Hi Miles
For me the distinction relates to two things - scale and context.
My understanding has always been that industrial design is concerned
with both smaller and larger scale objects and as such, product design
is a subset of industrial design. Industrial design not only includes
product design but also furniture design and transport/automotive
design. The physical scale of the work industrial design encompasses
ranges from small to large while product design is concerned only with
smaller scale objects. I usually use the rule of thumb of product design
relating to consumer products. I can't actually recall where I picked up
this distinction but it was 20 year or so ago so as such things may well
have moved on.
The other distinction related to context. In the UK, product design is
the norm and used much more widely that industrial design, while in the
US, Australasia, etc. industrial design is the preferred term. This is
not to say that industrial design is not used in the UK but where
employed it does relate to my above point. For example, I have a BA in
Product Design where the focus was on smaller scale objects, but I also
have a MA in Industrial Design where projects could also include
furniture, transport, etc. UK universities do use these different terms
to differentiate between UG and PG (product design is most commonly used
at UG while industrial design was until more recently the norm at PG)
but increasingly these terms are used to describe/reflect the exit
award. In general when these terms are used at the same level, i.e. for
undergraduate degrees, product design is often used for curricula that
is more 'artistic/arty' and the award is a Bachelor of Arts (BA);
industrial design is increasingly being used for undergraduate degrees
(alongside product design in the same institution) where the focus is
more technical and the award is a Bachelor of Science (BSc). That said
there are a number of BSc Product Design undergraduate degrees but as
the award is a BSc, the focus is more technical/manufacture.
The above is more my rule of thumb rather than something definitive and
is based upon my experience rather than empirical research. I'd be
interesting to hear about the history of the terms and how this has
influenced their contemporary use. I suspect that this may be a useful
area to provide some useful insight.
M
Dr Martyn Evans
Senior Lecturer: Design
Lancaster University
T: +44 (0)1524 510875
W: www.imagination.lancaster.ac.uk/people/martyn_evans/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/martyn_evans
-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of poylmer808
Sent: 01 June 2011 06:27
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Whats' in a name - Industrial Design or Product Design
Hi all,
Is anyone aware of any scholarly writing about the preference for the
use of the terms 'Industrial Design' or 'Product Design' or otherwise -
be it to describe professional practices, educational programs and
regional differences? There appears to be a number of posts on such
matters on various design forums, and these opinions are important, but
is there any work out there that addresses the specifics of each, maps
or compares what each term may mean and its differing perceptions in
various contexts or locations?
Miles
Dr Miles Park
Program Director | Industrial Design
Faculty of the Built Environment | University of New South Wales |
Sydney NSW 2052 | Australia
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Location: Room 4042 Red Centre
T +61 0(2) 9385 4853 | F +61 0(2) 9385 4270 | M 0432 784 997 | Skype
milespark
http://idsydney.posterous.com/
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