Skill path
How to become a Commercial and Industrial Designer
How to become a Commercial and Industrial Designer: skill roadmap with 5 core skills, degree usually required, courses and salary data. Updated weekly.
Education & experience requirements
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- On-the-job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Foundations
Skills assumed by employers — the base to build on
- Industrial design principlesFoundation
Concepts for designing functional and aesthetic products. Designers use these to create user-friendly and marketable goods.
- ErgonomicsFoundation
Designing products and environments for human efficiency and comfort. Designers use this to create safe and usable products.
- Materials scienceFoundation
Understanding the properties of different materials. Designers use this knowledge to select appropriate materials for product development.
- CAD softwareFoundation
Computer-Aided Design tools for creating technical drawings. Designers and engineers use it to visualize and document designs.
Core skills
The skills that define the role today
- UI/UXHigh demand
User Interface and User Experience design principles. Designers use this to create intuitive and engaging digital products.
- Design ToolsHigh demand
Software for creating visual content and layouts. Art directors and designers use these to develop branding and marketing materials.
- LLMs / GenAIHigh demand
Advanced AI for generating human-like text and content. Professionals use it for content creation, analysis, and automating communication.
- Legal ResearchHigh demand
Finding and analyzing legal information. Professionals use this to understand regulations and ensure compliance in various fields.
- CSSHigh demand
Cascading Style Sheets for web page presentation. Designers use it to control the visual layout and appearance of websites.
Tools in demand
Specific tools that appear in live postings
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorksIn demand
A 3D CAD software for product design. Designers use it for creating detailed models and prototypes.
- Adobe Creative CloudIn demand
A suite of creative software applications. Designers and artists use it for a wide range of visual content creation.