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Industrial designer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen Ph.D.,

Carmita Sanchez-Fong

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical industrial designer skills. We ranked the top skills for industrial designers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.6% of industrial designer resumes contained industrial design as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an industrial designer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 industrial designer skills for your resume and career

1. Industrial Design

Here's how industrial designers use industrial design:

Manage 1 industrial design employee and several subcontractors including: mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, graphic designers and industrial designers.
Contributed mechanical and design patent worthy industrial design work on numerous projects that significantly improved the viability of the product.

2. Solidworks

Here's how industrial designers use solidworks:

Produced SolidWorks engineering CAD files for several commercial pool and spa battery-powered vacuum products.
Reverse-engineered plastic injection molded component for the Square D company using SolidWorks.

3. CAD

Here's how industrial designers use cad:

Sourced components and manufacturing and oversaw CAD development.
Designed and developed CAD data from customer information.

4. Sketch

Here's how industrial designers use sketch:

Created concept sketch generations for a future house wares product -Produced 3d drawings and photo-realistic renderings for CPD s client across seas
Created, designed 2D concept sketch proposals and 3D Alias math models along with other various digital software effects.

5. KeyShot

Here's how industrial designers use keyshot:

Collaborated with internal publisher team to design gaming products, using Photoshop, Illustrator, and KeyShot.
Create renderings in Keyshot for sales and assembly Illustrations.

6. Prototype

A prototype is a model or sample of a product, created prior to its release with the goal of testing the product and observing its behavior and effectiveness in use. The results of this testing are then used to further alter and improve the product in question, often redesigning it, fixing any issues which may have come up, and otherwise upgrading the already existing design.

Here's how industrial designers use prototype:

Refined the initial concept into a functional high fidelity prototype capable of meeting design objectives verifiable through user testing.
Design virtual prototypes of 18 different locations including apartment units and offices ensuring interior identity among all units.

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7. Visualization

Here's how industrial designers use visualization:

Implemented math modeling changes to several key vehicle components to allow accurate visualization and manufacturing of parts.
Worked with the marketing team to design watches and conceptualize a new product line, including market research and concept visualization.

8. Prototyping

Here's how industrial designers use prototyping:

Participated Seminars about Computer-Aided Design, 3D animation, prototyping and architecture.
Created spreadsheets detailing product specifications and requirements for rapid prototyping and manufacturing.

9. Product Development

Product development is the complete procedure of creating a product from concept until release of the final product. Product development has many stages after which a product is released into the market. Identifying the need, creating the opportunity, conceptualizing a product, and providing a solution, all are different stages of product development.

Here's how industrial designers use product development:

Negotiated contracts with existing and potential vendors and provided cost analysis for new product development.
Overhauled internal design framework enabling shorter product development cycles and reduced time to market.

10. Design Solutions

The design solution is a process that is used to simplify or translate high-level client requirements into a simpler form that may be also be regarded as a solution. For this purpose, the technical requirements and models are to be transformed into alternative designs which are then analyzed and the best one among all the alternatives is chosen as the ultimate solution.

Here's how industrial designers use design solutions:

Delivered elegant, functional and highly effective design solutions that greatly enhanced mobility and utility for the disabled.
Promoted into larger-scale projects in recognition for ability to develop design solutions that met customer expectations.

11. Concept Development

Concept development refers to the process of developing activities or ideas about a product or procedure in order to solve design issues or operational challenges. This is typically seen early in a design or engineering process in order to smooth out any details regarding the product's form and that all needs will be met by the current design.

Here's how industrial designers use concept development:

Reported to Managing Director and responsible for concept developments of tableware design, household product and elevator interior design.
Project Lead in concept development lighting technology proposals and in package design for advance exterior lighting technology.

12. Adobe Creative Suite

Here's how industrial designers use adobe creative suite:

Mentored colleagues in the process and programs of the company including NGC, PLM, File Maker, and Adobe Creative Suite
Used Adobe Creative Suite 6 to create page layouts, vector-based headlines and photo spreads to compliment each story.

