What is an industrial designer. Industrial design - what is it? Kinds. Notable people in this profession

17.04.2020

Industrial Design or, as it is also called by dedicated people, industrial design, object design, industrial design, is a design branch, an area of artistic and technical activity (whatever you call this conglomerate of art and technology), the purpose of which is to determine the formal qualities of products and other objects of the environment produced by the industry. One could even say more, the field of industrial design is structural and functional features product and its appearance.

Industrial design is all about the efficient development of ideas through a process that leads to the production of new products, even if it's photo essays.

The history of industrial design is a bit shorter than that of design in general. The first designers working in the field of industry appeared in the 18th century on English territory. The first milestones of industrial design are associated with the name and activity of J. Wedgwood, who contributed to the development of the industrial production of printed fabrics with his work, but the definition of "industrial design" as such appeared much later.

It was first defined as “industrial design. In 1918, the German architect Walter Gropius had a hand in this, who founded the revolutionary, for that time, school of industrial design in Weimar, Germany. It's nothing special now, but then this event revolutionized the world of industry and the world of design. Walter Gropius officially announced the fusion of art and technology into one.

The next round of development in the history of industrial design occurred after the Second World War. It was then that he received a serious impetus to development in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, at the same time, interest in this direction of design was shown in the United States of America, where industrial design brought incredible success to its pioneers - sales literally skyrocketed. And by the 60s of the twentieth century, it was in the United States that the College of Industrial Design was organized, so design flew into, so to speak, mass use.

Members of the Board gave a very capacious definition of "industrial design". They argued that this is a manifestation of creative activity, which is able to improve the external dignity of goods produced by industry.

At the present stage of the globalized XXI century, industrial design is no longer quite the new kind The activities of design studios include three elements: art, marketing and modern technology.

As in all types of human creative activity, in industrial design there is protection of intellectual property rights for the object or objects developed as part of the project that the designer is working on. The result of the creativity of an industrial designer must be protected by a patent for an invention, utility model or industrial design. Such is the world, even creativity in it is overshadowed by a legal issue.

The main task of an industrial designer is to create industrial design and ensure product ergonomics. An industrial designer can work in a variety of industries: textile production, haberdashery and leather products, furniture and wood products, chemical production, metal products, machinery and equipment, automobiles, aircraft, ships, etc.

Basic functions of an industrial designer

1. Realization of ergonomic requirements for products, creation of industrial design elements:

Performance of individual works on sketching, layout, physical modeling
Sketching, prototyping, physical modeling, prototyping
Computer modeling, visualization, product model presentation
Ergonomic design of product elements
Establishing the conformity of the characteristics of the model, prototype of the product with ergonomic requirements

2. Performance of individual work during the implementation scientific research:

Performing simple and medium complexity work during anthropometric and other studies related to the ergonomics of products
Performing complex work during anthropometric and other studies related to the ergonomics of products

3. Monitoring the implementation of ergonomic requirements for products:

Monitoring compliance of the working design of the product with the ergonomic requirements for the product
Monitoring the implementation of ergonomic requirements in the design, manufacture, testing and fine-tuning of prototype products and the preparation of technical documentation for serial (mass) production, making the necessary changes to it.

4. Definition and development of ergonomic requirements for products:

Statement of tasks in the conduct of patent information research, search for information based on the results of scientific research
Selection of regulatory documents containing requirements for the products being developed, selection of the results of anthropometric and sociological studies containing requirements for the products being developed
Determining indicators of the technical level of designed products, conducting patent research
Development of an organization (enterprise) strategy in the field of ergonomics; formulation of ergonomic requirements for a specific type of product based on the regulatory framework, the results of studies of ergonomics (safety and comfort) of products, anthropometric studies and the results of sociological studies
Development of ergonomic requirements for products that affect the safety and comfort of using products.

5. Carrying out research and development work on product ergonomics:

Development of a methodology for conducting sociological research on the ergonomic parameters of products
Defining a scorecard for anthropometric studies
Conducting research related to the ergonomics of products - their safety and comfort of use
Analysis and generalization of the results of scientific research, evaluation of the information received.

Industrial Design- branch of design, area of artistic and technical activity. The purpose of industrial design is: to determine the formal qualities of industrial products, namely their functional and external qualities.

