Industrial design is the process of planning and developing products and systems. Industrial designers create products to perform specific functions. The products must be attractive as well as safe, reliable, and easy to maintain. They must also be easy and inexpensive to manufacture. Industrial designers must combine artistic ability with a knowledge of engineering, costs, materials, manufacturing processes, and marketing conditions. They have a great impact on deciding what products are available to consumers.
Products of industrial design.
Some industrial designers work on products for everyday home and office use. Such products include cars, cameras, computers, lighting fixtures, office furniture, television sets, and tools. Other designers develop such specialized products as antipollution device, medical equipment, and spacecraft. Still others work on special projects, such as packaging, product trademarks, trade show exhibits, and interior layouts of buildings.
How an industrial designer works.
Some industrial designers work for one company and may specialize in just a few products. Others own or work for consulting firms that handle many kinds of projects. Consultants are usually hired for a specific project. They often receive a royalty in addition to a design fee. Consultants might serve as the design group for the client or simply provide extra talent and experience to help the client’s own design group. A large consulting firm may have several hundred employees, including architects, artists, engineers, marketing experts, and technicians.
Designers do considerable research on their products. They carefully study related technologies and reports and examples of similar and competing products. They also survey consumer preferences. The designers then create a number of designs for their products. These preliminary designs are discussed with managers, engineers, and marketing experts. After company officials approve a design, designers may prepare models of the products using clay, plastic, or wood. Or they may create electronic “models” on computers using CAD (c_omputer-_a_ided _d_esign) programs. Later, _prototypes, or testing models, are constructed with the actual materials to be used on the products. Many design firms produce prototypes from electronic models by using a system known as CNC (_c_omputer _n_umerical _c_ontrol) to precisely operate machine tools.
History.
The term designer was first used in the late 1600’s when division of labor increased. Prior to that time, a craftworker would design a product while making it. During the mid-1800’s, manufacturers began to produce electrical appliances and other machines for home use. In those days, people bought machines for the work they could do and were not greatly concerned about how the machines looked.
By the early 1900’s, the public had choices when buying radios, toasters, and similar devices. When two radios worked the same, customers chose the more attractive one. Manufacturers realized the need for good design to maintain sales. The profession of industrial design developed to fill this need.
Careers in industrial design.
Most people who desire careers in industrial design take a special program of study at an art school, technical college, or university. Design students may take such courses as basic computer skills, basic engineering, clay and wood modeling, CAD, mechanical drawing, perspective rendering, and product design. A knowledge of applied psychology is also helpful.
