The Many Hats of a Great Designer: The Different Roles That Come Together to Create Greatness

The manufacturing industry has been growing rapidly and will continue to do so in the future. The industry is constantly changing, and new technologies and processes are emerging that will shape the future of manufacturing. The industry needs individuals with a range of skills to meet the demands of the changing environment. In this article, we will explore the different roles that are required to make a great designer in the manufacturing industry.

Industrial Designer

Industrial design is a critical role in the manufacturing industry, as it determines the aesthetic appeal of a product. Great designers prioritize function and form, and in a world of high-quality goods, aesthetics can be emblematic of a superior brand with resources in excess. Even for industries where industrial design was barely considered before, it is now a new requirement with no precedent. The thought is, “You’re already designing it, just make it look nice.” But great designers understand that the form is as important as the function.

Model Maker

Collaboration is a key factor in the design process, and great designers understand that sharing ideas as physical models can lead to better collaboration. Creating physical prototypes can be time-consuming and requires specific knowledge, but it is essential to incorporate the tactile, kinesthetic, ergonomic, and aesthetic details that don’t translate verbally or pictorially. With the proliferation of 3D printers, model making has become a must-have, and a dedicated internal modeling department is often necessary.

Project Manager

Great designers gather feedback freely and openly to prune ruthlessly. When soliciting “feedback,” you are going to get a lot of ideas and opinions, some good, some bad. The project manager has to cull the good from the bad and even good from good, performing a complex, fluctuating, and imperfect equation of internal and external factor balancing to best solve the need. Performing a structured consensus-based, metrics-driven system can lead to better decision-making and a more efficient design process.

Researcher

Great designers don’t reinvent the wheel. They avoid reinventing what already exists by researching the “what.” This is market research to understand competitive products, technologies, and features. The way to create awesome designs is by researching the “how.” This is researching the vendors, components, and processes. Research can be time-consuming, but it is essential to know where to look, how to spot key details, and what threads to follow. It’s about the search for knowledge, but it requires exceptional knowledge to get the best results.

Draftsperson

Great designers make executable designs, and often then execute on those executable designs. This takes the form of dimensional drawings, assembly drawings, procedures, configuration management, fixture design, and so on. Manufacturing engineering is less sexy and underappreciated or overlooked compared to design by those that don’t have experience with it, which doesn’t change its incredible importance. It’s creating the recipe for repeated recreation. It’s the virtual machine that powers the economic engine of scalability.

Collection Agent

Great designers make it happen. Period. In the manufacturing industry, portions of a project get reluctantly released to those with more resources or expertise, giving the impression that the designer is not in control. This role requires the designer to be a “collector” of sorts, gathering all the necessary information to complete the project successfully. The designer must be proactive in communicating with all the stakeholders involved in the project, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

In conclusion, being a great designer requires wearing many hats and being able to switch between different roles seamlessly. Industrial design, model making, project management, research, drafting, and collection agency are just some of the hats a designer may need to wear in order to create successful designs. As the design landscape becomes more frenetic and less structured, designers need to be adaptable and versatile in order to meet the demands of the industry. Whether working in a large, structured organization or a startup or gig economy, the ability to wear many hats is essential for designers to achieve their goals and create great designs.