Navigation trail

• Home page
• Types of jobs
• Creative arts and design
• Industrial/product designer: Job description and activities

Industrial/product designer: Job description and activities

Job description

An industrial/product designer employs a range of creative design, craft and engineering skills and processes to design and shape products for a variety of applications.

Balancing innovative engineering design, functional requirements and aesthetic appeal, products are usually either for mass manufacture or for production in small quantities, and commonly fall into the following areas:

• scientific;
• medical;
• industrial;
• commercial;
• domestic.

The work involves either designing, modelling, testing and producing prototypes of brand new products, or making improvements to existing products.

The role demands in-depth knowledge and understanding of materials, production processes, market research and commercial awareness.

Job titles can vary: as well as industrial/ product designer you are likely to come across 'CAD designer' or 'design engineer.'

Typical work activities

A typical day for an industrial/product designer may be busy and varied and may involve one or more of the following:

• meeting with clients to establish the design brief, including the concept, performance and production criteria;
• brainstorming as part of a team or developing design concepts using CAD (computer-aided design);
• taking part in specialist or multidisciplinary team meetings;
• sketching initial design ideas;
• identifying the suitability and availability of materials;
• producing detailed, final hand drawings and specifications or, more likely, using dedicated computer software (CAD) to produce design specifications, including parts lists and costings;
• making samples or working models by hand or using computerised prototyping equipment;
• testing the design concept by computerised modelling or physical hands-on testing of models;
• problem-solving and finding solutions to sometimes complex electro-mechanical problems;
• researching materials, processes or market requirements;
• arranging meetings and liaising with engineers and other departments, including marketing, to discuss and negotiate appropriate production processes, costs and commercial issues;
• occasionally travelling to clients' production facilities and evaluating the feasibility of production;
• making presentations to senior design management or clients, either when bidding for a contract or to present design proposals.

In addition to the above, freelance designers also need to complete the necessary paperwork and administration associated with self-employment.

AGCAS

Written by Lisa Price, The Manchester Metropolitan University

Last updated:

January 2009

© Copyright AGCAS & Graduate Prospects Ltd | Disclaimer