Annie Roo is a fourth-year student in Industrial Design at The Ohio State University. Annie interned at Design Central for the summer of 2022, where she’s found a unique place in this product design and engineering consultancy, local here to Columbus, Ohio.

Pursuing a dual degree in electrical engineering and industrial design with a minor in business allowed her to work in a cross-disciplinary environment where she collaborates with engineers and designers on a wide range of product categories. From sketch ideation to CAD modeling, appearance models, creating functional electronic prototypes, conducting research, and even coding, Annie demonstrates great agility in her internship experience as she applies her university education in a professional industry setting. Over the past three months, Annie’s involvement in client-driven projects in categories such as Home Care and Small Electronics; has allowed her to further develop her skills in analog sketching, Sketchbook Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign, Solidworks, and high-fidelity product renderings in Keyshot.

The various time-sensitive projects provide an exhilarating challenge for Annie as she problem solves daily and productively collaborates with her design team to produce fun visionary ideas, core design concepts, and technical prototypes. Her time at Design Central additionally broadens her professional experience as she often sits in on client-facing meetings to present the work that she’s done.

With her career goal to work cross-disciplinary through understanding the perspectives and principles of design, engineering, and business, Design Central has come to provide a distinctively unique workplace where there are no boundaries between the three disciplines. “I work with both engineers and designers on these projects and can engage with work on both sides,” she states. “I’ve already learned so much from the short time I’ve been here, and the mentorship I get from everyone—business, design, and engineering—is invaluable as they give me all these unique projects.”

As she continues her internship through the autumn semester, she states, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to intern at Design Central. I’ve learned a lot and can’t wait to apply the things I’ve learned to the senior thesis this year and continue working and learning at DC.”