1. How are you enjoying your current design career at BOSE and life in the real world? I have only been at BOSE for a few months and I haven’t stopped learning since the day I began. Im surrounded by many talented individuals from a number of backgrounds, which is an extreme positive for me. Designing in the presence of well-versed individuals has boosted my early development as a young designer. I feel like I’m a freshman all over again and all I can do is absorb whatever comes my way with an open mind. Learning and applying as much as possible is the daily objective. Life in the real world isn’t much of a surprise. Being a Wentworth grad, our internships hinted at what this might be like given our scenarios. The biggest adjustment for me is handling certain expenses and a few real world screwballs here and there. I always think of my projects round the clock, though, so waiting till the morning is always difficult for me.
2. Is working as a designer different than being a design student? The biggest difference for me is the actual “work day.” Design is non-stop. I can never, not think about my work or design in general. So when 5 PM comes around, the only thing that stops is my time sheet. School was a little more sporadic where as BOSE has been more controlled. I’m personally striving to find my comfort zone and constantly discovering new ways to improve my workflow within my new environment. I give credit to my colleagues who have been at this for years and are always suggesting better ways to optimize my workday. At Wentworth it was easier to link up with classmates at almost any given time. Since I work with a range of adults, everyone has different afternoon agendas, so getting as much done within a designated time frame is crucial to the teams success.
3. What special skills are you using that you learned in school? Sketching is first and foremost. There is never a moment when I can not express my thoughts and ideas with out a simple image. I’ve always taken pride in my sketching abilities and find it the easiest way to communicate among all the disciplines I work with. Sketching will always be there, computers and programs may not so it’s the one skill I keep closet to my process. Another vital set of skills are means of researching and preparation. Having a strong foundation before diving into a design is extremely important. Uncovering details through research methods and organizational strategies help tremendously on the front end and make generating ideas far easier than finding a solution blind of essential information. Other skills like Digital Illustration (Photoshop, Sketch Book Pro), 3D Modeling, Indesign all contribute to a better workflow. Its just a matter of finding the right way to articulate an idea and the best combination of skillsets to get the job done.
David Fustino Strategizing
David Fustino LED Light
David Fustino with Poster
4. What types of interesting projects are you working on? I am currently in the Home Entertainment department so I get the opportunity to contribute to the BOSE experience of sound through a range of products that deliver quality performance. I’ve also been lucky enough to assist in other design departments recently like Noise Reduction Technology and the automotive branch.
5. How are you enjoying working with your colleagues/teams? I really enjoy the team I’m with. Im surrounded by individuals who strive for nothing but the best. They regularly teach me valuable lessons that enhance my design thinking and strategy. I am in a very fortunate position and making an effort to get the most from it. One valuable lesson I’ve learned over the years working for many design groups professionally/collegiately and playing for many soccer teams is: It doesn’t matter what you are doing, it matters who you are working with to achieve a common goal. The content will always resolve itself if you are surrounded by individuals who share the same drive, understanding and commitment. Its incredible what individuals and the colleagues/teams they form can achieve when the chemistry is right.
6. How do you spend the free time that you have? I try to stay in shape. I’ve always been able to use exercise and training to somewhat get my mind off of work/design. I mainly use the gym and soccer as my biggest releases. In school I was on the Wentworth Soccer team. Getting a practice in every night was challenging with the workload but finding time to appreciate something other than design made school that much easier. I’ve brought this philosophy with me to BOSE and exercise is a daily stress reliever.
7. Are you up all night intrigued by a design project? Always! For as long as I could remember, even before college, I’ve always gone to bed with thoughts and ideas design/art/engineering related. Its just something that happens and I can’t control it. This does happen more often when I’m deep into a project. I either cant sleep or talk in my sleep over a project when I’m having difficulty or just eager to find a solution.
8. Does your work tumble over into the weekends? This happened more so when I was in college mainly do to the more sporadic schedules and frames of activity. I am finding it easier to leave my work at work only because I’m able to accomplish more during the given workday since there are only so many hours in the day I can work collaboratively with my team/colleagues to achieve a common goal. The only time work tumbles into my afternoons and weekends is when I dedicate my free time to an extracurricular design project. I recently finished a ReDesign of my Desk Lamp for CORE77 and Autodesk in a Sustainable Design Challenge and joined Design Museum Boston to volunteer my time to their most recent design effort. As long as they don’t interfere with my main priority, BOSE and refrain from hindering my daily exercise then I don’t think twice about getting involved.
I want to thank IDSA/Design Foundation for the undergraduate scholarship it was a great momentum builder in my collegiate career. Being recognized for my work was a positive step in the right direction. Thank you for taking the time to consider my designs and efforts.
