The job of a designer with Oliver Seil of Belkin

“The job of a designer is to be a psychologist…” Industrial design is something that a lot of manufacturers used to outsource. Companies would design a product and then contract with a firm of outside design consultants to slap a good-looking skin on it, and hope for the best. But in the last decade or so, lots of companies have gotten design religion. Design has been brought in-house, where it can shape products from the very get-go. There’s an obvious source for this idea — Apple. This week we talk to Oliver Seil, the Senior Design Director of Belkin International’s Innovation Design Group. Belkin is an accessory company based in Los Angeles that has grown into one of the biggest suppliers of mobile accessories. It’s has a big portfolio of products, from iPhone and iPad cases to battery packs, surge protectors, networking gear and its line of WeMo home automation products. We talk to Seil about Belkin’s products and design process; the surprising complexity of USB cables - and why they cost so much; and of course, why Apple has had such an enormous influence on design and manufacturing.