13. Development Process

Here's how industrial designers use development process:

Communicated with manufacturers during the development process.
Introduced Pro-Engineer software, into the design and development process to increase efficiency and reduce design time.

14. Rhino

A Rhino is a computer application software for graphics and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) developed in 1980 by Robert McNeel & Associates. It's a computer 3D application used for 3D printing and is used for reverse engineering in fields like graphic design, 3D printing, multimedia, industrial design, architecture, computer-aided manufacturing, and a few others.

Here's how industrial designers use rhino:

Conceptualized design in 3D modeling using Rhino 3D.
Visualized design concepts through 3D Max and Rhino.

15. Design Concepts

Here's how industrial designers use design concepts:

Generated value for the company by creating design concepts and digital content for exhibits, environments, interactive displays and events.
Confer with engineering, marketing, production, and sales departments to establish and evaluate design concepts for manufactured products.

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What skills help Industrial Designers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on industrial designer resumes?

Dr. Jennifer Jorgensen Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The retail industry is robust and requires many skills. Content and industry-related knowledge are essential, including comfort with computer applications like Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Excel. Beyond knowledge of the industry, job candidates need excellent communication skills in written and oral forms. It's also highly recommended that job candidates have work experience in their area of interest, which could include an internship, job shadow, or part-time position.

What industrial designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Carmita Sanchez-Fong

Professor and Chairperson, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY

Sketch, sketch, sketch, and work on your portfolio. Use the many resources at FIT to stay current with technology, including 3d printing, laser cutting, and virtual reality. Volunteer with one of the professional organizations, attend virtual conferences, enter a competition, develop your personal/professional profile, and become familiar with digital material resources. Work on your research and presentation skills. Create a well-organized digital library of your 2d and 3d assets. Prepare yourself to go back. Take some masterclasses. Volunteer as a virtual artist-in-residence at a local school. Be creative, remain engaged.

What type of skills will young industrial designers need?

Bennie F. Johnson

Executive Director, AIGA, the professional association for design

Our Design Futures research from 2018 covered this topic in some detail. Some highlights of needed skills include an understanding of business models, complex systems, and data. One of the seven Design Futures trends is "Bridging Physical and Digital Experiences," which has become even more important in a COVID world. Of course, mastering craft and specific tools remain important, especially for entry-level work, but so is a general ability to "learn how to learn," as the rate of technical change (and obsolescence) is only getting faster.

In May of 2020, AIGA conducted an industry pulse check survey around the impact of COVID-19 on the design community and found, not surprisingly, that adaptability skills continue to be the most critical for design professionals, and collaboration made the list of top five skills for the first time.

What hard/technical skills are most important for industrial designers?

Lorrie Ivas

Full-time Faculty, Santa Monica College

The ability to communicate your design concepts to the team (or future boss/interviewer) is vital. Hand and digital fashion sketching and illustration skills are necessary at every step. Scholarships, competitions, or internships often request a sample portfolio, so it doesn't go any further if the illustrations don't "wow" the judging viewer. One can sew/tailor beautifully, but knowing how to "show" that skillset to the judge or employer is vital - i.e., photographing the step-by-step process with close-up details of tailoring skills and presenting it digitally... will win. One may not show actual garments... so knowing how to "sell" your skills is crucial.

Do you want to know more?

List of industrial designer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an industrial designer resume and required skills for an industrial designer to have include:

Industrial Design
Solidworks
CAD
Sketch
KeyShot
Prototype
Visualization
Prototyping
Product Development
Design Solutions
Concept Development
Adobe Creative Suite
Development Process
Rhino
Design Concepts
Design Intent
Adobe Illustrator

Design Process
CNC
Graphic Design
Human Centered Design
Technical Drawings
Human Factors
PowerPoint
Design Projects
Design Research
Brainstorming
Project Management
Trend Research
Product Line
Design Development
UI
Market Research
Concept Generation

Animation
Market Trends
Adobe Photoshop
User Interface
Engineering Drawings
Consumer Products
Aided Design
R
Design Direction
Mass Production
Brand Design
CATIA
Hand Sketches
Medical Devices
OEM

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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