By Willy Bernabe

Industrial design is the combined application of both the knowledge of arts and sciences to improve a product in its utilitarian and aesthetic features, in order to enhance its commercial viability. It has application both for products that are under development and those that have already been launched in the market.

Industrial design primarily emphasizes on how the customer will relate to a particular product. It is all about enhancing a product's value in the mind of the customers and so they are able to relate to the product. The value of a product can be enhanced by making important additions to the utility or the looks of the product, which helps the product to entice the consumers to buy it.

The first step in the direction of coming up with more desirable products is to undertake a detailed market research on the purchasing habits of customers. Then come activities like drawing, making models, prototyping, and testing, before the item is considered fit for mass production. Nowadays, the designers are making greater use of techniques like 3D software and CAD applications for performing these tasks.

The primary objective of industrial design is enhancing the very essence of the product. Designers see how durable, multifunctional, ergonomic and user-friendly a certain product can be made, besides working on its aesthetic features like sound and colour, such as the melodies in a mobile phone. In fact, a designer can also reduce the production costs significantly by making required improvements in the design.

Industrial design is not limited to the above features but also extends to other factors like product packaging, study of the market demand for the item, and also the study of the consumer's response to the design of the product. It is for this reason that industrial designers have to go through years of rigorous training to make themselves suitable for the profession and begin handling live projects.

Some of the renowned industrial designers of the modern era are Jonathan Ive, who is credited with designing the iMac; Brooks Stevens, the original designer of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and Raymond Loewy, famous for the Coca-Cola bottle.

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