Product design typically includes the designing and manufacturing of a variety of products surrounding us. The main objective of a product designer is to ensure the safety and efficiency of the product and to increase existing functionality of an existing product.
Students are taught to creatively tackle problems and come up with practical solutions. The course has a lot of demand in product industries and manufacturing companies. Some popular career options are materials engineer , product manager, advertising director, interior and spatial designer, procurement manager, graphic designer, product designer, product tester and several others.
Skills required for Product Design
Acknowledging and having a comprehensive understanding of the consumer’s needs is crucial. As this is a technical field, students are expected to be considerably good at drawing as it involves making 3D models and also includes making Computer Aided Designs. The students are also expected to have a clear and logistic approach to determine optimal costs and budgets of the product.
The preliminary duties assigned to a product designer begin from the interaction with the client and receiving a brief. Subsequently the designer conducts extensive user research regarding the product according to the needs of the customer and must come up with a presentable proposal of their ideas. Next, the product designer needs to develop these ideas and make elementary sketches. Once they are confident about the product design, they must start procuring materials which are suitable according to the initial plan and the related resources to create the product.
A thorough blueprint of the product is produced using product and machine design software like AutoCAD, SolidWorks 3D CAD, Fusion 360 or specific ones noted by the company. Then the prototypes are made as working samples or models of the original product. These are then evaluated and tested under various conditions and the non conformities are removed or refined. This is later optimized in a way that it is cost efficient.
Some of the popular skills required are User Experience Design, User Interface Design and Interaction Design.
Course curriculum for Product Design
The course syllabus differs across colleges and some of the core topics are listed below:
- History of Art and Visual Culture
- Elements of Design
- Printmaking Techniques
- Digital Design Basics
- Creative Writing for Designers
- Economics for Designers
- Product Photography
- Digital Illustration Techniques
- Materials and Manufacturing Processes
- Digital modeling and Animation
- Design Thinking and Need Identification
- Product Ergonomics
- Mechanism Design
- 3D Modeling and Product Detailing
- Basic Electronics for Design
- Business Communication and Presentation Skills
- Computer-Aided Industrial Design
Entrance exams available:
Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design– This exam tests observation and design sensitivity, visualization and spatial ability, environmental and social awareness and is conducted by IIT Bombay. This is generally written to get into Bachelor of Design (B.Des). The exam is conducted in the month of January. This is online and is conducted once a year.
Right Skill Bright Future
Common Entrance Exam for Designing (PG)– The exam tests visual perception, design aptitude, communication and drawing skills. The conducting body is IIT Bombay and mode of exam is online and offline. There is however specific educational qualifications required which must be looked into.
All India Entrance Examination for Design (AIEED)– This exam offers admission to undergraduate as well as post graduate programme and is held in three stages which is the General Aptitude Test, Creative Aptitude Test and Personal Interaction. This is conducted by Arch College of Design and Business.
These are some of the other popular entrance examinations:
Average Product Design Salary in India
- The average base salary for a product designer in India is ₹619,923 per year. Several other skills which can affect a designer’s salary are web design, interaction design, user research, UX Design and UI Design.
- A design manager typically gets ₹1,158,937 per year and a product design manager gets ₹1,158,937per year. An average associate director involved in Creative Services receives ₹1,218,390 per year.
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