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Have you ever thought about how a simple, everyday product such as a pencil came about? It is hard to imagine what school life would be like without it. Would you like to make such a mark in this world? Pursuing a career as a product designer can mean making a significant mark to change society for the better.

How can you get started with such a task? What do you need to study? What skills will you need to develop? Keep reading to find out!

If you are interested in potentially changing the world for the better through innovative and creative products, here are some vital things you should know about a career as a product designer.

What Does A Product Designer Do?

A product designer comes up with ideas for solving present problems, takes feedback from stakeholders, serves as a liaison between designers, engineers, and researchers, and assists in creating mock-ups using wireframes and prototypes.

The main aim of a product designer is to create a solution for a human problem through a product. They are likely to take on the role of a project manager and oversee the product development process from start to finish. 

Firstly, identify the issue, then ideate solutions with a team, build prototypes, and finally present the end product that satisfies the customer’s need.

Pinpointing the exact problems people face is key to coming up with an effective product. The design of a product must be functional and aesthetically pleasing to give the customer a great experience. Essentially, product designers are problem solvers with an entrepreneurial frame of mind.

On a daily basis, a career in product design would involve:

Collaborating with a team of marketers, developers, and designers to brainstorm ideas for a product that can fill a gap in the market.

Building, assessing, and testing prototypes to build an effective product.

Coming up with guidebooks and other documentation for training developers and designers.

Getting feedback from users on existing products to recognize room for improvements.

Since a product can describe any item that is up for sale, the scope for an individual pursuing a career in product design is vast. They can specialize in a specific product such as lighting, automobiles, phones, or software.

Job profiles for a Product Designer

There are a variety of job roles a student can pursue a career as a product designer.

  1. Product Manager: A product manager determines client wants and keeps track of the company’s commercial goals. They assess if the items will meet the needs of customers and collaborate on various projects with team members to bring product visions to life.
  2. Marketer: A marketer’s goal is to maximize profits for the firm and offer suggestions on how to highlight product attributes in order to get more consumers and establish a reputation as a trustworthy organization.
  3. Design Consultant: A design consultant is in charge of assessing clients’ and customers’ needs and developing and designing goods to meet those needs. They research what a product does for a user and how to improve their experience with it.
  4. Advertising Director: An advertising director oversees the company’s budget and holds meetings to share ideas from other team members for the betterment and expansion of the company’s operations.
  5. Product Manufacturer: A product manufacturer is in charge of developing and designing new items, either from raw materials or by advising workers on how to make the product and what materials to use.
  6. UX/UI Designer: A UI/UX designer is in charge of creating the software and user interface for any online platform that we use today. A UI/UX designer’s primary responsibility is to improve the design and usability of a particular program to produce a better user experience.

Career path to become a Product Designer

Path 1:

You have the option of selecting either the Arts, Commerce, or Science stream.

If you have chosen a specific university or college that you want to attend, be sure to review their admissions requirements. To be admitted to Product Designing programs at many IT colleges and universities, applicants must have a science background. 

Appear for the entrance exam to get admitted to a college or university for the undergraduate design program, followed by a master’s program.

Salary of a Product Designer at different career stages

Here’s a table of the average annual salary you can expect if you pursue a career as a Product Designer. 

PositionExperience RequiredAnnual Salary
Product Design Associate0 – 1 year₹4.5 – ₹9 lacs
Product Designer1 – 3 years₹7 – ₹14 lacs
Senior Product Designer4 – 6 years₹8 – ₹19 lacs
Principal Product Designer8 – 10 years₹29 – ₹42 lacs
Chief Product DesignerAbove 10 years₹25 – ₹50 lacs
Chief Product OfficerAbove 10 years₹30 – ₹50 lacs

