Commercial and Industrial Designers

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Arts, Design & Media
• O*NET-SOC code: 27-1021
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• 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.

Tools and technology

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Apache Maven, Apple iOS, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, C, C#

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Mechanical Drafters
• Model Makers, Metal and Plastic
• Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers
• Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
• Fashion Designers
• Industrial Engineers
• Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
• Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Commercial and Industrial Designers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.