Today we’d like to introduce you to Glen George.
Hi Glen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up, I always had a creative side that my mother really cultivated in me. Around the age of 13 I came across some TV shows that featured working on cars and absolutely fell in love with the process of seeing a car as a canvas on four wheels with unlimited outcomes. That was the start of how I wanted to be a Transportation Designer. After finishing High school, I took a few months for myself to put together a portfolio and applied to the 3 colleges I really wanted to attend and got accepted to all 3. ArtCenter was at the top of the list, and obviously, once I got their acceptance letter, it was a no-brainer. After 4 years of learning and figuring out who I am and what I want to do, meeting new people, making connections, and dreaming, I am now a newly hired Junior Designer at Pininfarina (Miami Studio).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was not a smooth road, and I knew that would be the case from the beginning. It was not easy as a South Asian kid to go for a career like this when the social norm is to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or get into anything related to Finance. It was something I had to prove to my parents that I could and would do. Coming to college was a real eye-opener. Growing up I was confident in my skills when I compared to my peers in school, but college was different. I was surrounded by people who were just like me if not better, so there was a real struggle and necessity to realize comparing myself to others would only bring me down, I just had to be better than who I was yesterday and think beyond everything. The challenges of being an international student and finding internships or jobs in the US is again another huge struggle, but thankfully everything has worked out so far.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Junior Designer for Pininfarina of America Corp., a studio present in the US for the Italian Design House. I joined very recently and have had the pleasure to work on a few projects that have come out at the CES and so on, and even more are coming out soon. I’ve been working on automotive, marine and even industrial design projects here. I believe what really sets me apart is my background of being raised in different parts of the world and coming from a rich cultural diversity that allows me to see, think, and understand different needs and turn them into opportunities.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Highest level of credit obviously goes to my Parents and friends I have had around me while I was in college and back home. Some real mentors from the industry that have really pushed and vouched for me would be Michael Hritz and Andrew Leahy from Polaris (Minnesota), designers from the studio there. Greg Tada, who was such a force during and after my graduation term, helped me navigate through it all. Marek Djordjevic who has been a teacher and mentor in so many ways from my 6th term at ArtCenter. A big shout-out to all of them and anyone I may have missed out being responsible for the person and designer I have become today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.glengeorge.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glengeorge.design/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-george-a53761191/
