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In the UK, the term "industrial design" increasingly implies design with considerable engineering and technology awareness alongside human factors—a "Total Design" approach, promoted by the late [[Stuart Pugh]] ([[University of Strathclyde]]) and others.
==Industrial design in USA==
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In the US, the field of industrial design became prominent in the late '30s and early '40s, with several industrial designers becoming minor celebrities. [[Raymond Loewy]], [[Norman bel Geddes]], and [[Henry Dreyfuss]] remain the best known. In the subsequent years, the field has grown exponentially, and has become more important for a variety of reasons.
The first is a vast increase in domestic consumption of consumer products of all varieties, as the economy grew and prosperity increased.
The second is simple economics: a manufacturer's profitability is dependent on the price a product can command in a marketplace and the cost to produce it. As virtually all manufacturing for consumer products has been outsourced to Asia, there has been significant cost savings for manufacturers in the last decade. However, as these manufacturing services have become commoditized, cost savings are approaching their limit. Good industrial design allows a new product to command a premium price on a crowded shelf of other commodity items. This is what manufacturers and corporations call "top line growth."
The third is the oversaturation of advertising and marketing in our consumer-driven culture. Consumers have become more jaded and wary of misleading ads, color suppliments, promotions, etc. in the marketeers' efforts to build strong brands. Good industrial design allows products to communicate brand atttributes directly through the product. Think about the feel of closing the door on a [[Mercedes]], or the heft of an [[OXO International|OXO]] carrot peeler, or the look and feel of your favorite [[soft drink]] bottle for example.
Thus the general consumer population as a whole is gaining an appreciation and understanding of design, and as a result has been a market boom for well designed products.
The field is still comparatively small, but still growing, given that everything that is manufactured must by definition be "designed" first. Most large corporations have a design department, but "Industrial Design" is usually bundled into an R&D program. Recently, however, design thinking has achieved greater status in corporate boardrooms and business press for the reasons outlined above.
Many products are designed on a contract basis by consulting firms who's founders & employees trace their heritage back to the origin of the field, having worked with Loewy, Dreyfuss, Walter Teague, etc.
==Industrial design rights==
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