How to Create Your Career in Product Design

Product design centres around user experience. The design process itself consists of thinking about ideas that will solve your audience’s problems and creating those products that are in line with what the user’s needs. Product designer jobs include a number of roles, such as

When it comes to the title of a product designer specifically, it can be quite nebulous, to say the least. Generally, they will take on the tasks of all the roles listed above. They aim to develop idea into new products. Product designers combine art and technology by using a variety of design software for their visual work in particular.

Keep in mind as well that, depending on where you work, you may need to travel from place to place for your clients, especially if you work for a multinational manufacturer. 

The responsibilities of a product designer are as follows:

While there are product designers out there without a degree or experience, you are at a serious disadvantage without them. Therefore, for this career path, you should complete:

Look for degrees that also involve work experience, ideally a year’s worth. This will give you a good opportunity to add a project to your portfolio. 

For the tools listed above, you can learn more through tutorials online, though when it comes to your resume, you might need a more professional qualification. A short course can fill in any gaps in your knowledge.

A user experience design course looks at how to obtain information on what users want while also teaching you about storyboarding, research methods, portfolios and the many other fundamentals of user experience.

Not only will you need the education under your belt, you’ll have to compile a portfolio of your best work. As was mentioned previously, you can get experience through your degree, but sometimes it simply isn’t enough. How are you supposed to build up your portfolio if you can’t pin down a job, you may  ask? Other than placements, participating in design competitions is another way many graduates find projects for their portfolio. Whether it be freelance work, exhibitions, or even a project that you’ve done at school, any of these is good enough to include in a portfolio.

It’s better to do as many projects as you can get your hands on, even if you don’t do exceptionally well at them. The practice is what matters here. By the end of it all, you should be able to pick three that show the great products you’ve had a hand in. Though make sure you’re not selecting your works solely on that. You want to ensure your work is relevant to the position that you’re applying for, especially when it comes to your target audience. If you can, get a professional to look at it and ask them for their feedback. Try networking by going to conferences or any other social gatherings where you can meet with other product designers. 

Though at the end of the day, don’t worry about making your portfolio absolutely perfect. You’ll constantly be refining your work throughout your career.