Skills to become a Product Designer

  1. Computer Skills: Product designers use various computer programs to help design items to certain specifications. Having basic computer skills can help them learn these designing programs quicker.
  2. Coding Skills: Product designers use computer coding to create product software or user experience designs. Coding skills enable them to build code that instructs devices or programs to accomplish specific activities or functions.
  3. Visual Design Skills: Product designers must show a visually pleasing design that appeals to stakeholders. They utilize the elements of design like layout, colour theory, and typography to create a good-looking design.
  4. UI Design Skills: Product designers employ UI design skills to create user interfaces that are both visually appealing and simple to use. It involves copywriting, designing interactions, and front-end development of a digital product.
  5. UX Design Skills: A UX designer deals with prototyping, testing, and wireframing a digital product. This product design skill is fundamental as they aim to create platforms that are simple to use.
  6. Research and Observation Skills: To identify what consumers want or need, product designers must observe the world around them. They must be able to see gaps in the market that a product can fill and be profitable.
  7. Empathy: A Product Designer not only knows the pain points and motivations of their users but also the demands of the team members with whom they collaborate. This necessitates both a necessary perspective to avoid falling into sympathy and humility to maintain a neutral attitude.
  8. Collaboration: Product Designers do not consider themselves solo artists, evolving as free electrons, as some designers in art direction do. Unlike a designer artist who wants to convey their message without compromising, a product designer can incorporate many restrictions into their design.
  9. Good communication: Product designers understand how to convey information in a fluid manner and how to listen and reformulate viewpoints. Too often, Product Designers are dissatisfied because the results of their labour are not adequately considered. The internal communication abilities of the designer are thus a valuable asset in spreading the Product Design culture throughout the organization.
  10. Curiosity: Product design is a field that moves at a breakneck pace; a smart Product Designer must stay on top of trends that could affect or evolve the product, seek information ahead of time, and keep a constant eye on the clock.

Is Product Design a good career option?

India’s design sector is increasing by 23% to 25% annually. More than 62,000 designers are needed in India for the country’s industrial, graphic, communication, packaging, and other businesses, but only 7000 are certified designers. This demonstrates that a career as a product designer is a great one to pursue.

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the product design industry is growing and will exhibit a CAGR of 10.36% for the forecast period of 2021-2028, according to a report by McKinsey & Company. India is known as a technology service provider and is getting popular as a product engineering hub worldwide.

Popular Industries for Your Career as a Product Designer

Here are a few industries students can start their career in product design after 12th.

Ecommerce
Unlike most industries, the eCommerce environment is entirely online. There are hundreds of job opportunities in this sector, including those for copywriters, website developers, software engineers, app developers, and logistics and supply chain specialists. With most products moving into the digital space, so are product designers.

Electronics
The electronics business has expanded to become a multibillion-dollar worldwide sector. This refers to digital technology that creates products for office productivity, communications, and entertainment. With the industry being so vast, employment opportunities are endless.

Education Technology
Education is a cornerstone of society’s progress. With the recent challenges people have faced, building educational products that can be communicated effectively online has become a vital part of the education sector. The importance of this industry will continue to grow, and so will the demand for digital education products.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can pursue a career as a Product Designer? Then what are you waiting for? Sign up for the Clever Harvey JuniorMBA Technology course now!

Types of industries hiring Product Designers

  1. Advertisement
  2. Architectural Industries
  3. Hardware Companies
  4. IT Companies
  5. Marketing
  6. Public Relations
  7. Social Media Platforms
  8. Software Companies

Top recruiters for Product Designers

Top recruiters for Product Designers
WIPRO
Flipkart
Myntra
Bajaj Group
Reliance Entertainment
Red Chillies Entertainment
Godrej
Top recruiters for Product Designers
  1. WIPRO
  2. Flipkart
  3. Myntra
  4. Bajaj Group
  5. Reliance Entertainment
  6. Red Chillies Entertainment
  7. Godrej

Courses to upskill as a Product Designer

Below is a list of some certificate courses you can take to start your career as a product designer.

  • Automotive Clay Sculpting
  • Automotive Digital Sculpting
  • Industrial Design
  • Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Luxury Product Design
  • Industrial Training in Electronic Product Design
  • Product Design
  • UX/UI Design Fundamentals

There are also various shorter online courses you can check out in product design that can help kick start your career in product design.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can pursue a career as a Product Designer? Then what are you waiting for? Sign up for the Clever Harvey JuniorMBA UX Design and JuniorMBA Design&Branding courses now!

Educational qualifications to become a Product Designer

In this section, we shall be sharing with you everything you need to know about the educational qualifications you need to become a Product Designer. 

Degrees in India 

Here’s a list of the undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs you can take in India to pursue a career as a Product Designer. 

Undergraduate degrees to become a Product Designer in India 

  1. Bachelor of Arts in Product Design
  2. Bachelor of Design in Craft Design
  3. Bachelor of Design in Human-Centred Design
  4. Bachelor of Design in Product Design
  5. Bachelor of Science in Product Design and Technology

Postgraduate degrees to become a Product Designer in India

DegreeDuration
Master of Product Design9 months – 2 years
Master of Design in Automotive Design2 years
Master of Design in Product Design2 years

Degrees abroad

Here’s a list of the undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs you can take abroad to pursue a career as a Product Designer. 

