Thinker. Innovator. Maker.
Purdue Industrial Design ranks #9 among Best Value Bachelor programs.
From concept and design, all the way to providing new ideas in the market place, Industrial & Interaction Design ultilizes problem-solving innovation to develop and create products, systems, and services, helping businesses succeed and better our quality of life. Students advance their skills from research, ideation, and sketching to taking advantage of our state-of-the-art technology, creating prototypes and models for finished products.
VPA TV // Program Overview
Facilities and Technologies
The industrial design area is located in Yue Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts. In their sophomore year, students learn to create their designs using our traditional wood and metal shop equipment, alongside utilizing digital tools including a laser cutter, a CNC machine, and 3-D printers. After passing the sophomore review, ID students have dedicated design studios, fully computerized and available with 24 hour access. Advanced students have access to CNC rapid prototyping. Students learn to use a variety of software including Rhino 3D, Solidworks, and Keyshot for computer modeling and rendering. Adobe Photoshop and InDesign are used for presentations and rendering. Adobe DreamWeaver, AfterEffects, Axure RP, Sketch, Atlas. TI are used for interaction design and user experience analysis.
Career Opportunities
Industrial Design students have opportunities to gain experience with internships or co-operatives. Industrial Design is a specialization that crosses many areas of manufacturing, for example, our students have designed; snowboarding equipment for Burton, faucets for Delta, appliances for Whirlpool, speakers for Bose, shoes for Puma, eyewear for Fossil, electronics for Samsung, and toys for Playskool. They have also worked for consultancies such as Michael Graves Design, Karim Rashid, Teams, and IDEO. During junior and senior year, students take on corporate sponsored projects, working directly with active professionals to develop new product concepts. Projects vary from year to year, but have included; excavators for Caterpillar, toys for Transformers, safety equipment for Kimberly Clark, furniture for Hon, and shoes for Doc Martin. In addition to receiving a professional design education, our students get a complete liberal arts education. This has helped our graduates succeed in gaining leadership positions in major corporations. Purdue ID alums have directed design at Hasbro, International Trucks, Whirlpool, Delta Faucet, Cannondale, and Newel-Rubbermaid.
Visionary. Problem Solver. Award Winner.
The field of industrial design is all about innovation, creativity, technology, user needs, aesthetics, and societal and business interests. New technologies and issues arising from societal trends are translated into innovations for everyday life. During their education at Purdue University, students design objects from hinges to bulldozers, building on different skills from the design experience. Below are a few work examples.
