What Does a Product Designer Do?
Product Designers work alongside a company’s industrial team to design and add improvements to basic consumer products, like chairs, beds or tables. Some Product Designers may also create more complex products like electronic or medical tools and equipment. To come up with ideas for potential products to design, they’ll conduct market research to identify the preferences of their target customer base and will create rough sketches according to the research details.
Product Designers will also build and outline specifications for products for stakeholders and design team members to review. They’ll collaborate closely with the design team to come up with unique product designs and will provide feedback on ways to make the product more convenient and visually appealing to customers.
Product Designer Skills and Qualifications
The skills you need for a Product Designer depend on whether you need physical design or design done with computers. However, most Product Designer jobs require:
- The ability to use a computer and computer software including CAD software
- Spatial and visual awareness
- Knowledge of engineering science and technology if you are working as a product designer for a computer company
- Knowledge of the industrial processes and standards, as well as emerging new technology for the industry where you work
- Commercial awareness of the market for your product and how to place your product as marketable against your competitors
Product Designer Salary Expectations
A Product Designer annual salary is $94,410 per year. The salary information comes from 24,391 data points collected from employees, users and job advertisements on Indeed in the past 36 months.
Product Designer Salary Expectations
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Common salary:
133534.64 YEARLY -
Typical salaries range from
29000.00 -315000.00 YEARLY - Find more information on Indeed Salaries
*Indeed data –
Product Designer Education and Training Requirements
The minimum education for Product Designers is a bachelor’s degree or alternative certification with a focus on product design skills. Common programs for Product Designers include specialties such as industrial design, engineering or architecture. Usually, students are required to take one year of basic art as well as design courses focusing on design principles such as sketching. They may also take classes in CAD, engineering and 3-D design, industrial materials and processes and production methods. It is important for students to create a portfolio of their work that exhibits the skills they learned during their studies.
Product Designer Experience Requirements
It is helpful if a Product Designer has several years of experience with computer-aided (CAD) tools. Creativity with 3D modeling software as well as experience with design programs such as Illustrator and Sketch will give Product Designer candidates the experience they may need in the workplace.
Job Description Samples for Similar Positions
If a Product Designer isn’t quite what you’re looking for, there are other career pathways for those who are product designers. Some other career paths are:
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