Industrial Designers
Additional Information
Duties
The following is characteristic of industrial designers:
- Determine the needs of your clients before creating designs.
- Find out how a product will be used and who will use it before launching a new product.
- Ideas can be sketched or rendered, which are pictures on paper or on a computer that depict design concepts in action.
- Create virtual models of diverse designs using computer software.
- Prototype their ideas in the real world.
- Analyze the costs of raw materials and manufacturing to get an idea of final product prices.
- Determine if the design concepts proposed by other professionals, such as mechanical engineers and manufacturers, would meet the demands of the market at an acceptable price point.
- Assess the safety, aesthetics, and functionality of the product to decide whether it is feasible.
- Present concepts and prototypes to customers for their approval.
Some industrial designers specialize on a single product type. They may, for example, develop medical equipment or work on consumer electronics, such as laptops and smart phones. Product concepts for bicycles, furniture, housewares, and snow boards are developed by other designers.
Others, known as interaction designers, are concerned with the usability of a product, such as an electronic gadget, and ensuring that the product is both easy and fun to use.
In order to see how a product will be used by the general public, industrial designers conduct user studies with actual people. In order to determine if their concepts are viable, industrial designers generally collaborate with engineers, manufacturing specialists, and market researchers. Colleagues' professional advice is used to improve their designs further. Industrial designers, for example, may collaborate with market research experts to devise marketing strategies for new product designs.
Industrial designers use computers extensively. The ease with which computers allow designers to tweak and display alternative designs means that industrial designers often utilize CADD software to create two-dimensional sketches of their concepts. To make three-dimensional models from their two-dimensional drawings, industrial designers are increasingly using three-dimensional CAD software. CAID software may be used by those who work with manufacturers to develop machine-readable instructions that direct other machines on how to construct the product.
Education
For entry-level industrial design positions, a bachelor's degree is often necessary. Fine arts, engineering, and architecture are among the most common subjects of study. Drawing, computer-aided drafting (CADD), and three-dimensional modelling are all common in industrial design schools, as are lessons in business, industrial materials, and production procedures.
Schools of art and design are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD) at more than 360 postsecondary institutions. Before allowing enrollment into a bachelor's degree program, several colleges require students to pass prerequisite art and design courses. A portfolio of work demonstrating the applicant's creativity may be requested.
Professional portfolios can be built through class projects, internships, and other experiences in many schools around the country. Examples of student work can be used by students to show off their design abilities while seeking for employment or submitting bids for contracts.
Characteristics of Critical Importance
Analytical abilities. Industrial designers utilize logic or reasoning to research consumers and identify the demand for new goods.
Ability to express oneself via art. Industrial designers begin by sketching out their original concepts, which are eventually utilized to produce prototypes. In order to do this, designers need to be able to communicate their ideas through visual representations.
Knowledge of how to use a computer. Computer-aided design (CAD) software is used by industrial designers to generate prototypes and refine their concepts.
Creativity. Designing a new product requires industrial designers to think beyond the box when it comes to new technology integration and product design.
The ability to interact with others. Designers in the industrial design field must establish collaborative working ties with their clients and colleagues from other fields.
Abilities to work with their hands. Industrial designers, at the very least, need to have a basic understanding of product engineering in order to develop the kinds of items they do.
Possessing the ability to work through issues. An industrial designer assesses the product's purpose, size, and cost; anticipates manufacturing challenges and develops alternatives, evaluates possibilities, and implements solutions.
Pay
The median annual wage for industrial designers was $79,450 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $49,390, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $134,840.
Job Projections
Employment of industrial designers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2023 to 2033, about as fast as the average for all occupations.