Written by Ciara Commane
To respond to this blog topic, I adopted an approach where I researched design practitioners whom have seemingly made a significant impact on the world of design in the past. Based off of this research, I subsequently chose a designer in which I had never heard the name of before. I took on this approach, as I was intrigued to gain an understanding of the journey this designer faced throughout their work life and to comprehend why I may not have heard of this person before.
Mimi Vandermolen is an example of an individual whom is considered a superhero in regards to industrial design and in particular the automotive industry (Denita, 2018). Vandermolen was the first woman to graduate with an industrial design degree in 1965 (Carini, 2018). In 1970, Vandermolen joined Ford’s Design Studio as an addition to the incredibly small quantity of female automotive designers worldwide and in 1979; she was promoted to the Design Specialist of this company. Her efforts and ideas were admired as she altered the designs of both the car interior and exterior spaces, leading her to the promotion of Design Executive for Small Cars in North America in 1987 (Veit, 2015).
Figure 1 and 2 provide images of the 1993 Ford Probe, which was the first design that Vandermolen directed from the start to finish and a design that focused on and improved the driving experience for females. I found it strange that she had made such a significant impact for this industry around the 1980s, but in today’s present period I have never heard of her name or her accomplishments before.
The idea of female presence and success in the industrial design workforce forms the basis of discussion in the reading “Women designers-is there a gender trap?” written by Margaret Bruce and Jenny Lewis. The workforce progression, development and succession Mimi Vandermolen encountered was quite rare for that time period as female designers had to face and attempt to overcome three main ‘hurdles’ which resulted in slowing the pace of or haltering the succession in this industrial design industry (Bruce & Lewis 1990, 114-120). Lewis and Bruce present the first hurdle, ‘Gaining Qualifications’ by underlining the effect of having male-dominated college courses, making females feel a minority and disconnected to the cohort. Therefore, females feel discouraged to continue. The second hurdle, ‘Getting the First Job’ discusses the stereotypical bias regarding what is appropriate and fitting work for each gender; with males jobs being described as “industrial” and “technical” and females being based on “secretarial stuff” and “dress making” (Connory 2017, 1-2). Once again, discouraging females to succeed in this career path. The final hurdle, ‘Promotion and Awards’ examines the issue that majority of senior positions in design companies are given to male workers, emphasising that the further up the hierarchy one goes, the number of women present decrease. Consequently, giving females another reason to withdraw from competition and the industry. Comparing these central ideas from the reading titled “Women designers-is there a gender trap?” to the success of Mimi Vandemolen in the industrial design workforce, contrasting and opposing results are formed. This emphasises that Vandermolen’s design journey was unusual for that time period.
The issue of male dominance within senior levels of companies and the slight discouragement of females in this industrial design industry are still present in today’s society. Therefore, I believe it is required that the accomplishments of inspirational and impactful female designers such as Mimi Vandermolen need to be brought into the spotlight again. Hence, this may encourage and persuade other female designers to oppose the traditional gender stereotype bias in the workplace and to advance and succeed in the industry where their passion lies.
REFERENCES
Annzra Denita. Iconic: 10 Women who changed the world of Design. House and Leisure. Accessed 10 April, 2019. https://www.houseandleisure.co.za/content/iconic-10-women-who-changed-world-design
Bruce, Margaret & Lewis, Jenny. 1990. Women Designers – Is there a gender trap?. Design Studies Vol 11, no. 2: 114-120.
Connory, Jane. 2017. Plotting the Historical Pipeline of Women in Graphic Design. 1-2.
Rebecca Veit. 2015. Mimi Vandermolen, The Ergonomics Genius behind Ford’s “Rounded Edge Revolution”. Core77. Accessed 10 April 2019. https://www.core77.com/posts/39532/Mimi-Vandermolen-the-Ergonomics-Genius-Behind-Fords-%E2%80%9CRounded-Edge-Revolution%E2%80%9D
Susie Carini. International Women’s Day 2018. Zed. Accessed 10 April 2019. https://www.zedcreative.co.uk/journal/international-women%E2%80%99s-day-2018
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