Industrial design

Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production.^[1][2] It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufacture or production of the product. Industrial manufacture consists of predetermined, standardized and repeated, often automated, acts of replication,^[3][4] while craft-based design is a process or approach in which the form of the product is determined personally by the product's creator largely concurrent with the act of its production.^[5]

All manufactured products are the result of a design process, but the nature of this process can vary. It can be conducted by an individual or a team, and such a team could include people with varied expertise (e.g. designers, engineers, business experts, etc.). It can emphasize intuitive creativity or calculated scientific decision-making, and often emphasizes a mix of both. It can be influenced by factors as varied as materials, production processes, business strategy, and prevailing social, commercial, or aesthetic attitudes.^[3] Industrial design, as an applied art, most often focuses on a combination of aesthetics and user-focused considerations,^[6] but also often provides solutions for problems of form, function, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand development, sustainability, and sales.^[7]