Industrial Designing' refers to an activity which has to do with products and objects. Designing of products, environments and systems aim at the customers' needs in terms of comfort, aesthetics, efficiency, safety, reliability, economy, etc. Industrial Designers organise and design articles, products and materials in such a way that besides serving the purpose for which they are intended they are visually pleasing as well. Industrial Designing has played an integral part in developing business related to the 'design industry'. The concept of design has contributed to our economic growth and continues to influence our lifestyles.
The skills of artists and designers are similar - an artist's work shows self expression while industrial designers' work is very much like problem solving for practical tasks. Industrial designers apply technical knowledge with creativity to create designs for a wide range of materials in industries. Designers usually specialise in one particular area of designing e.g clothing, furniture, home appliances, industrial equipments, movies and theatre sets, packaging, graphic design, animation etc. It is essential that designers have technical knowledge appropriate to their discipline and commercial awareness of markets.
Nature of Work
Industrial design
Product design/ceramic design/furniture design- Industrial designers develop and design products like cars, home appliances, computers, medical, office or recreational equipment, children's toys, etc. They combine their artistic talent with research they do on the product use, marketing, production methods, and materials to create the most functional and appealing design and to make the product competitive in the market.
Designers work on briefs from the marketing department who research what the customers want and which designs will sell.The process involves design research, application of creative talents, sketches to outline ideas to keep the design within available production capabilities, liaising with other experts to ensure feasibility and cost-effectiveness. Computer aided design (CAD) systems may be used.
Craft design - Craft designers work for designing of ceramics (ornaments, tiles, etc), jewellery, silverware, metalwork, pottery, glass (glassware and stained/architectural glass) and furniture. Automobile design - This design specialisation has two aspects - the engineering and the appearance. Car companies have in-house studios which employ teams that specialise and work in particular areas like drawings, models and engineering. Scooter, bikes, moped manufacturers are other options for designers. NID and IIT (Design Courses) are training designers for this industry.
Work conditions
- Regular hours
- Well-lit and comfortable setting
- Adjustment of schedules to suit their clients
- Creative and artistic
- Good imagination
- Ability to think in a clear and logical manner
- Ability to analyse problems and come up with original solutions
- Visual imagination and ability to think in three-dimensions
- Ability to express ideas through drawings
- Numeracy
- Ability to prepare intricate and detailed drawings/construct models
- Good colour sense
- Appreciation of aesthetics and sensitivity to ergonomics (the study of the relationship between people and their environment)
- Amiable disposition
- Good communication
- Ablity to work in a team
- Skill of persuading necessary to present ideas and suggestions to other members of the design team
Industrial designers
- Design department of manufacturing firms/industries
- Consulting firms
- Enterpreneurship
- Industries manufacturing table wares, sanitary wares, light fittings, pottery, decorative porcelain and materials for electrical and other industries.
Industrial design/graphic design/animation etc
There are two major institutes for training for industrial design. National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad offers 4 years professional courses to school leavers and some advanced programmes for graduates (details in following section). The Indian Institute of Technology also offers Masters in industrial design to engineering and architecture graduates.
Courses/Institutions
National Institute of Design, Paldi, Ahmedabad 380007
4 year course in Industrial and Communication design for school leavers. Courses are as follows :
Industrial Design - Areas of specialisation are Product Design, Furniture Design, Ceramic Design
Visual Communication - Areas of specialisation are Graphic Design, Video Programming, Animation Film Design.
Textile and Apparel Design - Areas of specialisation are Textile Design, Apparel Design
Exhibition Design
Eligibility-10+2 with any subjects. Selection is through an entrance test
Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Art and Culture, Chennai - 600 028
5 years degree course- B.Sc in (a) Industrial design, textile and ceramic design. (b) Visual communication design
Eligibility - 10+2 and aptitude. 80 students only from Tamil Nadu are selected. 2 seats are for ex-service men from Tamil Nadu. There are 15 seats for other states and 5 for foreigners.
Centre for Design, Indian Institute of Technology - The master courses of 2 year duration at IIT are :
Masters in Industrial Design - Industrial products, Automobiles, Consumer products, Ceramics, Exhibitions, Furniture
Eligibility : B.E., B. Arch or equivalent Art Graduate (5 years professional course)
Masters in Visual Communication- Graphic Design, Typography, Photography, Audiovisuals, Video, Computer graphics.
Eligibility : Bachelor of Fine Art (applied art), NID (5 year Diploma)
Entrance is through a common entrance examination (CEED). Advertisement appears some time in December/January. Tests are conducted in February at IIT Mumbai, Delhi, Kharagpur, Chennai, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Indian Institute of Crafts & Design - B-16/A, Bhawani Singh Road, Opp. Nehru Sahakar Bhawan, C-Scheme, Jaipur 302005 offers 3 years post graduate diploma in Craft Design Major.
Eligibility - Graduates or Diploma holders in any discipline. Exceptional experienced candidates with 3-5 years experience are also admitted.
Centre for Electronics Design & Technology of India, A-34, Industrial Area, Phase VIII, Mohali 160059 offers Advanced and Certificate courses in Graphics and Multimedia to 10th Class pass students CEDTI is an Institute under Government of India, Department of Electronics.
Apeejay Institute of Design, 54, Tughlakabad, Institutional Area, Mehrauli Badarpur Road, New Delhi 110 062 offers course in Furniture Design. Eligibility for 4 year courses is Class XII and for 1 year course graduation.
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