Typically, industrial design development includes the following steps:

Idea generation
Conceptual study
Sketching
3D modeling
Visualization
Construction
prototyping

Industrial designers themselves can be attributed to such professions as: engineers, mechanics and artists. They do not create blueprints, they are not responsible for the performance of inventions, they optimize inventions, trying to portray them as more expensive and beautiful than they are. Designers study sketches of products that are already successful in the market and create their own masterpiece based on their model.

Every photographer, professional or amateur, in his work often encounters such a type of creativity as design, in particular with the art of layout, style and decoration. Therefore, we decided to create a new section on the site called “Design”, where we will publish articles about design as a form of creativity, about graphic design, design tasks, typography, fonts, visual communications, graphic solutions, works of famous graphic and industrial designers. The first article of the new column is devoted to industrial or industrial design.

Industrial or industrial design belongs to that field design art, which is engaged in the artistic design of the elements of the subject content of the human environment. Industrial designers are trying to define the appearance of household items around us and at the same time trying to make them as functional as possible. Its success in the market largely depends on the ease of use, functionality and appearance of the product, so industrial design is extremely in demand today. In this article, we will try to figure out how industrial design appeared, what are its main features and differences from other types of design?

It can be said that industrial design as an independent direction emerged from architecture. Not without reason, many people who stood at the origins of the formation of industrial design were outstanding architects of their time. Actually, it is to architecture and industrial design that we owe much to the formation of the object-spatial environment surrounding the nose in the form in which it exists today. However, if architecture solves rather spatial problems, then industrial design is focused on the formation of a subject environment.

The main task of industrial design is to determine the exterior, functional and structural features of equipment, machinery, products and products that surround us in everyday life. In this connection distinctive feature industrial design can be called its focus on industrial mass production.

In addition, industrial design is always focused on the needs of the market. Indeed, in order to increase sales in the face of fierce competition, manufacturers have to resort to various methods, the most effective of which is the interesting and bright design of their products. This allows you to interest and attract consumers. However, this focus on the market, to varying degrees, is inherent in other types of design.

Therefore, perhaps, the main difference between industrial design and other areas of design art is its connection with the domestic and industrial needs of a person. industrial design deals with various kinds of artificially created equipment, techniques and products that occupy some intermediate position between a person and the natural structures surrounding him. An industrial designer is engaged in the artistic design of objects of mass industrial production, which, in particular, can include the following categories of products:

household appliances (dishes and other kitchen utensils, radio and electrical equipment);
cars and other vehicles;
technological equipment for industrial production (machines and other equipment);
engineering devices and structures;
visual communications;
interior elements (furniture).

The art of industrial design actually has deep historical roots, although this direction finally took shape only in the 20th century. Most researchers agree that the starting point for the emergence and development of industrial design are those times when things began to be made on machine tools, and not by hand. As a result, products began to lose their individual features. Therefore, some people began to seriously fear that the appearance of such objects in everyday life would negatively affect the inner harmony of a person.

It was then that the need for industrial design began to form. As an example, the English industrialist Josiah Wedgwood, who lived as early as the 18th century, is usually cited. Engaged in the manufacture of printed fabrics in industrial scale, he, perhaps for the first time in history, paid the closest attention to the design and appearance of his products.

However, until the beginning of the 20th century, industrially manufactured objects were in most cases simply decorated. decorative elements, which served as a kind of reminder of handmade craftsman. By the way, artisans, despite the relatively small volumes of output, have accumulated very valuable experience for industrial design over many generations of their work. After all, in the course of their work, they revealed the relationship between the purpose of the object and its shape, material, manufacturing technology, functional and aesthetic properties.

With the appearance in human life of such products as means of communication, steam transport or industrial machines, at first the same contours and lines, familiar to the eye of the then layman, were applied to them, which were based on the experience of traditional craft culture. One of the first to declare the inseparability of the beauty of an object and its function was the artist, theorist of fine arts and architecture J. Ruskin. He was a staunch opponent of machine production, seeing the way in combining the aesthetics and functionality of manufactured items only in the revival of folk craft traditions.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the formation of new artistic styles took place, in search of new areas of creativity, many artists and architects turned to industrial products. In turn, entrepreneurs and owners manufacturing enterprises for the first time began to realize the importance of design in the process of creating products. In 1907, the Deutsche Werkbund association appeared in Germany, which proclaimed its goal to create "ideal samples" for industrial production based on traditional craft culture. The principles of "aesthetic functionalism" laid down by the theorists of this creative association formed the basis of industrial design. True, the Deutsche Werkbund members made samples of products only in a limited number for presentation to the public at various exhibitions.

