Industrial Designer
What the work is
Plans, designs, develops and documents industrial, commercial or consumer products for manufacture, and prepares designs and specifications of products for mass or batch production.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Undertakes product research and analyses functional, commercial, cultural and aesthetic requirements
- Generates ideas and concepts for new industrial products or product improvements
- Develops detailed design specifications and documentation for production of products such as toys, home appliances and furniture
- Creates design sketches, illustrations, models and samples for presentation to clients and manufacturers
- Selects, specifies and recommends functional and aesthetic materials, production methods and finishes for manufacture
- Prepares and commissions prototypes and samples
- Collaborates with engineers, manufacturers and product testers to ensure design feasibility and manufacturability
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small design studio developing clothing, accessories and fabrics for an Australian label. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A sketch becomes a sample on a fitting model and the shape is exactly what you pictured
- You see someone out in the street wearing something you designed
- A fabric you chose behaves beautifully and the whole range comes together
Hard days
- A sample arrives from the maker looking nothing like your drawing
- A deadline for the season's range is fixed while the fabrics are still late
- A design you love gets pulled because it costs too much to make
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 242232, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.