In my last article, I shared what makes someone with an Industrial Design background a great UX Designer should they choose to make the career transition. It continues to be a hot topic for Industrial Designers—whether you're an experienced Industrial Designer or just fresh out of school, many are wondering about the career avenues and product opportunities available to them. As the world of User Experience Design evolves, so do the variety of roles available that allow designers to advance in their careers and expand their experiences.

While this article is not exhaustive in terms of the possible career pathways an Industrial Designer can take, it offers some good points to consider for Industrial Designers interested in exploring career opportunities outside of the traditional ID path.

What's out there for IDers?

The visual below breaks down a range of career pathways an Industrial Designer could tap into, from staying in the traditional ID space to moving into the digital space as a UX Designer. There are essentially four main categories along this scale:

1. Staying in the traditional ID space as an Industrial Designer (product examples: footwear, furniture, houseware, packaging, medical products and more)

2. Collaborating closely with UX Designers on products that involve both physical and digital components as an Industrial Designer (product examples: the hardware design of consumer electronics, public service devices such as kiosks, B2B products such as the Square Reader and more)

3. Transitioning into a UX Designer while collaborating closely with Industrial Designers on products that involve both physical and digital components as an Industrial Designer (product examples: the software design of consumer electronics, public service devices such as kiosks, B2B products such as the Square Reader and more)

4. Moving into the digital design space fully as a UX Designer (product examples: digital driven applications and websites)

Meet the co-authors

Since my experience only represents one of the many possible career paths for Industrial Designers listed above, I invited 2 friends, Anson Cheung and Alex Yee, whom I spoke on a panel with at last year's International Design Conference (IDC) hosted by IDSA to contribute to this discussion. Their experience represents a diverse set of career pathways after studying Industrial Design. In this article, they will share their perspectives and experiences in the space they work in, as well as their predictions on how the ID industry will evolve moving forward.

An Industrial Designer working closely with UX Designers

Anson Cheung

Tell us a bit more about yourself.

My name is Anson Cheung and I'm currently an independent industrial designer based in San Francisco. I've worked in Silicon Valley primarily designing technology hardware for the last 11 years. Previously, I was a partner at Bould Design, the studio behind the Nest Thermostat, Roku streaming devices, GoPro cameras, and many other iconic designs. I've shipped products with clients in consumer electronics, medical equipment, robotics, wearables, and more.

"I think it will become more and more important for industrial designers to familiarize themselves with the digital realm. That's not to say industrial designers should all start pivoting over to digital UX design"

I studied industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with my BFA in 2011. After working at a studio in Providence, RI called Observatory for a few months, I decided to try my luck out in the Bay Area, where all the cool technology design stuff was happening. I landed an internship at Bould Design when they were a team of two. I grew with the company over the years and eventually became a partner in the business. By the time I left, we had grown a great team and worked on a lot of awesome projects with wonderful clients.

R-Zero Arc UV-C Disinfection System

What are your predictions for the space you work in and how do you see it evolving in the next few years?

I haven't really made a pivot to UX (I'm still solidly an industrial designer), but I have made it a point to become more knowledgeable about it in recent years. Especially in tech, it's becoming rarer and rarer that a product doesn't have a digital interface or come with an app that links to the physical product. Think smart watches, connected fitness products, or even newer kitchen appliances.

Because of this, I think it will become more and more important for industrial designers to familiarize themselves with the digital realm. That's not to say industrial designers should all start pivoting over to digital UX design (though some might, and that's okay). In a modern product that has any sort of screen, the physical and digital sides of a product have become so intertwined that they really are one experience. When they are considered separately or without much thought to their integration, the resulting issues are painfully clear (ever buy an IoT product where the app is just terrible?).

Looking to the future, I would encourage all industrial designers that work with technology to take the time to familiarize themselves with basic digital UX principles, common interaction patterns, the major design systems, and just talk to UX designers as well. Find out what their discipline is about. Tell them about ours. Compare and contrast how the design process looks and learn from each other. A healthy respect and understanding between physical and digital design can only help everyone involved in the quest to ship beautiful, functional, and holistic user experiences.

At the end of the day, a user doesn't care about the separation between ID and UX, physical and digital. The distinctions we designers argue about mean nothing to them. They just care that the beautiful product they just bought works seamlessly.

An Industrial Designer Who Pivoted to the UX/ID Space

Alex Yee

Tell us a bit more about yourself.

My name is Alex Yee and I'm currently a Senior Hardware UX Designer at Google based out of the Bay Area, California. I led designs for onboarding, device controls, noise cancellation, and custom EQ features on the Google Pixel Buds Pro. I work closely with brilliant partners in industrial design, human factors research, and engineering (audio, firmware, software, hardware). Before working on earbuds, I defined key interaction experiences on the Versa smartwatch, and designed gamified fitness experiences for Fitbit Adventures.

I never foresaw my career revolving so heavily around the technology space. I went to the Rhode Island School of Design with the intent to study Graphic Design, and after completing the Foundation Year and developing, as my professor would call it, my "3D Eye", I became passionate about industrial design. I loved how industrial design so thoughtfully considered the person who would hold, touch, and interact with an object while ensuring the form was beautiful, inspiring, and empowering. Each object in the world has a purpose- usually to serve a human need. During my studies, I began crafting experiences beyond the handheld scale, and went on to study Environmental (spatial experience) design and business at Art Center College of Design.

I loved the thought of guiding people through an immersive experience and leading them to where they needed to be. My favorite part of the design process was understanding who my users were and what they needed so I could design thoughtful experiences for them.

Google Pixel Buds App UI (image credit: Brian Heater)

Can you talk about a specific project that really encapsulates the work you do as a Hardware UX Designer?

