Product Designer · Mechanical Engineer

Portfolio I M M A N U E L R I E T Z L E R

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Immanuel Rietzler portrait
About

Bridging technical engineering and high-end aesthetics

As a product designer with a solid background in mechanical engineering, I translate complex functional requirements into intuitive and visually compelling design solutions — achieving a symbiosis of form and function.

Through my experience at Dresden University of Technology and the Fraunhofer Institute, I combine engineering precision with creative vision. Outside of my professional work, I am passionate about music (piano & sampling) and sports (football & snowboarding).

Based in
Frankfurt am Main, DE
Contact
immanuel329@gmail.com
Curriculum

Experience
& Craft

Experience

Product Designer
Fraunhofer IWU, Dresden · Internship & Working Student
2024 — 2025
Graphic Designer
TU Dresden · Student Assistant
2022 — 2023

Education

Dipl.-Ing. Mechanical Engineering (M.Sc. equivalent)
TU Dresden — General Mechanical Design / Product Design
Completing 2026
Abitur
Liebigschule, Frankfurt am Main
2013

Software

Blender
Photoshop
SolidWorks
Illustrator
Unreal Engine
Clo3D
Selected Work

Six chapters
of making things

01
Chapter 01 — Form Studies

Six surfaces
from one material

The systematic investigation of haptic surface qualities within a homogeneous material. Six distinct characteristics — created exclusively through the manual processing of clay — probing how touch, light and memory inhabit an otherwise silent substrate.

Form studies in clay
Digital Mockups

Reducing identity
to a concise form

A dynamic visual language for a fictional music festival, and a formal-functional logo for TU Dresden's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Logos live on objects — so I built photorealistic mockups that let the marks speak in real light.

The same rigor carried into a scientific study: realistic renderings of public-transport interiors that empirically proved a clear user preference for blue tones.

Faculty mug mockup 1
Faculty mug mockup 2
Faculty mug mockup 3
Faculty mug mockup 4
Faculty mug mockup 5
01 / 05
02
Chapter 02 — Illustrations

A robot, a sled
and some presents

Created during my time as a student assistant at TU Dresden's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, this illustration was selected as the official motif for the faculty's Christmas card — a playful interpretation of technical elements within a festive context.

Faculty Christmas illustration
Hand & Paper — Sketches

Ideation
by the line

Freehand drawing is my tool for rapid ideation and for analysing complex geometries. These studies focus on perspective, proportion and volume — culminating in the design of an underwater drone that explores both form-finding and structural logic.

Underwater drone sketch 1
Underwater drone sketch 2
Underwater drone sketch 3
01 / 03
Digital Art

Mood, mystery,
machinery

A Halloween pumpkin suspended in a glass jar, drawn in Procreate. Light, smoke and jar glass treated as three conversations about translucency.

Halloween pumpkin digital art 1
Halloween pumpkin digital art 2
01 / 02
Engineering — Rolling Mill Gearbox

Where design
meets tolerance

Complete structural design and development of a rolling-mill gearbox: technical layout, calculation, and subsequent 3D modelling in SolidWorks. The work is documented through a main-assembly drawing with standardised bill of materials, and a detailed drawing of the drive shaft — built for precise technical documentation and manufacturability.

Rolling mill gearbox technical drawing 1
Rolling mill gearbox technical drawing 2
Rolling mill gearbox technical drawing 3
01 / 03
03
Chapter 03 — Renders

Materials under
honest light

Design and high-end rendering of a subway car, with focus on the holistic design of the interior alongside the photoreal development of materials and lighting conditions. The goal: a space that feels inhabited rather than simulated.

Subway car interior render
Product Design — Reverse Engineering

Topology
as craft

Detailed digital replicas of Apple hardware — iPhone, MacBook Pro, AirPods Max — with a particular focus on the Apple Vision Pro. The challenge lay in the highly complex reverse engineering and the topologically demanding modelling of the housing.

The work illustrates the precise implementation of fluid transitions and sophisticated curvature continuity within the CAD process.

Apple Vision Pro render 1
Apple Vision Pro render 2
01 / 02
Product Design — Audio Equipment

Texture, grain
and gain

Detailed renderings in high-end audio: a Marshall amplifier, a condenser microphone, and the Teenage Engineering OP-1. The focus is the photoreal representation of material-specific textures — from the tolex weave of the amplifier shell to the precise control elements of the synthesizer.

