The quick answer to that question is that we are the folks who help people take an idea from paper to product. We are the experts who know engineering, design aesthetics, and ergonomics. We are the people who can take a simple idea and make it a strong product, or take a good prototype and make it an amazing product.

I will be answering the question “What does and industrial designer do?” in four parts. The first part, this one, will cover who is in need industrial design, the idea and the initial meeting with an Industrial Designer. The second part will cover Concept Creation including The Concept and Detailed Design Development. The third part will cover Prototype Development including Preliminary 3D Development, Advanced Engineering and Physical Prototyping Services. The forth part will cover Manufacturing and Importing including Overseas Sourcing, Streamlined Manufacturing Support and Importing & Customs Support. Further blogs will go into more detail about these and other areas of interest to you.

The Idea

Industrial Designers usually work with an idea for a product that a person, such as you, brings to them. I say usually because some ‘garage inventors’ take their ideas and actually make a version of the product. These may work in a practical sense, but most often they roughly constructed and are not pleasing to the eye (read: they won’t sell because they are ugly.) For these people, an Industrial Designer will help them modify the product to make it more functional, ergonomically sound, cheaper to manufacturer and marketable (read: look good!)

My next blog will cover Concept Creation including The Concept & Detailed Design Development.