What Is the Role of a Product Designer?
If you have creativity, persistence and the ability to communicate ideas in writing, visually or verbally, consider a career as a product designer. A product designer, also called a commercial and industrial designer, plays a role of designing products that customers regularly use such as children's toys, appliances and cars. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the need for product designers is expected increase 9 percent by 2018.
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Role
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A product designer's role is using aspects of business, art and engineering to design products that are safe, functional, stylish and of the highest quality. The designer works with departments such as sales, engineering and marketing to evaluate and establish design products for clients. She conducts research on products using customers in focus groups or surveys. The product designer considers products such as safety, size, weight, ease of use, color and cost when creating products.
Duties
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The designer thinks of product ideas and prepares sketches, blueprints, illustrations of them by computer-aid design software or drawing them by hand. Then the product designer evaluates the products feasibility of the design. She presents designs and reports to clients for approval. The product designer may modify design to conform to clients' wishes. She may design graphics that are used on the products' packaging, manufactured materials or containers. These designs may be graphics advertising, illustrating or decorating the products.
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Education
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A product designer needs at least a bachelor's degree in an area such as engineering, architecture or industrial design to be considered for most entry-level product design positions. Typically, undergraduate coursework includes classes in computer-aided design, manufacturing methods, psychology and principles of design. According to BLS, many schools require a successful completion of one year of basic art and design courses before entering into a bachelor's degree program.
Qualifications
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You must have a variety of qualifications to be successful in the product design field. A designer needs to be ahead of trends, work under pressure to meet deadlines and budget time. Also, you must be willing to listen to other people's ideas and react to changing trends. Skills such as problem-solving, independence and imagination are a must.
Considerations
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Employers may request to view portfolios. Besides school, internships at companies such as manufacturing firms are a great way to build portfolios and gain product design experience. The median salary for a product designer, in 2008, was $57,350 a year, according to BLS.
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References
- Photo Credit design drawing image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
