Industrial Design

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

<p>Could someone tell about Industrial Design?
Can it be related to engineering?
What is its starting salary?
What careers can it lead to?</p>

2

<p>Industrial Design is related to engineering, but involves things like usability, aesthetics and research. Starting salary is low in the US, around $42k in a non New York/San Fran setting. It leads to careers in Industrial Design!</p>

3

<p>If you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around a career in ‘Industrial Design’, think of it more like product design- you can design furniture, tools, packaging, home items, pretty much anything.</p>

4

<p>Here are two excellent websites that will answer your questions:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.idsa.org%5B/url%5D”>www.idsa.org</a> </p>

<p>Industrial Designers Society of America is a professional society. Click on “About ID” on the IDSA homepage for info on what ID is all about, potential careers, schools that offer degrees in ID, etc. Check out the awards page for some pretty neat designs.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.core77.com%5B/url%5D”>www.core77.com</a></p>

<p>This website bills itself as “industrial strength ID.” It has info about ID schools and general ID info. It also has detailed listings of current ID positions available so you can see what kinds of projects the designers get into. It also has lots of very interesting pictures and examples of industrial design.</p>

5

<p>or look at <a href=“http://www.coroflot.com%5B/url%5D”>www.coroflot.com</a> for work examples, job descriptions, etc.</p>

<p>Coroflot is a portfolio site for all sorts of artistic types, so if you search for industrial designers you’ll get an idea of what they do.</p>

6

<p>Thank you!</p>

7

<p>I have been looking at engineering schools and industrial design is not offered at these schools.
Since mechanical engineering offers a wide range of options, would it be safer to major in mechanical engineering with concentration in design?
Then would I still be able to do industrial design jobs?</p>

8

<p>Here’s an old thread that may be useful to you: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=113651[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=113651&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you are really interested in engineering and less in the aesthetic aspects of design, then I say go study engineering as an undergrad; then, if you want to focus on some aspect of the aesthetics or some special design focus with a more ‘social’ concern such as sustainable design, you can look for masters programs that have such a focus. For example, there is a masters program in ID at the University of Delft that seems to do this well: <a href=“http://www.io.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=916ae417-a27c-4141-bb3d-317fd763eaf3&lang=en[/url]”>http://www.io.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=916ae417-a27c-4141-bb3d-317fd763eaf3&lang=en&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Alternatively, there are good MFA programs in the U.S. in ID, including some mentioned in the first link that I gave above. In general, however, ID programs (which a previous poster aptly referred to also as product design programs) are not engineering oriented, that is, they are not concerned with solving engineering design issues but ID specialists may often work with engineers to design certain kinds of products.</p>

9

<p>PRATT INSTITUTE’S INDUSTRIAL DESIGN DEPARTMENT RANKED IN TOP THREE NATIONALLY BY DESIGN INTELLIGENCE </p>

<p>BROOKLYN, N.Y., January 17, 2006 – Pratt Institute’s Industrial Design Department, part of the School of Art and Design, was recently ranked second in the country for its graduate program and third in the country for its undergraduate program by Design Intelligence (DI), a monthly architecture and design journal. Pratt’s Industrial Design Department also was ranked first nationally for both its undergraduate and graduate programs by firms in the eastern region of the United States. </p>

<p>This is the first year DI ranked college programs in industrial design. California’s Art Center College of Design was ranked first for its undergraduate and graduate programs. University of Cincinnati was ranked second in undergraduate programs and Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art was ranked third for graduate programs. </p>

<p>Pratt’s department also ranked among the top five schools for students with the strongest abilities in studio skills, research and analysis, and design, creativity, and problem solving. Three Pratt faculty members—Lenny Bacich, Bruce Hannah, and Jonathan Thayer—were included in DI’s list of “Most Admired Industrial Design Educators 2006.” </p>

<p>The rankings are part of DI’s 2006 “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools” issue, which it has published annually since 2000. The journal ranked 46 industrial design programs from throughout the United States based on surveys completed by professionals in industrial design firms. They are the only school rankings based exclusively on companies’ perceptions of how well schools prepare their graduates for professional practice. </p>

<p>There are currently 189 undergraduate students and 97 graduate students in Pratt’s Industrial Design Department. Students in the department’s Toy Design studio course recently collaborated with the Brooklyn Children’s Museum to design a collection of cultural toys for children. </p>

<p>Design Intelligence is issued by the Design Futures Council (DFC), a global network of design community professionals, including leaders of architecture and design firms, manufacturers, and service providers. Founded in 1995, the DFC aims to advance the design community by exploring trends, changes, and new opportunities in design and architecture. </p>

<p>For more information about Design Intelligence and the DFC, visit <a href=“http://www.di.net%5B/url%5D”>www.di.net</a>. </p>

<p>Founded in 1887, Pratt Institute (<a href=“http://www.pratt.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.pratt.edu</a>) is the largest independent college of art and design</p>

10

<p>Carnegie Mellon has both a good design program and a good engineering program. I believe one can do an industrial design concentration within the design major. I’m not sure how friendly design is to double majors/minors.</p>

11

<p>Stanford has a product design program that is a collaboration between the mechanical engineering department and the art department. </p>

<p><a href=“http://design.stanford.edu/PD/[/url]”>http://design.stanford.edu/PD/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;