Industrial design applies a blend of art and science for working upon a product in a way that there is an increase in its market value through enhanced appearance and functionality. It can be used before a product is formally launched or later for enhancing the quality of the product.

Industrial design essentially focuses on how an end user will relate to a certain product. It is all about value optimization of a product in the mind of the customers and so they are able to relate to the product. This value enhancement is attained by adding new features to the product to make it more functional, and by improving its appearance so that it becomes more visually appealing to customers.

This requires an elaborate study into the patterns of consumer habits, which can then be taken into account by the designers of the product. After that come activities like sketching, making models, sampling, and testing, before the item is considered fit for large scale production. Nowadays, there is a growing trend of using 3D software and CAD programs for making these tasks easier.

Industrial designing primarily emphasizes on a product’s overall shape and texture. Designers see how durable, multifunctional, ergonomic and user-friendly a product can be made, besides working on its aesthetic features like colour and sound, such as the ring tones in a mobile phone. Moreover, a designer can also successfully decrease the costs of production by introducing more cost effective designs.

Industrial design has a much broader scope than the aspects already mentioned, as it even extends to things like study of the market for the product, packaging and the consumers’ expected reaction to the designing. This is the reason why industrial designers have to go through years of rigorous training to make themselves suitable for the profession and begin handling live projects.

Some of the famous industrial designers of the modern era are Jonathan Ive, who is credited with designing the iMac; Brooks Stevens, the original designer of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and Raymond Loewy, who designed the Coca-Cola bottle.

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