- Industrial Design Is All Around You
You might not realize it, but every object you interact with on a daily basis, such as your phone, the car dashboard, or computer have all been painstakingly researched and designed by an Industrial Designer (and the broader team). Their goal is to make decisions for the user, helping them understand the product and have a better experience during its use.
- Industrial Designer’s Two Most Important Tools: Creativity & Brainstorming
Industrial Designers are masters at brainstorming. Many projects start with a broad idea and/or goal, so before prototyping and testing it is important to explore all channels of possibilities. By not limiting the creative consciousness, fresh, innovative, and creative ideas are allowed and welcomed to potentially enhance the product even further.
- Industrial Design is Always Evolving
During the industrial revolution, mechanization was becoming the new norm. Engineers were naturally becoming designers as they were focused on making fast, cheap, and easy products to produce and assemble. As industrialization grew, so did the gap between good craftsmanship and mass production; helping lead to the emergence of Industrial Design.With the advancement of new technology, Industrial Design is becoming more complex and has a much wider definition than it did before. A great example of this change is in the automotive industry. As self-driving cars become the new norm, designers will have to shift their focus towards the opposite spectrum, which is the experience of not driving the car. This results in transforming car designers into user experience designers as well.
- Critical Phases of Industrial Design
Sketching/Ideation: The design process begins with understanding the client and their needs. In order to do this in an efficient and effective matter, sketching is the common tool utilized. It is a quick and easy way to explore new ideas, solutions, and communicate with the client.3D Modeling: Once ideation provides the path to design, the product is then developed in 3D CAD through various modeling computer software solutions, such as Solidworks, AutoCAD, CREO, Catia, Rhino or Fusion 360.Prototyping: Before mass production and investment in expensive tooling (molds), designers and engineers produce models that look and function exactly like the finished product. A common modern tool that is used in the phase is a 3D printer.
Manufacturability: Designers work with engineers to optimize the product for mass production by applying cost-effective manufacturing solutions. Some of these manufacturing processes can include rotational molding, injection molding, blow molding, compression molding, stamping, extruding, casting, over molding, pad printing, and much more.