One of the brightest representatives of the field of industrial design at the beginning of the 20th century was the architect P. Behrens, who developed his own interesting forms of electric lamps, electric utensils and fans - that is, those types of products that at that time did not yet have any specific visual comprehension. Using the principles of "aesthetic functionalism", Behrens made these products recognizable and unique in their own way.

In 1919, a whole school of industrial design called the Bauhaus was created in Weimar, founded by the German designer and architect Walter Gropius. The motto of this school was "A new unity of art and technology." In the Bauhaus, the principles of artistic design were developed as an integrated approach to the design of things. The foundations of theoretical design in industrial design were laid, mainly that function and design determine form. Accordingly, the more functional the item, the more beautiful it should be.

This principle was guided by the members of this creative association, who believed that an industrial designer is an artist, craftsman and technologist all rolled into one. Since the designer needed to create products for mass production, then, therefore, he needed to know the entire process from beginning to end. manufacturing process. By the way, product samples developed in the bowels of the Bauhaus school in the 20s of the last century are still successfully sold and are very popular. The success of these products is due to the optimal combination of high manufacturability, aesthetic and ergonomic qualities.

Following the example of the school in Weimar, in our country in 1920 the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops (VHUTEMAS) were created. Their first dean was designer, graphic artist, photographer A. Rodchenko, one of the founders of constructivism. Within the walls of these artistic and technical workshops, practical problems begin to be solved, original design concepts are formed.

The further development of industrial design, oddly enough, was facilitated by the crisis of 1929-1930, which arose in American industry. Industrial design turned out to be one of the means of solving the commercial problems of manufacturing enterprises, since it served as a tool for increasing the sales of products. During this period, industrial design began to focus strictly on the fulfillment of commercial tasks and market needs. In this regard, in many ways, design has been reduced to a simple external design subject. This period is associated with the names of such artists and designers as Raymond Loewy, Walter Dorwin Teig and Henry Dreyfuss.

Industrial design received a new round of development after the Second World War, when the ability to turn industrial products into aesthetic works of art became an indicator of the level of economic development. Industrial design in the second half of the last century quickly became an important tool in the competition among the world's leading manufacturers. Realizing the importance of this direction, in 1969, an industrial design college was even created in America.

The principles of industrial design, as a human creative activity focused on improving the external properties of industrial products, have become widely used in countries Western Europe and Scandinavia. In Europe, the Ulm School played a special role in the development of industrial design, which has become one of the main development centers theoretical foundations modern industrial art. In the post-war years, separate, national schools of industrial design emerged in Europe - Italian, Scandinavian and others.

Today, when designing industrial products, the designer deals with such concepts as fashion or the lifestyle of potential consumers of products. Also, when designing household items, marketing issues come to the fore, as a result of which the design often acquires a pronounced commercial character. However, when creating the design of industrial facilities (agricultural equipment, machine tools) still dominate technical requirements: ergonomics, manufacturability, economy and environmental safety. It is impossible to ignore these factors, since the production environment formed with the participation of these objects must be comfortable for a person, including visually. Thus, the specificity of modern industrial design is very closely related to the nature of the products being created.

Designers working in this field must have the knowledge of both a graphic designer, a designer, and a process engineer. Only such combined knowledge allows us to embody creative ideas and create interesting, original products, without compromising their functionality. During the artistic design process, the designer develops the main idea, develops the concept, then works with sketches to present the product layout.

Next, modeling is carried out in three-dimensional space and visualization of the object using specialized software tools. Only after that is the actual design and creation of a prototype product. An industrial designer builds his work in such a way that the product sample he develops, having gone through all of the above stages, meets his primary plan and, at the same time, can be introduced into production without any delay.

