What is Product Design: Everything You Actually Need to Know

If someone asked you what product design is, you'd probably say something like "designing products, right?" And that, frankly, is not wrong. However, it is not the whole picture either.

It is product design that makes your phone feel good in your hand. That is why some water bottles are difficult to open and others are not. It is the reason why you use one application and drop another after three days. Somebody reflected on all that, that is a product designer. And that is a job that is literally exploding in India today.

What is Product Design? 

Technically speaking, Product design is the strategic process of conceptualizing, creating, and iterating products to solve specific user problems while meeting business goals. It bridges user experience (UX) research, functionality, and aesthetics to develop both physical goods and digital applications. Product designers focus on usability, desirability, and feasibility to make products that are valuable and user-friendly. In simple words, product design means to design products in such a way that they are useful, aesthetically pleasing as well as functional.  

Is Product Design a Good Career, or is it Hype?

The product design worldwide market stood at $9.4 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $24.1 billion by 2030. Forecasts suggest a robust CAGR ranging from 9.6% to 12.5% over the period. That sort of expansion does not occur without commotion, firms are recruiting, and they are paying good money too.

The salaries of fresh product designers in India begin at 4 to 7.8 lakh per annum. This figure increases a few years later to ₹10-15 lakh. Good, relocate to Bengaluru or Mumbai and top positions are far beyond 20 lakh. This is no longer an emergency plan. It is a decent profession.

Who Can Even Do Product Design After 12th?

Anyone. Seriously. Science student, commerce student, arts student, it does not matter what stream you belong to. Product design absorbs everything in you. It is not about how and why things should be as they are, but whether you are curious.

Your major choices are simple. B.Des in Product Design, a four year course can be pursued from NID, IIAD, The Design Village, MIT ADT, VGU, and more. In case you would like something shorter to begin with, a diploma is also an option. And even in case you have a degree in any other thing, an M.Des gets you into design easily. All you need is skills to build a career in product design.

Design Entrance Exams for Product Design Course

• UCEED
• NID DAT
• CEED
• NIFT Entrance
• AIDAT (All India Design Aptitude Test)

To gain admission into top design institutes, taking on most leading product design colleges, you have to pass either UCEED,NID DAT, or AIDAT. They are not like JEE, they are tests of design thinking, observation and visual ability. 

What Do You Actually Learn?

Product Design teaches the end-to-end process of creating, developing, and launching functional, aesthetic, and user-centric products. You also learn how to do research, sketching, 3D modeling (CAD), prototyping, and material studies. Apart from this, the subject teaches you the basic design skills like creative thinking, design thinking, and analysis. 

To sum up, Product design is applicable in all industries, including healthcare, technology, cars, consumer goods, and furniture. It is a career in which you literally see your work all around you, on a day to day basis. So, if you are someone who is always questioning, “why did they make this juice bottle like this, and not like that,”  Product designing is your calling. Take the design entrance exam and study from the top design institute in India.