Our definition of Industrial Design
Industrial Design (ID) is the professional practice of designing products, devices, objects, and services used by millions of people around the world every day.
In the ideation, or concept, phase of a project, designers will sketch, render, 3D model, create prototypes, and test ideas to find the best possible solutions to a user’s needs. This phase of the design process is messy, fast-paced and often exciting! By testing, breaking, and rebuilding prototypes, designers can begin to understand how a product will work, look, and be manufactured.
In the final stages of the design process, industrial designers will work with mechanical engineers, material scientists, manufacturers, and branding strategists to bring their ideas to life through production, fulfillment, and marketing. After months, and sometimes years, of development, a product will find its way to store shelves around the world, where people can purchase it and bring it into their homes.
The industrial design profession is constantly shifting and evolving to keep pace with rapid advancements in technology, cultural trends, and socio-economic forces. Designers must now face new challenges that were inconceivable when the profession originated. It is indeed a fascinating time to work in the design industry.
In the final stages of the design process, industrial designers will work with mechanical engineers, material scientists, manufacturers, and branding strategists to bring their ideas to life through production, fulfillment, and marketing. After months, and sometimes years, of development, a product will find its way to store shelves around the world, where people can purchase it and bring it into their homes.
The industrial design profession is constantly shifting and evolving to keep pace with rapid advancements in technology, cultural trends, and socio-economic forces. Designers must now face new challenges that were inconceivable when the profession originated. It is indeed a fascinating time to work in the design industry.
Industrial designers typically focus on the physical appearance, functionality, and manufacturability of a product, though they are often involved in far more during a development cycle. All of this ultimately extends to the overall lasting value and experience a product or service provides for end-users.
Every object that you interact with on a daily basis in your home, office, school, or public setting is the result of a design process. During this process, myriad decisions are made by an industrial designer (and their team) that are aimed at improving your life through well-executed design.
A brief history
Emerging as a professional practice in the early 19th century, though there are examples well before this, industrial design can be directly linked to the industrial revolution and transition from small volume craft to mass-produced products for a consumer class population. Often straddling the line between artist and engineer, early industrial designers frequently found themselves in a position dealing purely with aesthetics and styling.
Soon enough, design consultancies began to emerge that offered design services to companies that didn’t have the resources to build their own in-house teams. Walter Darwin Teague, FIDSA, for example, founded TEAGUE in 1926 and is responsible for the Polaroid Camera, Pringles canister, and Boeing commercial airline interiors of the time. Sundberg-Ferar is another early design consultancy, founded by Carl Sundberg and Montgomery Ferar in 1934. Both TEAGUE and Sundberg-Ferar are still in operation today and are credited with the creation of countless well-known products over many decades.
IDSA’s first president, Henry Dreyfuss, FIDSA and his contemporary, Raymond Loewy, FIDSA were also a prolific industrial designers in the 1930’s though the 1960’s.
Modern practice
Today, industrial designers are commonly part of multidisciplinary teams made up of strategists, engineers, user interface (UI) designers, user experience (UX) designers, project managers, branding experts, graphic designers, customers, and manufacturers, all working together towards a common goal. The collaboration of so many different perspectives allows the design team to understand a problem to the fullest extent, then craft a solution that skillfully responds to the unique needs of a user.
Industrial designers design products for users—mainly people, but sometimes pets—of all ages, races, demographics, incomes, ethnicities, abilities, and gender identities or expressions. An empathetic designer is able to “walk in someone else’s shoes” through research and observation to glean insights that will inform the rest of the design process and ultimately result in a design solution that solves a problem in a beneficial and meaningful way.
In the ideation, or concept, phase of a project, designers will sketch, render, 3D model, create prototypes, and test ideas to find the best possible solutions to a user’s needs. This phase of the design process is messy, fast-paced and often exciting! By testing, breaking, and rebuilding prototypes, designers can begin to understand how a product will work, look, and be manufactured.
In the final stages of the design process, industrial designers will work with mechanical engineers, material scientists, manufacturers, and branding strategists to bring their ideas to life through production, fulfillment, and marketing. After months, and sometimes years, of development, a product will find its way to store shelves around the world, where people can purchase it and bring it into their homes.
The industrial design profession is constantly shifting and evolving to keep pace with rapid advancements in technology, cultural trends, and socio-economic forces. Designers must now face new challenges that were inconceivable when the profession originated. It is indeed a fascinating time to work in the design industry.
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