Industrial Designers

An excellent way to uncover an aptitude for design and to gain practical experience in using computers is to take a computer graphics or computer-aided design (CAD) course through an art school, high school continuing education program, technical school, or community college. Some community colleges allow high school students to enroll in classes if no comparable course is offered at the high school level. If no formal training is available, teach yourself how to use a popular graphics software or CAD package. Some software firms such as Autodesk allow potential customers to download their software on a trial basis. This would be a good, inexpensive way to try out CAD software.

Summer or part-time employment at an industrial design firm is a good way to learn more about the profession and what industrial designers do. Another option is to work in an advertising agency or for a market research firm. Although these companies most likely won't have an industrial designer on staff, they will provide exposure to how to study consumer trends and plan marketing promotions.

Pursue hobbies such as sculpting, ceramics, jewelry making, woodworking, 3D printing, laser engraving, and sketching to develop creative and artistic abilities. Reading about industrial design can also be very beneficial. Publications such as DesignNews (https://www.designnews.com) contain many interesting and informative articles that describe different design products and report on current trends. This magazine can be found at many public libraries. Read books on the history of industrial design to learn about interesting case studies on the development of specific products.