Product Design
Product design starts at the idea and conceptualisation stage, through to the physical designing, manufacturing and testing of a physical three-dimensional object or product. The product designer regards the aesthetic properties of his product as important, yet he is also responsible for design project management.
We can use the example of a mobile phone as the product. The product designer will have an idea of what the handset should look like, what materials should be used to create it and what sensation the user should experience when handling the handset. However, the material choices cannot only conform to aesthetic or tactile perceptions; it should consider likely usage patterns and still be durable and inexpensive enough to maintain a selling price within certain limits. Cognisance must be taken of the engineers that develop the internal technologies and the space and interface they will require to operate the device.
Now we start to touch on the ergonomic skills the product designer will use to present the device in a logical and intuitive way and to make the technology available to the user in an accessible way. Button location and size would have to be considered, as well as the buttons' clicking action, joystick action, roller action, the consistency and coating of plastics to be used, the screen size, font type on the keys and in the software operating system on the device.
The usability of the device must be ergonomically optimised and the materials engineering must allow for all the technology to fit in, while also wearing well and exhibiting impact absorbing qualities and crack resistance. Stress analyses are performed to ascertain the gauge of the plastics and their consistency over the period expected to be the operating life of the device.
Examples of exquisite product design and tactile and aesthetic attention to detail are the products of companies such as Apple, Nokia and Audi.