[GuiA]

Heh, I work in a design studio and would temper your statement. Yes, having something like this in your portfolio certainly can't hurt - and having it frontpage HN is most certainly a good thing, exposure wise.

But when we interview candidates and do portfolio reviews, a project like this would be one of the things I'd be the least interested in. It does showcase the designer's creativity and skills at using 3D software, but it doesn't give you any sense of how they can work in a team, with clients, with real specs/requirements to follow, etc. It's kind of like the kind of designs that architecture students do in school: sure, the end designs might look very cool, but they don't represent capacity to work with the real world architectural process in any way.

One of the skills I value the most in a designer is the ability to really think through the various sub-aspects of a problem under different angles, come up with many alternatives, etc. A concept design like the one posted does not show this at all.

If you are a designer, your portfolio should only have one conceptual piece of this sort at the very most, and it shouldn't be its main focus. A designer's main skill should be providing solutions or insights into real world problems, and this doesn't solve any meaningful problem other than "make something that looks cool and will never exist".

[radley]

It's pretty clear you and he are at opposite ends of the design spectrum. He's an experienced conceptual designer perfect for video games, i.e. Art Center. You're more academic and instructional, i.e. MIT.

Both are legit.

PS - it's pretty clear he's just having fun with the Mac specs. Only kneejerk HNers are taking it as a serious product pitch. He's designed beautiful guns, vehicles... why not a Mac that makes Ives look seriously plugged-up?

[aggie]

The thread is discussing the value of this type of conceptual presentation to a design portfolio. 'Conceptual designer' by your definition would basically mean 3D visual artist. That's not quite 'design' as it's being discussed here, though I wouldn't call it academic or instructional either. For design work, the final product rarely demonstrates the skills needed to be a good designer in real business settings. Hiring managers want to see the process that led to the final product.