Commercial and Industrial Design Careers
Commercial and industrial designers use a mixture of business, art, and engineering skills and concepts to come up with ideas for new products that will eventually be used by people around the world in their daily lives.
The product concepts created by professionals in this field run the gamut from innovative automobiles to children’s play and educational toys.
In order to create functional products that are cost-effective to manufacture, commercial and industrial designers must consider several different factors. The look, function, production costs, and potential popularity among consumers must all be taken into account.
Commercial and Industrial Design Career Snapshot
Commercial and industrial designers are employed in several different industries. This versatility makes this career a great option since the skills required can be utilized in many areas. Designers primarily work in offices, but the job can require that they travel to visit clients, testing sites, and production factories.
Further details on a career as a commercial and industrial designer are listed below (statistics from the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):
is the annual mean salary for commercial and industrial designers.
increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.
have a Bachelor’s degree while 25% have an Associate’s degree.
Commercial/Industrial Design Education
Entry-level industrial designers typically hold bachelor’s degrees. This is one field where an electronic portfolio that showcases your previous design projects can go a long way in helping you find a job. Students should consider their ability to master the variety of skills that are required to succeed as a designer in this field.
Commercial/Industrial Design Job Duties
Commercial and industrial designers spend their days performing a variety of tasks related to devising new products. They sketch out ideas, meet with the appropriate personnel in other departments who work with new products, and manage the creation of models and samples that will be used to test their inventions.
Commercial/Industrial Design Salaries
While the lowest paid 10% of commercial and industrial designers make around $37,630 annually according to BLS.gov May 2015 statistics, the salary potential increase greatly with experience. The highest paid in the field make an average of $104,730. The median salary industry wide was $67,130 as of two years ago.
Commercial/Industrial Design Job Outlook
Because the purchasing public is always looking for new products, new commercial and industrial designers are typically able to find positions that fit their education and skills. This field is expected to grow approximately 2% over the next decade, which is slower than average but still reflects some very good potential for those who wish to work as industrial designers.
Commercial and Industrial Design Skills & Traits
| Industrial Designer Skill Set: | Required Abilities: | Tools Used by Industrial Designers: | Typical Work Activities: |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Active Listening • Critical Thinking • Reading Comprehension • Speaking • Complex Problem Solving | • Near Vision • Oral Comprehension • Deductive Reasoning • Oral Expression • Originality | • Desktop/laptop computers • Compact digital cameras • USB flash drives • LCD video projectors | • Drafting • Creative Thinking • Getting Information • Working with Computers • Decision Making |
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