All this fits in there? Sounds like intricate work.
True, but that’s the challenge. All in all, the work kept me occupied for eight months. I had to become acquainted with the topic of first aid, and then I had to work out – together with the company – what they wanted to achieve with the emergency case and learn everything that is technically possible. After that, you start with the initial designs and work on the details. In the end, it still takes about a month or so to build the model and prepare the presentation.
    This is already very much how your future work with customers will be like, isn’t it?
Definitely. The presentation is in public, and your friends, fellow students and professors sit there listening. So you have to explain your ideas and their realisation in front of a rather large audience for 45 minutes.   
 

   All done, Ms Günther! With the diploma under your belt, you may call yourself a product designer now. Are you looking forward to making the world a more beautiful place in the future?
Hold on. Design doesn't naturally always mean beautiful things. At our school, we deal primarily with capital assets – things you can't simply go and buy in a store: Helicopters, railways or medical equipment.
    Like this grey box with the red cross on it?
This is my final project, a tele-medical first-aid kit for motorists I've designed in cooperation with the GHC Corporation. You are automatically put through to a doctor when you're at the scene of an accident. In addition, a display lists the most important emergency measures. It includes a blood pressure meter, an ECG module, a pulse oximeter to measure the oxygen saturation in the blood and, optionally, an integrated camera.  

   Did you lose a lot of sleep over this?
Not too much. After studying for six and a half years, you should be able to work on schedule and not have to pull many all-nighters for your diploma. The whole project left its mark on me but I've handled it pretty well. 
     You sound quite serene...
Not quite. I had some panic-stricken moments as well. My hard disk broke down six weeks before the presentation. We were barely able to save the data. In those moments, you'll have to keep cool. And have nice fellow students helping you.
    Did your friends and family suffer with you?
Yes, they were put under a lot of stress. It is very important for a product designer to hear the opinion of laypersons. An emergency kit like this simply must be user-friendly and work without long explanations.
    So now you'll finally go on vacation?
No, I don't have the funds for that right now. Plus, I have to start setting up a portfolio of my work so I can go job-hunting, and I'd like to enter my final project in contests.    

    How's your confidence?
The situation in Berlin is rather poor. Our market lies mainly in southern Germany. I'd rather go abroad to England or Holland, though, than move South. The odds aren't that bad there either.
    And what would your dream job be like?
I'd prefer to work for an office that still covers other areas besides product design, like show design or graphics. I wouldn't want to sit at my Siemens desk and design just washing machines.
    This aside, what desperately needs to be redesigned by you?
It's often the little things that make life more beautiful: a teapot that doesn't drip, a mobile phone you instantaneously know how to use. What I really would like to do is design the interior of an airplane, Coping with limited space efficiently but leaving enough room for the passengers and their legs.