What do you look for in a designer?: Yves Béhar and Josh Morenstein, Fuseproject
Enter a caption (optional)Yves Béhar is the founder of fuseproject, an integrated design agency dedicated to the development of the emotional experience of brands through story-telling. The diverse experience and mediums practiced by the fuseproject design teams span products, environments, graphics, packaging, apparel and strategy. Béhar's designs and creative positioning is contributing to areas as diverse as technology, furniture, sports, lifestyle and fashion, for clients such as Herman Miller, MINI, Nike, Cassina, Microsoft, Hussein Chalayan, Swarovski, Birkenstock, Toshiba, Sony, One Laptop Per Child, Target and Coca Cola.
Josh Morenstein is the design director of fuseproject, heading up the design studio and playing an active role in the creative direction of all projects. His category leading work for clients such as Lufthansa, Palm, Nokia, Epson, and Puma have established him as an expert in the marrying of form with function, and of brand with product. A second generation Industrial Designer, Josh has held senior positions at Frog Design and New Deal Design.
1. What do you look for when hiring a designer?
YVES: At fuseproject, I leave the responsibility of a first interview to the design director Josh Morenstein and some the senior designers and creative leaders. For me it is critical that the team feels right about a new designer coming in, from both an ability standpoint, and a personality standpoint.
When I come in on the second interview, I assume the team feels strongly that the person is a good designer, and that the skills are impressive. My personal interest is to find somebody who will bring something new to the mix--this is critical as the team is very diverse. That unique trait can be a skill that clearly jumps out of the portfolio, a willingness to explore and experiment in areas we are not participating in yet but would like to, an area of personal interest and insight which could translate into an interesting design approach.
JOSH: We're very hands on here: sketching, sewing, building...much of our design work takes experimentation. I'm always looking out for a portfolio that exhibits this type of interest or capacity. Also, I'm drawn to dynamic people--the ability to communicate not just visually but verbally is key.
2. Is there a particular "tell" that signals a good or bad fit?
YVES: This might be useful: Somebody showing up in a 3-piece suit and tie...somebody showing up in flip-flops...somewhere in the middle is right.
JOSH: I especially look for people who wear a 3 piece suit with flip-flops.
3. What is your best interview horror story?
YVES: One guy showed up with 3 of fuseproject's portfolio products perfectly replicated in 3-D, it was so accurate, even though it was modeled after images. At first I was scared...and then we hired him because of the valuable 3-D skill!
JOSH: Most interviews are pretty 'normal.' That said, I remember early in my career when I went in for an interview late one afternoon. They hired me on the spot and 'asked' if I could work that day. My first day turned into my first morning. I left that interview at 5am the next day.
4. What is the single most valuable piece of advice you could give to those on the hunt?
YVES: Have a point of view that translates into your work. Engage into a dialogue, not a diatribe.
JOSH: Be able to talk about and show excitement for your work; If you're not excited about it, we probably won't be either.
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