Undergraduate degrees to become a Product Designer in India 

  1. Bachelor of Arts in Product Design
  2. Bachelor of Design in Product Design
  3. Bachelor of Engineering in Product Design
  4. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design
  5. Bachelor of Product Design

Postgraduate degrees to become a Product Designer abroad

DegreeDuration
Master of Arts in Product Design2 years
Master of Design in Product Design2 years
Master of Product Design2 years

References

To be the best, you must learn from the best. Follow these professionals in product design to successfully grow your career as a product designer.

India

– Partner and Design Director at Hexagramm Design, Ankon Mitra
– Co-Founder and Product Designer at Studio Kassa, Arpan Patel
– Founder and Design Lead at Design Clinic, Parth Parikh
– Creative Head at Studio Metallurgy, Advaeita Mathur

Global

– UX and Product Designer at Microsoft, Minjun Chen
– Senior Product Designer at Instagram, Nina Geometrieva
– Business Experience Designer at Facebook, Mitali Bhasin
– Product Designer at TikTok, Marisa Chentakul
– Product Designer at Neeva, Rachel Cheng
– Director of Human-Computer Interaction at Amazon, Chidinma Kalu
– Product Designer at Google AI, Tony Aubé
– Product Design Manager at Meta, Garron Engstrom
– Product Designer at Facebook, Brad Sant

Read these books to learn what it takes for a career as a product designer.

  • Smart Product Design by Sendpoints
  • The Fundamentals of Product Design by Richard Morris
  • The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
  • Basics Product Design 02: Material Thoughts by David Bramston
  • Product Design by Alex Milton

That’s all you need to know about the field of Product Design. We hope this blog helped you and answered all your questions about how you can pursue a career as a Product Designer, what you should study, and where you can work. Good luck! 

FAQs related to a Career in Product Design

What does the study of product design deal with?

Dealing with design, creativity, resolving product-related challenges, and delivering solutions to numerous issues in product design are all part of product design.

How many years is a course study in B. Des/BA in product designing?

A B. Des or BA degree in product design takes 3 years, and sometimes 4 years if it includes an internship.

Is it worth pursuing a product design degree?

Product design is a useful course of study for those interested in the field of design or who wish to start their own product business afterwards. It is worth pursuing because of the job opportunities it provides.

Which is the best college in India to pursue product design?

The National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad and Lovely Professional University in Phagwara are two of the best colleges in the country for studying product design.

What is the average salary for an individual with a degree in product design?

Individuals with a degree in product design can expect to earn between Rs. 3 Lacs and Rs.7 Lacs per year on average. However, depending on their abilities, knowledge, and expertise in the sector, it varies from person to person.

What tools do I need as a product designer?

A few vital technical skills to become a successful product designer have been mentioned in this article. However, here are some computer-aided design programs you can familiarize yourself with:
AutoCAD
TurboCAD
SelfCAD
Fusion 360
Inventor
It would also be helpful for your career to have knowledge of Figma, Sketch, and Photoshop.

Is it hard to switch to a product design career?

It isn’t always tough to make the transition into product design. You probably already have problem-solving, communication, and empathy abilities that you may apply to this position. If you’re thinking about switching careers, concentrate on the technical abilities and programs you’ll need to know. Examine various product design job postings to get a sense of where you should concentrate your efforts.

Is product design part of marketing?

Marketing design includes product design. It comprises the design of a variety of products, ranging from apps to actual items like silverware or doors. Because goods are built to suit a specific demand of their users, problem-solving is at the heart of product design.

Can anyone be a product designer?

To be a product designer, an aspirant must have completed at least high school and have a bachelor’s degree. Students having a design experience have a better understanding of the subject and are better able to comprehend the work. Aspirants who have relevant work experience have a better chance of becoming product designers.

Does product design require coding?

No, but it is beneficial. Your success as a UX designer isn’t determined by whether or not you can code; it’s determined by how well you execute the design-thinking process and whether or not you can use mockup tools to generate solutions that solve the challenge at hand.

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Top 10 colleges to become a Product Designer Abroad Top 10 colleges to study Product Design in India How to become a Product Designer How to become a UX Designer
Top 10 colleges to become a Product Designer Abroad Top 10 colleges to study Product Design in India How to become a Product Designer How to become a UX Designer