Marshall amplifier render 1
Marshall amplifier render 2
Marshall amplifier render 3
01 / 03
Product Design — Beauty & Lifestyle

Product as
narrative

Two stagings from the beauty and lifestyle sector: Rabanne's 'Phantom' fragrance, and a serum bottle by Essence. A blueberry asset from the BlenderKit library quietly accents the serum — creating evocative composition that goes beyond mere object representation and places the product within a context.

Phantom perfume render 1
Phantom perfume render 2
01 / 02
Visualization — Interior

A room
simulated honestly

Digital design and visualisation of a residential unit based on the original floor plan. Virtual models let me evaluate various furnishing scenarios and optimise placement within the real spatial context. Interniq library assets accelerated the iteration loop.

Interior bedroom render 1
Interior bedroom render 2
Interior bedroom render 3
Interior bedroom render 4
01 / 04
Visualization — Nature

Environments
beyond objects

A self-modelled iceberg landscape, a meadow staged with a Lego figure and Graswald assets, and an underwater scene with jellyfish — each modelled and animated in Blender. Environment design is where storytelling and simulation meet.

Iceberg nature render 1
Iceberg nature render 2
Iceberg nature render 3
01 / 03
Motorcycle apparel thesis
04

The modular
motorcycle suit

Diploma Thesis — TU Dresden
Thesis — Concept

Flexibility meets
technical protection

Three design strategies for a modular motorcycle apparel system. The clothing was designed in Clo3D to ensure precise simulation of fit and material behaviour. The final rendering integrates the design into a realistic usage scenario using BlenderKit and Traffiq assets to enhance visual immersion.

The work demonstrates the fusion of textile design, functional modularity and high-end digital visualisation.

Motorcycle apparel main shot
Strategy 01

Segment Module

Large-scale modularity through detachable sleeves, legs and hoods. The apparel becomes a transformable system that adapts to climate and use. High-wear segments can be swapped individually, extending product lifespan while opening space for personalised fit — a mesh layer with exo-protectors handles warm conditions.

Segment module detachable sleeve 1
Segment module detachable sleeve 2
Segment module detachable sleeve 3
01 / 03
Strategy 02

Chest Module

Functional and climatic adaptation of the torso through an interchangeable front module. For warm conditions, the standard module swaps for a mesh version to maximise ventilation. Module sizes allow precise fit adjustment across body types and base layers — thermal comfort and ergonomics first, central impact zones preserved.

Chest module renders 1
Chest module renders 2
Chest module renders 3
01 / 03
Strategy 03

Replaceable Patches

A targeted repair approach: shoulder, elbow and knee patches act as a sacrificial protective layer over the base material. Tool-free hook-and-loop attachment, stabilised by adjustment straps and securing tabs. The patches double as protector carriers and design accent — a redundant securing strategy guarantees reliability under extreme mechanical stress.

Replaceable patches render 1
Replaceable patches detail 2
01 / 02
05
Chapter 05 — Fraunhofer IWU Internship

Printing
a cordless drill

A cordless drill developed specifically for additive manufacturing — a housing that directly integrates motor, gearbox, battery and circuit board. At the core: the WEAM process (Wire Encapsulating Additive Manufacturing) at Fraunhofer IWU, which embeds electrical wiring during the 3D print so that mechanics and electronics emerge in a single production step.

A deformable base structure is printed onto a carrier film, wires and components are placed, and forming closes the housing halves while establishing electrical contact. A physical prototype confirmed the integrated approach works end-to-end.

WEAM cordless drill exploded 1
WEAM cordless drill exploded 2
WEAM cordless drill exploded 3
01 / 03
06
Chapter 06 — Additive Designs

Light, made
one layer at a time

A selection of 3D-printed lampshades. Each design strategically leverages the creative and technical possibilities of additive manufacturing to produce delicate structures and unique lighting effects. All models were realised as fully functional physical objects — not renders, but light in real rooms.

3D printed lamp 1
3D printed lamp 2
3D printed lamp 3
01 / 03
Get in Touch

Let's make
something real

An der Litzelwiese 29 · 60488 Frankfurt am Main