U.S. Industrial Design Sector

U.S. Industrial Design Sector Synopsis

Design is a field with a large and extensive presence in our nation's manufacturing and services industries, as documented by the national datasets that provide the basis for this book. Designers are prolifically inventing new products, processes, and systems that have a profound impact on our economy and civil society. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Design Program has been tracking numerous trends in the field of design, from the growing movement of design thinking to social impact design. This book brings together analytical perspectives regarding federal data on industrial design drawn from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS defines industrial designers as "those individuals that develop the concepts for manufactured products such as cars, home appliances, and toys". While this dataset enables a quantitative grasp of the industry, BLS' definition is arguably limited in scope. Today's industrial designers find themselves in a variety of roles and functions beyond the development of manufactured products.