Explore by Career/Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Commercial and Industrial Designers
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.
- Median pay
- $79,450
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +3.2%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- Bachelor's degree
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Speaking
- Operations Analysis
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
What they do
- 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.
Majors that lead here
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.