Today, industrial design is widely used in a variety of areas, from the woodworking industry and metallurgy to high technology. In general, a wide range of services provided by professional industrial designers can range from the design of homeware to the creation of car concepts. Molds, cases and parts - all this has to work with an industrial designer. The main task at the present stage of development of industrial design is to create a memorable and at the same time ergonomic appearance of the product while maintaining its technological and functional qualities.

There are countless professions in the world of design, one of the most versatile, interesting and multifaceted is industrial design. Such specialists are responsible for creating everything around: appliances, furniture, household items, dishes, cars, yachts, and even mobile applications.

If you manage to combine logical thinking and creativity, and the desire to make this world a little better and more beautiful does not leave for a minute, then you should think about a career in the field of industrial design. Such work requires professional training, which implies obtaining a Bachelor's or Master's degree.

The Marangoni Institute offers a specialized education in the Bachelor's program "Industrial Design" and the Master's program "Vehicle Design" and "Italian Industrial Design". During the training, students: study the history of art; learn to develop ideas for new products and create them; delve into the business component of the industry in order not just to come up with something beautiful, but in demand and in line with the latest or future trends. Upon graduation, they are 100% ready to work and start a successful career in the international market.

But before applying for admission, let's find out a little more about this promising profession.

Features of work

Typically, industrial designers specialize in one product or service. Although there are no limits and boundaries, it all depends on the desire to learn and develop in different directions. The only thing that is mandatory for everyone is the creation of products that meet the requirements: easy to use, well-functioning, cost-effective to produce, attractive appearance.

Depending on the project, the scope of work may vary, but the main tasks of an industrial designer are:

discussion with the client of his wishes and preparation of a brief;

studying the operation of existing products and services;
development of ideas, initial drawings and sketches;
making a choice decision suitable materials and resources;
computer modeling of the product and the creation of detailed drawings;
production of prototypes;
product or service testing;
finalization and start of production.

At all stages of work, the designer must interact with engineers, modellers, marketers and other members of the development team.

Working hours and income

Most often, such specialists work according to a standard schedule from 9.00 to 18.00 (30-40 hours a week), although the creative process sometimes requires additional time.

In Europe, novice designers can receive from 15 to 22,000 euros per year, more experienced 25-34,000, salaries of "experienced" start from 42,000 euros.

Training and professional development

We already wrote above that in order to work, you need to get an education. But having a diploma does not cancel the continuation of education. Industrial designers have to learn all their lives: take refresher courses, take highly specialized programs, read magazines, books, websites and blogs. It is worth joining design associations, visiting specialized exhibitions and events.

Skills, interests and personal qualities

creative ideas and a logical approach for their development;
the ability to express ideas through drawings and 3D models;
property understanding various materials and production methods;
ability to plan and organize a project at all stages;
Ability to budget and work within a budget;
good communication skills;
ability to write clear and concise reports;
creative approach to problem solving;
ability to work in a team and exchange ideas with colleagues.

Opportunities

Industrial designers are in demand in a wide variety of industries and commerce. For example, they work as part of a new product development team in toy factories or furniture production. In addition, they can act as consultants or collaborate with a wide variety of brands on a freelance basis.

By gaining work experience, industrial designers have the opportunity to become a creative director or head a project management department. Modern technologies brought this profession to a new level, having knowledge of ergonomics, functionality and external beauty of the product, designers can work on the development mobile applications and sites. More and more of them are contributing to the online world and becoming UX designers.

To learn more about studying at the Bachelor's and Master's programs in industrial design at the Marangoni Institute, please contact the consultants of the official representative office -

Industrial design (industrial design, object design, industrial design) is a branch of design, an area of artistic and technical activity, the purpose of which is to determine the formal qualities of industrially produced products, namely, their structural and functional features and appearance.

The first industrial designers appeared back in the 18th century in England, which is associated primarily with the activities of Josiah Wedgwood and the development of the industrial production of printed fabrics.

The definition of "industrial design" appeared in 1919 thanks to the German architect Walter Gropius, who founded the revolutionary school of industrial design "Bauhaus" in Weimar (Germany).

