The Department of Graphic and Industrial Design offers a four-year bachelor degree and two-year or more master's degrees. Industrial Design is concerned with all human aspects of products/systems and their relationship to people. The industrial designer is responsible for product safety, aesthetics, maintenance, and cost. Industrial designers deal with consumer and industrial products. In order to achieve these ends, designers must be involved in four major design and research areas: human behavior, human-machine relationships, the environment, and the product itself. In addition, the designer's responsibility extends into sustainability product liability and cross-cultural issues.
Areas of study in the Bachelor of Industrial Design include:
- furniture
- textiles, house wares
- appliances
- transportation
- tools
- farm equipment
- medical instruments
- electronics
- human-computer interfaces
- recreational support equipment
The goal of the Industrial Design curriculum is to teach the design and development of products or product systems and their relationship to human beings and the environment.
Graduates of the Bachelor of Industrial Design program have career opportunities in three general types of practice: corporate design offices in manufacturing companies, independent consulting offices, and governmental agencies.