SIG SAUER | P211 GTO

Confidential Industry Experience

Role: Product Design / Innovation

Duration: January - May 2025

Disclosure: All work completed under NDA

Overview

During my time working with SIG SAUER, I supported design efforts with the Industrial design team. It was an environment defined by exactness, responsibility, and exact system requirements. Due to my NDA restrictions, no original design files, imagery, or deliverables were able to be retained. This page assists in documenting my role working under Scott Shinkle, the design approach, and my professional growth, rather than specific artifacts.

 

Project Context

The design program operates within a strongly regulated, particular, performance based field where design decisions must account for manufacturing feasibility, safety, and long-term reliability. Projects required frequent collaboration between design, engineering, and leadership teams, with an emphasis on clarity, discretion, and informed decisions.

Design work focused less on individual projects and more on how components and systems function within larger systems.

My Role & Responsibilities

• I helped support concept development with heavily constrained parameters

• I assisted in translating ideas into design directions, primarily looking at a few firearms and silencers, and was heavily involved in P211 GTO colorways and logo design and placement (sheets on sheets of colorway directions utilizing Photoshop!)

• I collaborated with engineering and marketing partners throughout iteration

• I contributed visual communication to help with multiple team alignment and help clarify decisions in reviews

• I maintained confidentiality and professionalism across sensitive projects

Design Thinking & Process

1. Learning the Sig System

I began by understanding the system as a whole, how design requirements, manufacturing constraints, and consumer values intersected. This step was very important in ensuring my design ideation stayed realistic.

2. Exploring Within Heavy Constraints

Concept exploration focused on balancing usability, customer opinion, and manufacturability. Rather than completely open-ended ideation, work required disciplined exploration through defined boundaries.

3. Refinement Through Collaboration

Design directions were refined through frequent feedback in meetings and multiple viewpoint discussions, utilizing clear communication and understanding.

Key Takeaways

• I learned to design responsibly within highly regulated environments

• I developed my systems thinking rather than object based design

• I strengthened my cross-disciplinary collaboration and communication skills

• I gained experience working without full creative autonomy while still adding value, and learned to use my time efficiently

Skills Demonstrated

• Industrial Design in Highly Regulated Contexts

• Systems Thinking

• Design for Manufacturability

• Cross-Disciplinary Communication

• Professional Discretion

Reflection

Working within the Sig Sauer design program reinforced the importance of control, clarity, and responsibility in design. Not every project allows for visible authorship or portfolio-ready outputs, but my experience allowed me to learn a new type of design, one that relies on understanding a product that can do harm or protect someone. At the beginning of this co-op, I received some warnings, primarily that I needed to be careful about the companies I work with. I took this co-op opportunity to learn more about this more controversial side of design. This side is absolutely crucial in thinking about your customer, because your design could have real consequences. I learned so much in my research with Sig Sauer, and that alone feels so incredibly valuable. The people I was able to interact with and the things I learned definitely made me a better, more capable designer.

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No original design materials were retained due to NDA restrictions.