Alumni Stories- Eoin Ormonde
"I would suggest trying as many technical processes as you can, as well as to be as experimental as you can, as early as you can on your course. This will help you to understand the options available to you."
Name: Eoin Ormonde
Current Career: Human Factors Specialist
Graduation Year: 2019
Discipline: Msc Medical Device Design, BA Product Design
Location: Oxford, England
What career path did you want to follow as a child?
In secondary school I studied technology, becoming fascinated with how things are made. Learning all about the required design process for product development to market was eye opening. In case you don’t know, it includes various initial primary and secondary research stages, to design concept development, to materials exploration, to manufacturing processes, and user-testing. Today it seems that a new technology, material, product or service are being developed every day. At school, I didn’t know exactly which career path I wanted. All I did know at that stage was that I liked drawing, designing and making things. By the time I left school, I knew I wanted to work in that world.
Why did you decide to study at National College of Art & Design?
Like many other students, my secondary school technology teacher recommended NCAD and Product Design because it has a great reputation. I then visited NCAD at the college Open Day. The large Product Design department studio and technical workshops were very impressive. Straightaway, I knew NCAD was the place I wanted to study.
How did you develop your career towards your current job or practice?
During the final year of my Product Design degree, I realised I wanted to continue my education by specializing in Medical Device Design. For me, the Medical Device industry is fascinating and always appears to be pushing the boundaries by creating pioneering innovation.
I successfully applied and soon started my Medical Device Design masters course. You quickly have to learn the intensive research methods required for medical device design development. The course modules are numerous and varied. They are all real world learning opportunities, working for NCAD clients and research partners. I was fortunate enough to work with an industry professional who specialised in the usability of medical devices.
These experiences helped me decide to pursue a career in human factors research. The year after I graduated I worked on a portfolio of client research projects as an NCAD part-time research staff member, increasing my experience and employability. Soon after that I became a full-time human factors specialist at Owen Mumford Ltd in Oxford, England.
What is the one experience during your time at NCAD that has informed you most in your career and work to date?
My undergraduate Product Design thesis project has probably informed my career the most. It was my first self-directed research project. It was my responsibility to come up with a novel design research project, develop an innovative concept, and deliver a successful solution within a very tight timeframe.
I decided to create medical device product. I quickly found how tough the process really was. The scale of required research, as well as the necessary concept development, for even a basic device is staggering. In reality, it can take up to two years, or even longer, to develop a medical device from the concept phase to market. Our final year student projects were much more intensive and not really commercially driven. I found the whole experience very challenging but also very rewarding and satisfying.
If you were chatting with current NCAD students today what is the one piece of advice you would offer?
I would suggest trying as many technical processes as you can, as well as to be as experimental as you can, as early as you can on your course. This will help you to understand the options available to you. It will then help you to focus your interests further down the line. As you get more experienced, this approach will a help you to start to really consider your career path and development plan.
What new opportunities have developed for you as a result of changes in work practice during the Covid pandemic?
The potential of remote and flexible working has certainly become more universally accepted. Companies now are willing to significantly widen their net when searching for international creative talent to hire.
