What does a product designer do?
A product designer's key responsibilities are to perform design research, selecting the best materials, and develop user storyboards for the client and users' best interest. Product designers usually work with a whole design team, documenting suggestions to deliver high-quality outputs or improve existing products to match the market trends. They must also communicate with other skilled professionals to enhance their ideas and consult clients for any necessary adjustments that would affect the total user experience. A product designer should also have extensive knowledge of the consumer's preference to make the design more appealing and engaging.
Product designer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real product designer resumes:
- Manage PDM system, updating technical, fit and design information.
- Lead front-end QA of all major releases, filing, prioritizing and fixing bugs myself.
- Manage all aspects of production including QC, packaging needs, and adherence to worldwide product standard protocols.
- Lead FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) team and DVP (design verification plan) prove-out for system.
- Provide responsive html layouts using bootstrap and hand code CSS.
- Design and develop high-fidelity user interface prototypes in HTML, JavaScript, and VBScript base on product requirements.
- Lead designer for UX / UI desktop and mobile shops, improvements & new features from start to finish.
- Define new UI delivery approach that make for one stop shopping for the interaction design and UI specification for developers.
- Coordinate implementation of SolidWorks software in product development group.
- Design print and embroidery artwork.
- Create Powerpoint presentations for clients.
- Maintain records in internal PLM system.
- Design surface, solid model with UG NX7.5.
- Create jigs, templates and prototypes for the production of furniture.
- Put together clickable prototypes and demos for management and sales in Invision.
Product designer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Product Designers are proficient in Sketch, Visual Design, and UI. They’re also known for soft skills such as Mechanical skills, Problem-solving skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Product Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Sketch, 23%
Developed prototype interactive and responsive interface solutions with physical paper, Sketch, and Illustrator.
- Visual Design, 7%
Designed the user experience and visual design treatment for the opening product release of this business compliance and reporting software.
- UI, 7%
Defined new UI delivery approach that made for one stop shopping for the interaction design and UI specification for developers.
- User Research, 6%
Collaborated on Customer Council enrollment survey providing product adoption and user research data.
- User Experience, 6%
Collaborate with marketing, product managers and executive stakeholders creating intuitive user experiences and transitions between enterprise applications.
- Interaction Design, 5%
Produced the user interface design specifications and developed a working software prototype to model the interaction design.
Most product designers use their skills in "sketch," "visual design," and "ui" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential product designer responsibilities here:
Mechanical skills. The most essential soft skill for a product designer to carry out their responsibilities is mechanical skills. This skill is important for the role because "industrial designers must understand how products are engineered, at least for the types of products that they design." Additionally, a product designer resume shows how their duties depend on mechanical skills: "directed all mechanical product design responsibilities for the scanning probe microscopy product line. "
Problem-solving skills. Another essential skill to perform product designer duties is problem-solving skills. Product designers responsibilities require that "industrial designers determine the need, size, and cost of a product; anticipate production issues; develop alternatives; evaluate options; and implement solutions." Product designers also use problem-solving skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "designed a universal component that was used in seven different product lines and solved assembly problems. "
Analytical skills. product designers are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to product designer responsibilities, because "industrial designers use logic or reasoning skills to study consumers and recognize the need for new products." A product designer resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "partner with design agencies and startups on a variety of interaction, data visualization, and information design projects. "
Artistic ability. For certain product designer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "artistic ability." The day-to-day duties of a product designer rely on this skill, as "industrial designers sketch their initial design ideas, which are used later to create prototypes." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what product designers do: "freelance business with a broad spectrum of artistic services including: industrial design. "
Computer skills. Another crucial skill for a product designer to carry out their responsibilities is "computer skills." A big part of what product designers relies on this skill, since "industrial designers use computer-aided design software to develop their designs and create prototypes." How this skill relates to product designer duties can be seen in an example from a product designer resume snippet: "prepared the final orthographic drawings/ computer renderings for clients, and contributed effectively to brainstorm on all product lines. "
Creativity. Lastly, "creativity" is an important element of what a product designer does. Product designer responsibilities require this skill because "industrial designers must be innovative in their designs and the ways in which they integrate existing technologies into their new product." This resume example highlights how product designer duties rely on this skill: "invented and marketed a new product line. "
The three companies that hire the most product designers are:
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Compare different product designers
Product designer vs. Inventor
A computer-aided design (CAD) designer is responsible for creating plan outlines and project designs for a specific business need. A CAD designer utilizes various technologies and software applications to generate graphic illustrations. CAD designers must have strong knowledge of the technology designs, software management, engineering standards, and the construction industry fundamentals. CAD designers label their works with appropriate dimensions and specifications, performing necessary adjustments to meet the clients' needs. A CAD designer requires excellent critical-thinking and analytical skills to manage design structures and creative solutions.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between product designers and inventor. For instance, product designer responsibilities require skills such as "sketch," "visual design," "ui," and "user research." Whereas a inventor is skilled in "reverse engineering," "solidworks," "revit," and "product concepts." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Inventors tend to reach higher levels of education than product designers. In fact, inventors are 6.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.9% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Product designer vs. Color expert
Industrial design interns will assist in developing product ideas while considering other criteria such as engineering, sales, marketing, and production. Interns are also tasked to come up with creative solutions to customer problems and dissatisfied needs, gather data by testing and validating ideas with the consumer research department, and prepare concept renderings with the right resources for marketing and sales presentation uses. A lot of firms accept interns majoring in industrial design, and some also accept those with other majors as long as it has a connection with the subject.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, product designer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sketch," "visual design," "ui," and "user research." Meanwhile, a color expert has duties that require skills in areas such as "color theory," "skin care," "product knowledge," and "store events." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, color experts achieve similar levels of education than product designers. They're 1.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for product designers in the next 3-5 years?
Michelle Lockwood
Associate Professor, Graphic Design Art, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
Product designer vs. Computer aided design designer
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a product designer is likely to be skilled in "visual design," "ui," "user research," and "user experience," while a typical computer aided design designer is skilled in "auto cad," "revit," "construction drawings," and "design drawings."
Computer aided design designers earn the highest salary when working in the automotive industry, where they receive an average salary of $79,713. Comparatively, product designers have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $123,982.Most computer aided design designers achieve a similar degree level compared to product designers. For example, they're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Product designer vs. Industrial design internship
Even though a few skill sets overlap between product designers and industrial design interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a product designer might have more use for skills like "visual design," "html css," "interaction design," and "invision." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of industrial design interns require skills like "solidworks," "keyshot," "adobe creative suite," and "concept development. "
The average resume of industrial design interns showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to product designers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 5.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.Types of product designer
Updated January 8, 2025