While I was working on the Fitbit Device UX team, the ID team would typically hand over the specs for the screen, a list of physical inputs and outputs (such as buttons, sensors, microphones, speakers, etc) and a prototype of the form factor. By this time, the hardware and tooling had already been set. While there is nothing particularly wrong with this type of waterfall handoff, it introduced some hard limitations for what the UX team could influence.

It may be obvious to state, but hardware heavily informs how software experiences are designed. For instance, what if the ID team committed to using a single-color LED, and the UX research revealed that users want to know the status of their device with a glance (eg. charging, low battery, full battery, syncing, error)? The UX team would be challenged to design 5 very distinct blinking animations. Instinctively, I don't think any design solution for this problem would work well and would likely require an instruction manual users would have to memorize.

Or, maybe the device could speak the status out loud… in the specific language the user understood, at a volume the user could hear, all while not disturbing anyone around? Things get complicated really fast! Thankfully this extreme case did not happen at Fitbit, but I hope it illustrates how complicated things can get when ID and UX don't collaborate early in the process. At Google, the ID and UX teams work closely from start to finish and share learnings, limitations, and requirements with each other. This results in a unified and coherent overall experience for the user.

If you're currently on the ID team, go chat with the UXers in your organization to gain a deeper understanding of users' needs and behavior. And conversely, if you're a UXer working on a physical product (less relevant for those working on mobile/tablet app experiences), begin learning how products are physically manufactured and the cost of things to balance meeting user needs with business needs.

Do you have any advice for anyone interested in similar work?

If you're considering a hard or soft pivot from ID to UX, I'd encourage you to ask yourself what parts of the design process makes you feel most alive. I'm oversimplifying, but if you love sketching, modeling, and building with your hands, a career in UX may leave you feeling rather unfulfilled because of the dominance of code over physical materials. And if you love post-launch iteration and testing flows with users, a career in ID may frustrate you because of the rigidness of hardware schedules. Choosing one path doesn't mean you're saying goodbye to the other. The world needs both disciplines and I strongly believe it's possible to have an impact on both streams of work.

"If you love sketching, modeling, and building with your hands, a career in UX may leave you feeling unfulfilled because of the dominance of code…And if you love post-launch iteration and testing flows with users, a career in ID may frustrate you because of the rigidness of hardware schedules."

The rise of software based experiences (whether displayed via a screen, or communicated through LEDs, sounds, or other affordances), excited me because of the scale of reach and the potential to positively impact peoples' lives. We know that good design empowers users to get things done effortlessly without much thought (thanks Don Norman), and uniquely, UX design has the opportunity to quickly fulfill needs and change behavior without much overhead cost and over lots of iteration.

I like to say that the reason I chose to pursue a career within UX rather than ID was because I'm impatient and addicted to instant gratification. In all my work, I aim to innovate ways to make the present world around us more helpful, inclusive, and connected. I don't design in the pure digital space, nor only in the physical space. I love being somewhere in between. No matter the medium, as designers, we are called to bridge gaps and solve problems through creativity and a healthy disregard for the impossible.

And while I have you, selfishly, I implore you to please explore what little things you can do to reduce your product's negative impact on our environment.

An Industrial Designer Who Made the Full Pivot to UX

Danielle Chen

Tell us a bit more about yourself.

My name is Danielle, and I am a formerly trained Industrial Designer who's made a pivot into the digital space as a UX Designer. I'm currently a Staff Product Designer at Ro, creating patient-centric experience that's equitable, affordable and trusted by the users. You can read about my career transition journey from ID to UX from the previous series.

Entity attrition and description features on Google Search

For those who are still thinking about how to move forward in UX after studying/working in ID, what are some good questions to ask themselves?

As I have shared in my last article, there are many reasons that could motivate an Industrial Designer to move into UX Design besides the financial incentive. Here are three starter questions I asked myself that helped me determine where I want to take my career as an Industrial Designer:

1. How do I want to express my values as a designer?

Everyone's answer to this question will be unique—whether you want to create products that can make an impact on everyone or a niche market, work on technology that can change how people live and work, or develop product concepts that are exploratory and experimental, understanding how your values can be expressed through your work can help you gain some clarity on where and how you want to devote your energy as a designer.

2. What skill sets will still be relevant in the next 2-4 years, and what industries can I see myself applying these skills in?

Having a good understanding of what skill sets will help you remain relevant and in which industries can help you find stability and give you room to explore all possible career opportunities. While it's hard to predict how technology will change, a 2-4 year timeframe is usually a safe bet to identify emerging technologies and spaces. It's important to research and identify emerging industries where you feel you can bring your particular values and skill sets. And if you don't feel you have the skillsets to break into these industries immediately, now is a great time to learn more about them so you can more easily pivot into them. By doing this research and evaluation, you can more easily evolve in your career and take advantage of the roles that will be coming up.

3. Am I willing to start at a level lower than my current role and work my way up (again)?

Making a career change could require you to take on a role at a level that's lower than your current one; you may even have to start over. While this could seem like a minor setback in the moment, being able to work on products in an environment that's more aligned with your career goals and personal values can lead you to a more rewarding and fulfilling career. As new product opportunities open up, you may also find that you can leverage the skills and experiences from your previous job(s) which could set you apart from others and support your career advancement in an accelerated way.

In conclusion

There are many career avenues that will make you a successful designer as someone with an Industrial Design background. I hope this article helps you kick start some conversations with yourself to identify how you want to express your personal values as a designer and skill sets you want to gain and bring forward, and determine where you see yourself fitting the best between ID and UX Design. In the next series, I will share some tangible and actionable advice on how to move into UX Designer as an Industrial Designer for those who are interested in making such a career change—stay tuned.

Read more from this series:

I'm an Industrial Designer Who Moved to UX—Here's Why We Need More IDers in the Industry