After the Second World War, industrial design was seriously developed in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Around the same time, pragmatic Americans expressed interest in the direction - in order to increase sales. In the 60s of the XX century, the direction became so popular in the USA that the College of Industrial Design was organized. In 1969, a member of this college, Thomas Maldonado, gave a very succinct definition of industrial design: "Industrial design is a creative activity aimed at improving the external dignity of objects produced in industry."

Stages of development.

Typically, industrial design development includes the following steps

idea generation

conceptual study

sketching

prototyping

3D modeling

visualization

construction

prototyping

Industrial design, as a type of activity, includes elements of art, marketing and technology. Industrial design covers a wide range of objects, from household utensils to high-tech, science-intensive products. In the traditional sense, industrial design tasks include prototyping household appliances, production plants and their interfaces, land and air transport (including cars, planes, trains), various inventory.

Changing under the influence of time, cultural reference points and people's needs, using the latest advances in technology and materials, industrial design has become a means of "giving multifaceted high quality to objects, processes, services, systems throughout their life cycles."

Theorists of VNIITE, specifying the essence of industrial design, noted that it is aimed at "the complex formation of various objects - products, structures and systems, such functional properties that ensure high quality of use of objects, and cultural properties that ensure that objects comply with aesthetic criteria, value orientations people, their ethnic and other socio-cultural characteristics.

Being essentially a synthesis of artistic design and ergonomics, industrial design acts as:

as a stage in the production process,

as a scientific activity, an ongoing search for innovation in technologies and materials,

as art, since "formal, visual, aesthetic and conceptual elements are the dominant tools for this direction project activities».

Visually, these components are shown in Fig. one.

Rice. 1.1

As a scientific activity, industrial design creates functional priorities in engineering, network cooperation, technology transfer and training. Design as art supports social priorities by producing inclusive innovations that serve the public interest. Guided by thematic priorities, technological and non-technological innovations are created within the framework of project activities to increase economic efficiency and extract innovation rent.

Experimenting with household and industrial appliances, production plants and vehicles, furniture and equipment, kitchen utensils, designers sometimes change the structural and functional features of objects beyond recognition. At the same time, the vector is aimed, first of all, at changing the objective world, and only then at people.

The fundamental trend of the modern industrial design industry is to combine all stages of the development and implementation of an innovative product on the market on the basis of one enterprise. This feature is most clearly manifested in the example of large manufacturing companies in China. Guided by the principle of “design thinking”, manufacturers can develop, present and release to the world market fundamentally New Product. Such unified companies offer their customers wide range wide variety of services:

Specialist designers identify the value of individual products and services, develop branding strategies, build a portfolio of product lines, develop programs of action and manage a project to introduce new products into production (and sale).

For a better understanding of the consumer, a thorough analysis of people's daily lives is carried out, trends in cultural development are identified, video ethnography is carried out, specific models for the use of a particular product are developed.

In the process of developing innovative products, the architecture and design of the product is determined, 3D models are built, and industrial graphics are developed.

A number of European companies, such as Smart design, Design Continuum, fuseproject, IDEO, ZIBA, work according to a similar scheme, whose employees “invest all their experience and knowledge, as well as creativity and design intuition, in the implementation of purely strategic tasks related to the development of a new products".

E. Khramkova, Head of Business Development at Product Development Group SmirnovDesign, notes: “There is an obvious tendency to turn to design at much earlier stages of developing a new product - a striking contrast compared to previous business models, when the designer was “lowered” an order from marketing departments, advertising and technical support of the project. Thus, there is a need for a fundamentally new type of industrial designer - he must be able to synthesize and interpret numerous information and, on its basis, develop a single design concept. With the preparation of this level is well done in the higher educational institutions Japan and China, Holland, Italy and France, where the learning process is directly related to engineering and real production. The training of Russian students in the specialty "industrial design" does not yet meet this standard, however, a number of measures are being taken at the state level to improve educational processes.

The domestic industrial design market can be estimated at a little more than $2-2.5 million. This is very little, so we can say that there is practically no market for “industrial design” in Russia.

Today, there are about ten specialized companies operating on the market: Smirnov Design, Formlab, Art-up, Design Works and others.

