Almost throughout the history of mankind, goods were produced in a single copy or in small batches by the hands of artisans. Pitchforks and scythes bore the mark of a particular blacksmith – literally and figuratively. But after the Industrial Revolution broke out in Great Britain and manual labor was everywhere replaced by machine labor, the markets were flooded with millions of equally high-quality and cheap goods.
Hundreds of factory chimneys over London are a symbol of the change of era and the birth of the mass goods market
What was good for buyers threw problems for industrialists. How to promote your product if it has many identical competitors? This question was asked by all businessmen of the early 20th century, and often made the wrong conclusions. Henry Dreyfuss, who was one of the originators of the industrial design industry and largely created it, mentions this in his book “Design for People”: a certain industrialist turned to a designer and asked him to improve the product, to “make it beautiful” in order to increase sales. In the understanding of the businessman, this meant adding décor and decorations without changing the essence of the object.
Henry Dreyfus and the objects designed by his agency – with a focus on functionality, not decoration
But everyone can just add gloss, it’s not difficult — the era of art nouveau is an example of this. It is much more difficult to figure out what exactly makes the product convenient and attractive without glitter and gilding. This is what an industrial designer does. Deeply studying the needs of customers, he creates a convenient and attractive product, helping an engineer to make a high-quality case, and a businessman to figure out where you can save and where you shouldn’t.
What Is Industrial Design Really
In short, industrial design is a way to answer the question “What should a successful product be?” Sales speak of success, and they depend on the industrial designer much more than on the whole team of marketers. Marketers can highlight the attractiveness of a good product, but if it is zero, their efforts will be in vain and even harmful if the expectation does not coincide with reality.
An industrial designer is a universal fighter of the creative front, who simultaneously studies and takes into account dozens of aspects:
- Product usage scenarios
- people who use it, their habits, emotions and needs;
- Engineering and regulatory requirements
- restrictions on materials and production;
- logistics, packaging and service;
- brand, market and competitive environment.
Take, for example, the creation of a teapot. Before launching it into production, an industrial designer must figure out how its shape is perceived by the buyer – does it remind you of something strange or unpleasant? How do you interact with him, how is he held, how pleasant are his materials? How convenient are the buttons located? What is the visual language of the brand? How to comply with it? Can it be cheapened without sacrificing safety and appearance? And even the emotions that the user experiences from contemplation are also the responsibility of the industrial designer.
The BORK K730 teapot in the form of a handbag is a product aimed at a narrow audience of aesthetes, it is unlikely to be bought in the conditional “Eldorado”
In each area, its own accents are important for an industrial designer. In electronics, it is the readability of the interface, the neatness of the body joints, and heat dissipation. In medical technology, there is a safe, soothing appearance and convenience of sterilization. In working tools, there is a comfortable grip, ergonomics, wear resistance. In urban facilities, it is resistant to weather and vandalism.
In addition, the industrial designer is involved in each stage of product production, interacting with engineers, production workers, designers from related fields, marketers, logisticians, and so on. Of course, he does not understand each of these areas as fully as specialists. But he must speak the same language with them, forming in his head a certain ideal image of the product that is worth striving for.
Who needs industrial design
Not everyone needs industrial design. Only for those who want to release a really cool, noticeable product and, as a result, earn a lot of money. It was industrial designers who created iconic products from companies such as Apple, Dyson, and IKEA.
All these IKEA products have been sold in huge numbers and have gone down in design history
Engineers have given them technology, but without industrial design, it would never have become so desirable and marketable.
But there are companies that simply cannot survive without good industrial design:
- Companies that bring a new product to a competitive market.
It is expensive, and industrial design is far from the most expensive stage. But without it, the manufacturer risks creating a product that is ideal from a technical point of view, but no one needs it on the market. - Startups that want to make a name for themselves. They do not have a big name and a hundred-year history, and a good design, which includes not only a pleasant appearance, is a must for success.
- Engineering teams that need to add an understanding of how to bring a product to the market and make it desirable to their own expertise.
- Brands that plan to build a line or ecosystem of products. A mistake at any stage threatens not only a specific product, but the entire line.
- Factories that are moving from contract manufacturing to their own products. In this case, you need to become your own customer, which means building an entire design department from scratch — or turn to specialists.
If you understand that you have a competitive market, you want to grab a significant share of it and sell the product in thousands and tens of thousands, it makes sense for you to invest in industrial design.
And even if you’re a monopolist, you don’t feel like you have any competitors, and your product only needs to be technical, industrial design makes sense. For example, a convenient and well-thought-out pump control panel on a drilling rig will facilitate work and reduce the chance of accidents.
Do you recognize yourself? Then write to us and we will discuss your project and tell you which of your tasks can be solved with the help of industrial design.
And if you have something to say about what you have read, we will be glad to comment in a special post of the telegram channel.
