Difference between Product Design and Industrial Design

Back to what Jehan said, I like the way “developer” sounds but it is missing something.

What about,

Product Design Developer
Industrial Design Developer

Fwiw, below is the term and description I’ve created to address this confluence of design and indirect creating-

ie. Directive Creation- (vs creative direction)

It’s easy to think a creative project is all about meeting design, time, budget and market needs. But there’s more. All projects play an important role in the strategic direction of a brand, company or product. Not just creative design. Not just giving “creative direction” for others to do the work, but being creatively involved in all aspects of the product to focus the direction of the brand. This is Directive Creation.

R

I’m an industrial designer to my design colleagues. I’m a product designer to my non-designer friends and strangers.

At what point do we just call ourselves “Designers”? Really, ID encompasses all aspects of design from Product to Interior Design to Visual Communication. Sometimes, our “product” is simply research that discovers unmet needs. In my view, to be a successful IDer you have to be a jack of all trades. So why pigeon hole ourselves to “Product/Intustrial” Designer?

I usually just say I’m a designer. It is easier. But most people assume graphics then.

When I say designer, people assume it’s fashion :confused:

Lately I say “product designer” and when I get a quizzical look I say “It is like an architect but for objects”, most people get it. I find the word “industrial” throws most people off.

Whenever a vendor (almost any vendor) comes in and gives a presentation, they say they serve “medical, consumer, defense, and industrial markets”. In their nomenclature, “industrial” means sheet rollers, testing fixtures, laboratory equipment, etc.

So I agree, industrial is almost irrelevant… when I think of “Industrial + Design” I don’t think of the ID folk I work with, I think of Brunel

Difference between Product Design and Industrial Design: jobs and $'s.
To add a quantitative perspective, a quick count of “industrial design” and “product design” job openings posted today (9/7/2010) shows about 39% more ‘Product Designer’ jobs than ‘Industrial Designer’ driven by way more entry level ($40-60K) ‘product designer’ postings. 'Industrial Design" peaks between $80-100K, with ‘Product Design’ pushing over the $120K mark.

I doubt that having the word “industrial” in your title will limit your salary, but I feel that product is just more accurate. An ap, a service, and an object can all be products, and so the title is not as limiting, where as industrial implies some sort of mass production process effectively eliminating software and services.

What’s the difference between Product Design and Industrial Design? About 45k!

Here is the difference between Product design and Inductrial design:

—Product design is to find all the solutions to realize the idea into real product;Industrial design is to find ideas what your products should look like and make your customer like your products;

—Product design is always related to mass production;Industrial design is always related to marketing and client;

—Product design is about structure and assembly;Industrial is about appearance and aesthetics;

—Product design focus on how to realize function;Industrial design focus on what functions are client/marketing need;

Whoa! Be careful when using the word always. I think you might be confusing product design with design engineering there, besides, I’ve seen industrial designers give thought to mass production, assembly, and function just as much as I’ve seen design engineers give consideration to clients, aesthetics, and needs.

I just tell people that I’m a designer and if I get a quizzical look I elaborate that I do product development, product design, graphic design, and exhibit design. Then to mess with people I tell them that I design the components that I use to design the exhibits that I design the graphics for.

Maybe in different company the job responsibility of Industrial deisgn got different definition.I do think process,mass production and assembly are not the points they should pay atentions to.

As for Product design and Design engineering,sometimes the boundary is not too clear,this depends on the orgnization of the company/factory.

I totally agree it depends on the environment of the designer, however those industrial designers that give thought and attention to process, mass production, and assembly can find themselves earning lots of extra credibility beyond a “pretty picture” stereotype.

An invaluable industrial designer is one that can symphonize the wants and desires of the end-user with the realities and limitations of production and manufacturing. I realize that this is asking a lot from any one individual, but these are the qualities of an influential designer.

I agree with you on these points, an industrial designer with knowledge of material, process and assembly is helpful to his job,“pretty picture” stereotype can not add any values on their products.

A good designer(industrial design or product design) is who can see inside of customer and know what customer wants exactly,and more important,he knows how to present customer’s idea(maybe sometimes his own idea) in visible and understanble way,and ensure it is pissible to produce.

Anyone who honestly knows ‘exactly’ what the customer ‘really’ wants is a genius, each customer is unique, yes their are behavioral similarities but no two customers are identical.

A good designer (industrial & product) is great at critical problem solving… plus has the skills to express their solutions in a legible manner. Little more than that. I also think it is irrelevant to try to separate the difference between the 2 types of design title… they are pretty much just titles, no much more.

Good luck!

hey guys new here but this is my understanding;


Just to say, first of all this is what im studying atm; product design at swinburne uni VIC Austrailia, under the faculty of engineering, all the following is cut n paste.

Product Design is a combination of two traditionally separate fields each with its own strength: engineering with its scientific material and manufacturing knowledge and industrial design with its human centred approach to design. They have been brought together to produce a new breed of graduates who will be able to design and develop competitive products from concept to engineering validation and manufacture.

Career Opportunities:

Graduates will find employment in industries dealing in the design, development and manufacture of domestic products or the automobile industry. Their role will be primarily in the area of design, innovation, project management and manufacturing.

Graduates are eligible to apply for graduate membership of the Institution of Engineers, Australia and the Design Institute of Australia.

Program Outcomes
At completion of their program at Swinburne, graduates should be able to:

a) apply fundamental knowledge of engineering, mathematics and science;
b) use the techniques, skills and modern tools in product design engineering to practice as a product design engineer;
c) identify, formulate, solve and evaluate engineering problems;
d) design and conduct experiments as well as to analyse and interpret data;
e) identify and practice professional and ethical responsibility;
f) design and develop engineering solutions to meet desired needs within realistic economic, environmental, social, ethical, health and safety, manufacturing, and sustainability constraints;
g) apply knowledge and skills that are demonstrably in demand by the industry;
h) recognise the need for and to engage in lifelong learning;
i) function and communicate effectively in multi-disciplinary teams.

the following are excerpts from Wiki;

Product design is sometimes confused with industrial design, industrial design is concerned with the aspect of that process that brings that sort of artistic form and usability usually associated with craft design to that of mass produced goods.

Product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible through products in a more systematic approach. Their role is to combine art, science and technology to create tangible three-dimensional goods.

TO sum up i would say that Product design is the blending of traditional industrial design with a more mechanical engineering and material science flavor . I think that it is a fairly recent development meant to bridge the gap between engineers and designers, buy educating new designers in a multi discipline way. in industry you will find many older designers or engineers with may years of experience that through their life have cross pollinated with the other side ( eng or des) and become more useful as team leaders who can understand and comunicate between the two fields , and most importantly follow the product all the way through its life cycle.

thats what i understand any way , please point out any errors if u feel

Well if we are mostly in the industry and are arguing back and forth about a name, quoting snippets from the net what does that say about us? they are interchangeable obviously!

I have been in the industry and worked in 2 Countries for a number of consultancies sometimes my business card read: “Industrial designer” and sometimes it said “Product Designer” my responsibilities remained the same.

I have been in the industry and worked in 2 Countries for a number of consultancies sometimes my business card read: “Industrial designer” and sometimes it said “Product Designer” my responsibilities remained the same.

My last in-house corporate business card read, “Senior Engineer”, but my responsibilities and skill set remained those of an Industrial Designer.

What I find more than a little annoying is that many industries, banking in particular, refer to their services as “products”; loan products, retirement products, etc. I realize that in marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need, but it is still seems somehow misguided. And adds to the confusion (?).