Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Paying close attention to accuracy, quality, instructions, and small but important details.
Identifying problems, considering possible solutions, and choosing appropriate actions.
Using computers, software, digital systems, and technology to complete work and solve problems.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
How to Become an Industrial Designer A bachelor’s degree in industrial design, architecture, or engineering is usually required for entry-level industrial design jobs. Industrial designers typically need a bachelor's degree to enter the occupation. They also need an electronic portfolio with examples of their design projects.
Education
A bachelor’s degree is usually required for entry-level industrial design jobs. Common fields of degree include fine arts, engineering, or architecture. Most industrial design programs include courses in drawing, computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), and three-dimensional modeling, as well as courses in business, industrial materials and processes, and manufacturing methods. More than 360 postsecondary colleges, universities, and independent institutes are accredited with programs in art and design. Many schools require successful completion of some basic art and design courses before granting entry into a bachelor’s degree program. Applicants also may need to submit sketches and other examples of their artistic ability. Many programs provide students with the opportunity to build a professional portfolio of their designs from classroom projects, internships, or other experiences. Students can use these examples of their work to demonstrate their design skills when applying for jobs and bidding on contracts for work.
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Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Employment of industrial designers is projected to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035. Despite limited employment growth, about 2,800 openings for industrial designers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Employment The need for new and innovative designs, especially for high-tech products, is expected to support demand for industrial designers. However, projected employment declines in some manufacturing industries may dampen employment growth. Industrial Designers Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Total, all occupations 3% Commercial and industrial designers 2% Art and design workers 1% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Industrial Designers Do
Industrial designers develop the concepts for manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and toys. They combine art, business, and engineering to make products that people use every day. Industrial designers consider the function, aesthetics, production costs, and usability of products when developing new product concepts.
Duties
Industrial designers typically do the following:
- Consult with clients to determine requirements for designs
- Research the various ways a particular product might be used, and who will use it
- Sketch ideas or create renderings, which are images on paper or on a computer that provide a visual of design ideas
- Use computer software to develop virtual models of different designs
- Create physical prototypes of their designs
- Examine materials and manufacturing requirements to determine production costs
- Work with other specialists, such as mechanical engineers and manufacturers, to evaluate whether their design concepts will fill needs at a reasonable cost
- Evaluate product safety, appearance, and function to determine if a design is practical
- Present designs and demonstrate prototypes to clients for approval
Some industrial designers focus on a particular product category. For example, they may design medical equipment or work on consumer electronics products, such as computers and smart phones. Other designers develop ideas for products such as new bicycles, furniture, housewares, and snowboards.
Other designers, sometimes called user interface designers or interaction designers, focus on the usability of a product, such as an electronic device, and ensure that the product is both simple and enjoyable to use.
Industrial designers imagine how consumers might use a product and test different designs with consumers to see how each design looks and works. Industrial designers often work with engineers, production experts, and market research analysts to find out if their designs are feasible. They apply the input from their colleagues’ professional expertise to further develop their designs. For example, industrial designers may work with market research analysts to develop plans to market new product designs to consumers.
Computers are a major tool for industrial designers. Industrial designers use two-dimensional computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) software to sketch ideas, because computers make it easy to make changes and show alternatives. Three-dimensional CAD software is increasingly being used by industrial designers as a tool to transform their two-dimensional designs into models with the help of three-dimensional printers. If they work for manufacturers, they also may use computer-aided industrial design (CAID) software to create specific machine-readable instructions that tell other machines exactly how to build the product.
Work Environment
Work Environment
Industrial designers held about 35,400 jobs in 2025. The largest employers of industrial designers were as follows:
| Manufacturing | 33% |
| Wholesale trade | 13 |
| Architectural, engineering, and related services | 11 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 10 |
| Specialized design services | 7 |
Work spaces for industrial designers often include work tables for sketching designs, meeting rooms with whiteboards for brainstorming with colleagues, and computers and other office equipment for preparing designs and communicating with clients. Although industrial designers work primarily in offices, they may travel to testing facilities, design centers, clients’ exhibit sites, users’ homes or workplaces, and places where the product is manufactured.
Work Schedules
Industrial designers who are self-employed or work for firms that hire them out to other organizations may need to adjust their workdays frequently in order to meet with clients in the evenings or on weekends. In addition, they may spend some of their time looking for new projects or competing with other designers for contracts.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. Analytical skills. Industrial designers use logic or reasoning skills to study consumers and recognize the need for new products. Artistic ability. Industrial designers sketch their initial design ideas, which are used later to create prototypes. As such, designers must be able to express their design through illustration. Computer skills. Industrial designers use computer-aided design software to develop their designs and create prototypes. Creativity. Industrial designers must be innovative in their designs and the ways in which they integrate existing technologies into their new product. Interpersonal skills. Industrial designers must develop cooperative working relationships with clients and colleagues who specialize in related disciplines. Mechanical skills. Industrial designers must understand how products are engineered, at least for the types of products that they design. Problem-solving skills. Industrial designers determine the need, size, and cost of a product; anticipate production issues; develop alternatives; evaluate options; and implement solutions. Advancement Experienced designers in large firms may advance to chief designer, design department head, or other supervisory positions. Some designers become teachers in design schools or in colleges and universities. Many teachers continue to consult privately or operate small design studios in addition to teaching. Some experienced designers open their own design firms.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about industrial designers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.