Commercial and Industrial Designers

Also called: Art Glass Designer, Automobile Designer, Bank Note Designer, Bicycle Designer, Bike Designer

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estimated salary

Commercial and industrial designers design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys. Combine artistic talent with research on product use, marketing, and materials to create the most functional and appealing product design.

Prepare sketches of ideas, detailed drawings, illustrations, artwork, or blueprints, using drafting instruments, paints and brushes, or computer-aided design equipment.
Modify and refine designs, using working models, to conform with customer specifications, production limitations, or changes in design trends.
Evaluate feasibility of design ideas, based on factors such as appearance, safety, function, serviceability, budget, production costs/methods, and market characteristics.
Confer with engineering, marketing, production, or sales departments, or with customers, to establish and evaluate design concepts for manufactured products.
Present designs and reports to customers or design committees for approval and discuss need for modification.
Research production specifications, costs, production materials, and manufacturing methods and provide cost estimates and itemized production requirements.
Direct and coordinate the fabrication of models or samples and the drafting of working drawings and specification sheets from sketches.
Investigate product characteristics such as the product's safety and handling qualities, its market appeal, how efficiently it can be produced, and ways of distributing, using, and maintaining it.
Develop manufacturing procedures and monitor the manufacture of their designs in a factory to improve operations and product quality.
Participate in new product planning or market research, including studying the potential need for new products.
Read publications, attend showings, and study competing products and design styles and motifs to obtain perspective and generate design concepts.
Fabricate models or samples in paper, wood, glass, fabric, plastic, metal, or other materials, using hand or power tools.
Develop industrial standards and regulatory guidelines.
Coordinate the look and function of product lines.
Supervise assistants' work throughout the design process.
Design graphic material for use as ornamentation, illustration, or advertising on manufactured materials and packaging or containers.
Advise corporations on issues involving corporate image projects or problems.

Work Context

Electronic Mail — 100% responded "Every day".
Face-to-Face Discussions — 100% responded "Every day".
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 95% responded "Every day".
Work With Work Group or Team — 77% responded "Extremely important".
Telephone — 71% responded "Every day".
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 59% responded "Extremely important".
Contact With Others — 60% responded "Constant contact with others".

Work Activities

Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment — Providing documentation, detailed instructions, drawings, or specifications to tell others about how devices, parts, equipment, or structures are to be fabricated, constructed, assembled, modified, maintained, or used.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Detailed Work Activities

Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
Coordinate construction or installation activities.
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
Collaborate with others to develop or refine designs.
Present work to clients for approval.

Design

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Engineering and Technology

Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Fluency of Ideas

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Originality

The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Visualization

The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Visual Color Discrimination

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

Category Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Flexibility of Closure

The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Far Vision

The ability to see details at a distance.

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

They do well at jobs that need:

Achievement/Effort

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self Control

You might use software like this on the job:

Presentation software

Microsoft PowerPoint

Computer aided design CAD software

Dassault Systemes CATIA
Dassault Systemes SOLIDWORKS
PTC Creo Parametric
McNeel Rhino software
Siemens PLM Software UGS NX
Autodesk Maya for Design Visualization
Autodesk AliasStudio
Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk Revit
Ashlar-Vellum Cobalt

Data base user interface and query software

Data entry software
Microsoft Access

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Commercial and Industrial Designers

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