Product and Industrial design, as the name suggests, are linked to making products by designers for commercial purposes that the users are comfortable using. In particular, designing and coming up with exclusive ideas and then marketing a product is their forte. Exploration of the broad spectrum of creativity comes into play when designing products for consumers is concerned.
The research and development of designs lead to newer versions of things already available in use, hence building up designers’ importance at present.
This opportunity can behave like a happy pill for many creative individuals who want to outshine their talent. The factor that benefits most designers is they are the only ones with both creative and analytical minds to explore various possibilities of an outcome as a part of their study.
Product and Industrial design are commonly interchangeable terms, which lead to confusion. The two are considered as a part of each other that together develop an end-product for the users. Behind these, the foremost principle is to create easy-to-use user-centric designs. Depending on the experiences of many, product designing is known as the primary phase of developing products. It involves the development process of concepts, product design, and its usage.
While the claims of definitions for the mentioned professions might lead to discrepancies by different viewpoints, they may be called the phases of design that complement each other. Industrial designing is the final phase of products which is the journey ahead from the initial stage, and it involves applying the process of design to mass production.
Industrial and Product design are a vivid field and require an individual to have a creative and analytical mind.
While enumerating product design, the first thing to look at is that it’s just a design of any product to be sold. Typically, product designers are linked to create visual and tangible aspects of a product but, these days, they also involve themselves in developing digital software that has no physical output. Sometimes they also play the role of the information architect. They devise everything ranging from small-scale clothes to large-scale car designs.
For large-scale productions, designers often require the help of engineers to develop a functional value. Specific objects and products need technical guidance, at least as a part of the process at the later stage of designing. Product designing mainly deals with the user experience, while the designers also focus on business strategies and objectives. Along with broadening their creative horizons, they generally witness the growth of their artistic side, and it also helps exercise their brain for more related ventures.
If one has an interest in product designing and wishes to explore their creativity they must know about its education and to be professional in this field and to get a better hand at this.
To begin the beautiful journey of product design candidate has to achieve a design degree, and the criteria are as follows:
- The candidate must have passed the class 12th examination with a minimum of 50% marks.
- There are entrance examinations for admission in the Bachelor in Product Design course (Bachelor of Design in Product Design), which is a 4-year established undergraduate program offered by reputed universities.
- Majorly, an entrance examination is conducted for admission to B.Des in Product Design, though some universities consider candidates based on merit achieved in qualifying 12th examinations.
- Some candidates can also pursue their degree if they have achieved a 3-year diploma course in design.
For the examinations, students are tested for their abilities, particularly related to design thinking and problem-solving. The preparation is not limited to just books and theory, but general creativity and visualization capabilities are required to qualify.
To get into product design it is extremely important to be creative by the mind, but other than that, certain aspects must be fulfilled to be in the professional field.
The ones wishing to build a career in product designing must adhere to the criteria list below:
- The individual must be a graduate, and a degree in the field of design (Bachelors of Design) is preferable. The hiring companies appreciate a design background as they have a prior understanding of the subject.
- Any work experience related to this particular field is appreciated and mandatory for some companies before they seek the role of product designers at a job. There are many freelancing options available for those who wish to begin through small-scale products.
Moving ahead to industrial design, as mentioned earlier, involves the process and strategies to cater while selling out the products to the consumer sector. Industrial designing is the stage of implementation of a design process to the actual physical state. It could be referred to as part of engineering as it involves technical skills to bring out more than design that is functional value. This particular field of design deals with large-scale production, and manufacturing services used by people from all over the world.
As the name suggests, it is a part of the industry and mass production. The optimization and streamlining of this work for better-refined products that are in large quantities, there is a requirement for industrial designers. The design range is not just limited to cars and heavily engineered products but also daily essentials. The designers in this field create aesthetic yet cheap products for all the people around the globe.
Industrial designers are famous for amalgamating engineering, business and art into one deliverable and sticking on to the design concepts beautifully. As they deal with a bigger picture the work must be done with a team in offices or design centres for maximum productivity.
A day in the life of industrial designers may include consulting with clients to understand their requirements and then researching particular ways in which a product might be used and prepared. There are various computer software assisting their task to develop virtual models and prototypes of a design. While most of them work in firms some are even self-employed, though their tasks and capabilities stand the same.
As clearly stated above, any creative individual can pursue industrial design, though there are still some criteria to fulfil before entering the professional field. The most important skills needed are problem-solving, and understanding of design tools along with the creative eye for products.
The ones wishing to begin a career in industrial designing must adhere to the criteria list below:
- There are both undergraduate and postgraduate programs for industrial design. These require the candidate to have artistic abilities, creativity, and communication skills to work efficiently.
- The undergraduate programs require a minimum of 50% marks from the recognized school board in the 12th standard. Though, some universities conduct entrance examinations for the admission process.
- Similarly, the post-graduate programs require 50% aggregate marks in bachelor’s degree in industrial design. Though, some universities conduct entrance examinations for the same.
