GM FYI Blog

By Michael Weaker
Guest Blogger

Editor’s note: We’ve had a series of posts from GM’s summer interns the past few months, and today’s post from Michael wraps them up for summer 2007.

In retrospect, I know that I will always have fond memories of my time as a color and trim intern in the 2007 summer design internship program. However, before starting at the Design Center this summer, I could not imagine what was ahead…

A little background:

My college education began at the University of Maryland, from which I earned undergraduate degrees in both mechanical engineering and fine art. I considered engineering my field of vocational pursuit and art my ardent pastime. After graduating from the University of Maryland, I began working as an engineer at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., where I helped design explorer robots for more than a year. NASA gave me a wonderful opportunity to explore and apply my practical creativity, but I soon realized that I would be happier with art in the forefront of my life. I sought a field that required the practical application of artistic creativity, and I enrolled in the Pratt Institute Industrial Design Masters Program in Brooklyn, NY. I found what I was looking for in Industrial Design: three-dimensional form design and color design applied to create useful products. With a penchant for color design, I applied to be a color and trim design intern at GM. When I was notified that I had been granted a position in the internship program, I dropped my summer classes and packed my bags for Detroit.

On my first day at the Design Center, I learned that I would be one of 18 interns. That group comprised six automotive designers, six sculptors, two color-and-trim designers, two engineers, and two graphic designers. Our objective would be to create six new Chevrolet concept cars for the year 2012.

This summer’s internship program was designed to guide our group through a fast-paced, small-scale version of the process used by GM to create new vehicles: from market research and concept generation, to design development and model making, and then marketing. With our varied and combined skills and the attention of our many professional Design Center mentors, we were equipped to execute every step of that process. Because our project was scaled down to fit within the duration of one summer, one intern was often independently responsible for work that would normally be contributed by a whole team of designers on a typical project. As a result, each of the interns was given the opportunity to become deeply involved in every step of the design process, especially in the area of their expertise.

This internship was my first experience in a professional design environment. I imagined that I would serve as an assistant to a GM designer on an interesting design project. Instead, as one of the two color-and-trim designers in the program, I was responsible for the interior and exterior color and trim design for three of the six cars. I was given the freedom to play the primary role in the design process, while my mentor, senior exterior color designer Chris Webb, provided support and guidance via daily contact and frequent critiques. With that freedom came a greater sense of personal responsibility for the work that I produced. I worked long hours throughout the summer, but I felt a strong connection to my work. I had fun every day, and the hours passed quickly.

The opportunity to become so involved in the entire design process was invaluable. I learned more this summer than in a whole semester at school, and I’m proud of the success of our six new Chevrolet concept designs.

I can’t reflect on my experience this summer without feeling fortunate to have worked with the other interns and all the GM employees who contributed to the internship program. Working so closely with one another, the other interns and I generated strong relationships. We quickly became close friends and would often spend time together in the evenings after work and on the weekends. We also developed close friendly relationships with other employees at the Design Center. Those are the people who made the internship such a unique, valuable, and educational experience. The designers and sculptors who we worked most closely with made themselves available at all times and patiently taught us the nuances of the GM design process. As a color-and-trim intern, I personally appreciate working with the all the wonderful people at the Design Center this summer – especially Stuart Norris, for leading the program; Chris Webb, for acting as my personal color and trim mentor; Dave Rand, for his several milestone critiques; Ed Welburn, for his support of the program; Helen Emsley, for her support; Terry Elliott, for her advice; Craig Hart, for his help in developing paint colors; and Chris Athman, Jeff Kilmer, and Fred Hakim, for creating interior trim prototypes.

I will always have fond memories of my summer in the program. To all those involved, thank you.