The top five, already relatively established in the market, make ~50 projects a year. In contrast to the Western experience, where the regular cost of an industrial design project is $100-200 thousand (according to analytics, at least $75 thousand), in the domestic one it is an order of magnitude less - on average ~ $20 thousand. , and rare orders worth 400-500 thousand dollars, but they usually include a significant amount of the analytical and production part (up to 80%). That. the volume of the market for industrial design services of private companies can be estimated at ~ 2-2.5 million dollars.

Rice. 1.2 Industrial design market potential Russian Federation(Source: CSR "North-West" based on materials from Philip M. Parker, INSEAD and Yandex (yandex.ru)).

There is also a hidden part of the market: industrial design services can be provided by design companies that constantly serve the client, as well as freelancers.

For reference, in the US, the industrial design market exceeds $ 2 billion. Manufacturers pay great attention to the appearance of goods, the share of design in the cost of ordinary consumer goods is ~ 1-3%.

It is worth noting that the modern market is the world of "labels and packaging". Often in successful design and a fresh concept concludes the success of the product in the market (Apple example).

Today, increased competition in the market and the dominance of imported, mainly low-quality Chinese goods, is forcing manufacturers to take the production process more seriously. Domestic manufacturers have finally come to understand the need to keep "connection with the market" and focus on its needs, creating a competitive product.

Until recently appearance The product was mainly dealt with by designers during production, who, firstly, “boiled in their own juice”, not always having a specialized education, and secondly, focused only on current opportunities production, which did not contribute to the creation of innovative and competitive products.

Today, the first professional industrial design companies have emerged, and some design firms have begun to declare their capabilities in this market.

The problem of non-competitiveness of domestic products was also taken care of at the state level. MEDT head German Gref and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov have begun work on a concept for the development of industrial design in Russia. According to the minister, the department decided to take up design because “Russian goods of good quality lose in many respects” in their appearance, and this prevents them from being promoted on the domestic and foreign markets". The concept provides for measures of state support for design services, as well as deductions for industrial design costs from the taxable base, and direct government funding of such costs for small businesses.

To make the importance of design realized by leaders industrial enterprises It is planned to create specialized advisory organizations. The services of these "design development centers" will be partially paid by the state. Design development may be included in the activities that allow enterprises to apply for the status of residents of state-funded technoparks. To solve the personnel problem, it is proposed to introduce retraining courses for university teachers, scholarship and grant programs, as well as to promote internships for design students abroad.

Government support will undoubtedly contribute to the significant growth of the industrial design market. In addition, the cost of the services of Russian designers will be lower than similar projects abroad, which will undoubtedly stir up demand.

Main "market difficulties"

The main thing is the serious backlog of the industrial sector and, accordingly, industrial design from Western countries, which, first of all, is a legacy of the planned economy of the Soviet era, when the provision of the country with everything necessary was put in the first place and there was no talk of competition and development.

Besides:

1. Thinking of manufacturers who do not want to invest in the creation of a modern competitive design. Today, the emphasis has been shifted from the industrial sphere to the advertising one, which is clearly not true, since the product to a large extent must promote itself, initially suit the consumer, and please him. It needs research, it needs design, it needs trial samples, it needs new ideas.
2. The habit of creating design within the enterprise, rather than outsourcing to professionals.
3. Low level of design education.
4. Brain drain. Western companies hold competitions among our industrial designers, many of whom are offered jobs or good rewards in the future. In the West today, the design of a social theme (urban environment) is in great demand, developments in the field of medicine, technology (including special equipment and military equipment), these are government orders, and young talented designers are attracted for them.

The trend of locating manufacturing plants in Southeast Asia will only strengthen in the future. In this case, it will not be possible to avoid the leakage of ideas and technologies. In an effort to somehow protect themselves from Chinese fakes, the following scheme is practiced: the manufacturer constantly releases new models with old stuffing; while the Chinese are making an imitation of a well-known brand, the manufacturer of the original is already declaring that the model has been discontinued.

Often there is no big difference between product versions, only design (ergonomics, materials, colors, textures) and minor details, while the production process itself does not change.

In addition, if the manufacturer does not constantly move forward, then he will lose the competition. In the West, the manufacturer is interested in his brand to have a good reputation (to be of high quality, reliable and, if possible, cheap). The product must comply with fashion trends, time, so you have to constantly change its image.