Exactly what does product design or industrial design have to do with these human characteristics? My answer is EVERYTHING. The design process requires you to think, analyze, assess options and make decisions based on your values. It doesn’t matter if you are designing a logo, a chair, a building or a rotationally-molded tank, the final design solution will depend upon your character, integrity and morals. How are these human traits related to design? Here are my thoughts. Let’s start with honesty. I’m sure many of you have heard someone use the term “honest design.” But what is honest design? It’s
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Monthly Archives November 2019
Concept Refinement and the Road to Design Perfection
Previously, I’ve written about the importance of developing many concepts before settling on a final product design direction. Developing a concept is a critical step in product design that defines the premise for all subsequent decisions throughout the development process. Design concepts loosely define the project direction. The specificity of a concept may range from something as vague as a scribbled sketch or cardboard model to a photorealistic industrial design rendering. In any case, concepts always require further, detailed development. Concept refinement can take any number of paths depending on the project and the designer. Here are some design concept
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Is the Industrial Designer’s Job Ever Finished?
That’s a tough question…and it’s one that has troubled nearly everyone who has developed and manufactured a product. Just when does the industrial designer’s job end? For most of us, the answer isn’t a sharp line. It’s somewhere in a wide gray zone. It all depends on the individuals involved, the product, staff, resources, expectations, commitments, knowledge and skills. Large corporations with virtually endless resources of manpower, money and equipment can restrict specific responsibilities within very well defined boundaries. In some instances, industrial designers will be limited to overall styling, product branding, aesthetics, concept development and human factor design considerations.
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