Industrial Design

Think about it, when you arrive home, what is the first thing that you do? Nobody has taught any of us how to turn the lights on and off–it is something we know very well without having to think about, yet we never miss out on turning the switch on and off. Nobody really thinks about the light switch as its something so intuitive and deeply embedded in all of our daily lives that it is most often disregarded. That is the essence of industrial design. Find out more about Industrial Design here. Image Nhung Nguyen 

Industrial design is a process of design that is applied to product design when items are manufactured by mass production. It is a creative process that takes into account the practicality of the product, as well as its production process. Think of it in very simple terms, the mug you love has been designed to feel good in your hand, its design is not necessarily something we note but without realising it is part of the reason you love it; how it feels in your hands

In the mid-18th century, the growth of industrialization and mechanization began at the same time as the industrial revolution in Great Britain which was the first emergence of industrial design. With the rise of industrial manufacturing and the emergence of a larger middle-class population, the demand for consumption experienced a great rise. 

In a sense, industrial design is the study of function and form. An industrial designer makes the connection between products, users, and the environment. Products that industrial designers focus on are also smaller-scale items and do not usually include electrical circuits and motors. The beauty of industrial design is the seemingly straightforward result that requires various design methodologies to fulfil the three design criteria: aesthetics, usability, and ergonomics. 

Invented in 1884 by John Henry Holmes, the light switch was designed out of an issue people found with light circuits. Holmes’ switch solved the problem of a switch’s contacts developing electric arcing whenever a circuit was open. Then, hundreds of years later, William J. Newton founded the toggle light switch, which was created out of safety and convenience. 

The toggle light switch design revolutionized the design industry… 

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