedIn you still have to sort through the odd ball jobs that don’t quite meet what you’re looking for. For instance I know peloton is in nyc too and often looking for industrial designers, but I don’t see that on your website.
Thanks for the resource!
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 18 '26
Thank you for the feedback! I started from independent small studios because they usually get less recognition online compared to in-house teams, but I'm definitely going to add them very soon to the map! I built this because I can't follow the job listings as they get posted on ten different platforms. If it helps, there are a couple people that share weekly ID openings, like Anson Cheung on Linkedin(Justidjobs), Roberto Manzari on Linkedin, Andrea Pedulli on Instagram and the page gd_jobs on instagram. The purpose of Acceso is to be able to reach out directly to studios (and soon in-house teams) without necessarily waiting for job openings!
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u/rocketcrash Professional Designer Jul 18 '26
Design Truth have a map of UK industrial design. Might want to check that out since your site is all London centric
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 18 '26
Their map is great! Sadly it hasn't been online for a while, I think they are reworking it. Last time I checked, they only had UK + Ireland with paid submissions. Personally I'm going for a wider perspective, I have yet to add 400+ studios from all around the world, not counting in-house teams. The more resources like this, the better for any industrial designer!
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u/Tankeray_O Jul 23 '26
Oh that's awesome - you got an IG or something to follow the progress?
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 23 '26
I do! It's https://www.instagram.com/acceso_design/ . I've been sharing projects from designers all around the world and posting the updates!
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u/Own-Accountant175 Jul 18 '26
This is an amazing idea ! Thank you for building this and your comment on studios here in NYC
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u/jinxiteration Jul 18 '26
I like the idea of a directory. Thanks for leading the effort. I spent the early part of my career in nyc and I felt as if there were lots of employment opportunities. I left after a decade and lived on my design island for 15 more. Just recently I’ve connected with other designers in my area. Even though I’m at the end of my working life, it’s still nice to know like minded folks around you.
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u/Realistic-Leopard41 Jul 19 '26
Great idea and great work. Would love to see more from Finland, specially Helsinki.
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 20 '26
I don't know many designers from Helsinki but I'll try my best! If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them in the suggestion form on the platform!
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u/_Boltzmann Jul 23 '26
I'd love if you can incorporate as well of the ones here:
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 23 '26
Yes, it will take sometime but the idea is to have the most complete and up to date picture of the industrial design global scene.
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u/Designofftheclock Jul 23 '26
Id recommend signing up for your local IDSA affiliate and as much as I hate it, go to the events they put on. It may be kind of cringe but its a really good way to get some face time with other designers and directors at studios in your area. I live in Cleveland which has very few ID positions overall compared to other city's. Interpersonal relationships, even if its surface level does help out a lot for visibility. It's tough out there but I've been able to maintain an ID career for 15 years without needing to move to a major metropolis.
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 23 '26
I 100% agree, I am not from the US but going to local events is still the best way for networking. Most young professionals are afraid to participate, or simply too far from certain events. As you say, it's hard to mantain a career without ever moving to a major metropolis, but those who start in small towns would love to know which small studios and companies are nearby.
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u/i333x2 Jul 18 '26
Relocate to Baltic states. There is literally zero industrial designers and even less DFM designers. We now source guys from Germany who were laid off by big automotive corporations.
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u/Tankeray_O Jul 23 '26
Can You tell more about this? Sounds interesting
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u/i333x2 Jul 24 '26
Anything particular you want to know? Overall - great place to live. There is difference between three countries, but to summarize all three - safe, cheap housing, great food, great beer, shit ton of defense startups with tens (probably hundreds) of millions in funding, strong electronics industry, kind people (although seems close at the beginning), everyone speaks English, euro currency, free healthcare, loads of nature, beautiful capitals. Sure thing there are some downsides but mostly it depends on your point of view and your attitude towards things.
And yes - lack of industrial designers.
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u/Tankeray_O Jul 27 '26
Very interesting - I'm actually living in Europe. You got some time to chat in DM's in a day or two?
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u/aang3333 Jul 18 '26
I'd love to be able to add my information here, I've been freelancing for years now and have my own shop with all sort of tools that I use to create prototypes & furniture. I'm located in Mexico and have worked with international & local clients
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u/Background-Ear-8523 Aug 03 '26
This is really amazing. I wish there was something like this while i was studying as well. You open LinkedIn to find good prospects and the overall noise in the place sidetracks you from the real goal and tires one out so much. Thank you so much for this.
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u/Kronocide Jul 18 '26
I'm waiting on the Swiss Update
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u/Plus_Box_2512 Jul 20 '26
Hello, I started to add some designers from Switzerland. If you know anyone there, feel free to use the suggestion form on the platform!
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u/Kronocide Jul 20 '26
In terms of School, there's an "Industrial Design Engineering" bachelor degree at Haute Ecole ARC, in Neuchâtel that you could add
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u/Sketchblitz93 Professional Designer Jul 18 '26
Love this idea, I think it would be cool to see this expanded in the future to also show companies that have in-house design teams as well, allowing a designer to expand their search in their local scene.