What Is Industrial Design and Why Does It Matter?

Here’s a perfect example of industrial design: Picture a glass bottle. Now picture a glass Coke bottle. It looks different doesn’t it, with its curves and fluted lines? But Coke didn’t always have that iconic look.

In the early 20th century, when Coca-Cola expanded beyond soda fountains to sell directly to consumers, they packaged their drinks in standard bottles – no distinct pattern or shape. Coke’s name and Spencerian script logo set the drink apart, but its popularity led competitors to try to imitate the brand. Knock-offs like Koka-Nola, Toka-Cola and Koke appeared, some even copying the look of the Coca-Cola script. This made the soft drink market confusing for consumers and it watered down Coke’s growing brand.

So, to set themselves apart, Coca-Cola created and patented a fluted, contoured bottle design. In the decades that followed, this distinctive and ergonomically friendly bottle became so much a part of Coca-Cola’s brand, that it was granted coveted trademark status in 1961. By marrying creativity and mass production to solve a business problem, Coke solidified their brand and enhanced user experiences – making their bottle an icon of industrial design in the process.

What is industrial design?

Industrial design is the process of developing products that perform effectively, are visually appealing and can easily be mass-produced. Industrial design and product design are sometimes used interchangeably, but many practitioners consider product design to be an aspect of industrial design. Product design typically focuses on ensuring a product’s aesthetics complement, if not enhance, its functionality and consumer appeal. Industrial design encompasses those principles but also includes pragmatic considerations like manufacturability and sustainability.

“Form follows function,” a principle crystallized by architect Louis Sullivan in 1896, posits that an item’s purpose should dictate its design. It’s often considered a tenet of industrial design – as is fellow architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s twist on the concept: “Form and function are one.”

The symbiosis of aesthetics and functionality is at the heart of industrial design. But those aren’t the only elements industrial designers consider.

The six key principles of industrial design

Depending on the product, audience and brand, some industrial design considerations are more critical than others. Nonetheless, in each use case, effective industrial design generally addresses all six key principles.

1. The product must effectively do what it’s supposed to and meet the specific needs of all its intended users. This is why scissors for lefties are designed with the blades reversed, those for children have plastic or rounded blades and those for people with limited mobility typically feature easier-to-grip handles. Functionality in industrial design also encompasses the item’s ability to withstand regular use. For instance, while residential furniture is often made with softer woods such as pine or higher-gauge, less-durable steel, commercial-grade furniture rarely is, because it needs to accommodate heavier use.

2. Industrial design ensures a product’s look won’t adversely affect – and may even improve – its usability. The subjectivity of visual appeal can make this challenging. Although there are universal aesthetic principles, such as balance, contrast and scale, there’s no one-size-fits-all interpretation of how to combine and present those principles. What one person considers a well-balanced color palette, another might deem too busy or too staid. Conducting qualitative and quantitive research can help you determine which colors, shapes, patterns, textures and other visual elements are most likely to appeal to your target audience.

3. Intuitiveness and simplicity are aspects of industrial design that bridge functionality with user experience. How well a product performs doesn’t matter if the consumer can’t figure out how to use it. Unnecessary buttons and extraneous features are anathema to effective industrial design. That doesn’t mean every product must adhere to a minimalist aesthetic, but decorative elements shouldn’t interfere with usability. For instance, a pitcher’s exaggerated lip might look beautiful but cause spills, or stylized, difficult-to-identify buttons on a household appliance can lead to user mishaps and frustration.

4. Understanding the technological processes necessary to mass-produce a product and their pros and cons is critical for ensuring products can be produced on a large scale in a way that fits the brand’s budget, time frame and other practical needs. Optimal industrial design typically strives to minimize the number of parts, components and manufacturing processes necessary, and to ensure the practicality, availability and cost-effectiveness of the materials.

5. Making products eco-friendly is an industrial design principle that has grown in importance during the past decade, with some governing bodies introducing eco-friendly legislation such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Using recycled or recyclable materials, making products easy to dissemble (for end-of-life disposal) and emphasizing durability are among the sustainability factors industrial designers should keep in mind.

6. Industrial design must ensure products comply with the standards and regulations of relevant industries and the locales where the products will be made and used. These regulations can encompass everything from the traceability of materials to accessibility guidelines and safety requirements.

The importance of user-centric industrial design

Balancing the needs of the brand – manufacturability, affordability, regulatory compliance – with user-centricity is a major industrial design challenge. But, done properly, user-centered design benefits the business as much as it does the consumer.

For one thing, focusing on end users’ needs, pain points and preferences helps ensure the product is something consumers will actually want and purchase. The inclusion of features that address these needs can also differentiate a product from the competition. And of course, people are more likely to engage with and recommend products that work well and are easy to use.

Research is critical to the user-centric industrial design process. Once the target audience for a product has been defined, surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews can surface what that audience wants from the product, as well as where existing products fall short. Observing users as they interact with similar products – and later, with prototypes of new products – helps designers overcome preconceived notions about intuitiveness, functionality and aesthetics. Conducting usability tests and gathering feedback on each prototype and modification enables continuous improvement. And even after the product has arrived in market, ongoing testing, research and modification can ensure it continues to meet user needs.

How Material can help with your industrial design needs

Our in-house design studio, Aruliden, has designed user-centric products, packaging and experiences that satisfy the business goals of numerous leading brands. Our industrial design team collaborates with researchers, behavioral scientists and strategists while conceptualizing and reimagining products to ensure optimal functionality, visual appeal and manufacturability. Contact us today to see how our industrial design services can bring your brand to life.

FAQs

How does industrial design differ from other design disciplines?

Functionality and aesthetics are core not only to industrial design but also to fashion design, exhibition design, interior design, UI/UX design and most other design disciplines. Industrial design differs, however, in that it focuses primarily on the creation of physical products that are meant to be mass-produced. As a result, industrial design must consider manufacturability, sustainability, industry compliance and other elements as well.

What industries is industrial design relevant to?

Industrial design is relevant to every industry that mass-produces and sells merchandise, from warehouse equipment to electronics, tableware to toys. Whenever functionality, usability, aesthetic appeal and manufacturability are important aspects of the product and the industry, industrial design matters.