What is a job in industrial design like?
Hi, I'm in 8th grade and I am curious to hear from industrial designers. I heard that industrial designers design all of the things that we use in homes and schools. But what is a job in industrial design actually like? Are you like an artist? I want to imagine if I would like the job or not. #design #industrial-design
5 answers
Danielle’s Answer
Yes, Industrial Designers do a lot of art, but they also must know a lot about engineering, and business. Industrial designers work collaboratively with clients, marketers, engineers, researchers, and with other designers. Designers use their artistic skills to creatively problem solve, to communicate their ideas, and to create beautiful designs.
Most importantly, designers need to be able to learn very quickly about each project that they are working on: the way people use a product, why they would want it, the physical and mechanical constraints, and the businesses needs. The best designers are great problem solvers; they can creatively devise beautiful and functional solutions within a project's constraints.
If you want to see the different kinds of work that designers work on, these two websites are good resources:
http://www.core77.com/
http://www.dezeen.com/
And here's another reply from one of our most senior Industrial Designer's, Mark Matthews:
If you like to make things; if you're curious what makes things work; if you like to draw and imagine tools to solve problems, then you are going to love industrial design.
If your'e an industrial designer you're an artist and part-time engineer. You're a sculptor and a maker. You learn how factories make things, and you design things to get made. As a designer you could be working on anything from toothbrushes, cell phones, and surgical instruments, to airplanes and massive construction equipment; and all the time learning about who uses them, how they're used, what's most important for people to know how to use them, and what is the best way to make them.
Industrial designers solve problems that require 3-dimensional solutions. Do you use something everyday that doesn't work quite well, or the way you expect it to? You redesign it to make it easier to use, You come up with ideas for how to make it better; you draw those ideas; you make models to test if they're a better solution than the original. Maybe you don't like the way it looks, so you draw and sculpt it to look like you want; then you rework it so that you can make thousands of them.
Designers sketch, draw, sculpt, paint. They use pencils, paper, computer modeling, and graphics. This is not only a very creative profession, it is also a great thinking profession as you are always learning something new on every project you work on. It's a lot of fun!
Akshat’s Answer
I'm answering this on behalf of a friend who is an industrial designer
Career Advice part 1:
Learn how to learn. Learn how to make decisions. Learn how to drive change.
Stay aware of what is going on in the world. Learn from school, your parents, the news about all kinds of subjects: Politics, Technology, Healthcare, Architecture, Sports ... etc. First you must pay attention to this information and then next develop the ability to identify trends. This ability will help you spot opportunities to take advantage of in the future. You will be able to predict what markets need, or what consumers want, so you can prepare yourself to fill these needs and reap the rewards. Once you can spot opportunities, align yourself with other smart people who think like you - assemble resources, both intellectual and financial to achieve your goals. Then put your plans into action and create the changes you want to see in the world. After some time you will reap the rewards (fame, fortune and/or happiness).
Career Advice part 2:
If you decide that you want to be an Industrial designer, here are a few things you can expect.
Every day you will get to look at life through someone else's eyes. Sometimes you might see life through a surgeon's eyes and help develop new surgical tools for them; sometimes you might see life through a mom's life and help design new baby stroller's for them; sometimes you might see life through a factory worker's eyes and help design new robots for them; or a lab scientist's eyes to help design new research tools for them; you might see life through the eyes of a young child in India with poor eyesight and help design new vision diagnostic tools for them so they can get glasses and read, or through the eyes of an army veteran, and help design a prosthetic leg to replace one they lost in a battle.
There are so many problems to solve in the world, and as an industrial designer you get the opportunity to solve quite a few of them. The bottom line is, you are helping improve the lives of people around you and you are impacting their lives in very meaningful and tangible ways.
Solving these problems requires different skills. Just understanding the problem requires skills in research - gathering information from the people in need by talking to them, video taping them, sending them questionnaires, etc. Then you have to study this info and identify common threads that represent specific improvements in a product or that warrant new products altogether. And then you have to start to dream up these new products and using drawings skills or 3DCAD computer skills to communicate your ideas to other people.
Artistic talents are required to make sure that the products you make are attractive and that people will be ok with bringing these 'strange new things' into their homes, or wear them or use them at work. But the real work is on the inside of the product, and so you get to be a bit of an engineer too, figuring out how the products will actually work, or how to use existing manufacturing processes to turn your visions into reality.
Eventually, you get to make a few samples / prototypes of the most successful ideas - you might make these prototypes on your own using shop skills or wood working skills, painting skills too. And then bring these prototypes back to the people who need them to see how well they work. They may ask for a few more features or improvements, and force you to get back to work to make the prototypes even better.
You might get to change the way information is displayed on a touch screen and make it easier to understand and navigate. And once the designs are blessed by the end users and company owners, then you get to make sure that the manufacturers make 1000s or millions of these designs exactly how you want them and exactly the way the people who need them want them to be made. Some years go by and you start to see people buying and using your designs exactly the way you intended ( if everything worked out correctly ). And that alone will put a big smile on your face.
You may start your career as a junior designer (learning as much as you can from everyone around you) and then transition to a senior designer, design manager, and if you like you may even start your own design firm.
If after reading this and other people's responses you choose to be an industrial designer, make sure you choose it because you are happy serving the world, serving scientists, serving astronauts, serving chefs and serving pilots, serving the less fortunate, serving the handicapped, serving the injured, or just serving the family and all the little things it takes to keep a family happy (good furniture, good cookware, good bicycles, good entertainment systems, good healthcare ...).
This career isn't about making money ( honestly every other designer out there is struggling to make ends meet ) it is about serving the world.
If you don't choose industrial design, then remember part 1: above. That will serve you everywhere else.
Michael’s Answer
Hi, I am not a professional industrial designer but I do connect with them and also occasionally practice industrial design.
When I was working at FORD most of the designers were into the exterior and interior shape, but some worked on just the feel and sound a switch should make. Wheels offer lots of design, size, image, material someone has to choose - the designer.
In design companies you usually respond to a brief to take a functional concept into a sellable/desirable product. If you can't sketch your ideas you will be challenges to communicate them but you certainly don't need to be a traditional artist. You will however have to be creative. There are lots of industrial design courses at colleges like MCAD, RISD, SCAD check them out.
Matt’s Answer
You already got a lot of great answers from posts above. Noticing you are in Boston area. It is a big design market. I will suggest you talk to designers from firms like IDEO. Check out local IDSA chapter. Attend a few local events to network and learn more about the profession.
Good luck!
Michelle’s Answer
To give you a sense of the skillset needed:
- Design Research (Understanding WHY people need this?)
- Rapid visualization (What will this look like?)
- Prototyping: (How will it work?) Designing and 3-D printing parts, machining, carving things out of wood, sculpting in clay
- Concept Testing: (What design works better?)
- Future Trends and Thinking: (What might mobility look like in 2050 and how do we imagine it)
- Business: (How do you sell it? To whom and how much?)
Industrial Design is applicable in so many different industries because you are trying to design a new (or improved) product or service that can serve a population. It's really being an advocate and voice for people. For example, patients just coming out of surgery have a hard time dressing themselves; How might you design clothing that enables them to dress themselves?
Coming out of school, I had the opportunity to work in various industries from theme park development, reimagining electric vehicles, beverage dispensing machines to redesigning gas stations for mobile pay. Other friends of mine are in the sporting goods industry, toy design, and digital products (apps). So yes, you'll find that nearly every consumer product will have had an industrial designer as part of the process.