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Design, product design, industrial design

Glossary

Design, product design, industrial design

Design originally described the graphic or plastic depiction of a concept (sketch, model).

Today, it is a collective term to describe the overall creative process behind the planning and designing of industrially manufactured, mass-produced products. The more accurate description is therefore industrial design or product design. The product designer must mediate between the needs and wishes of the manufacturer and the those of the end consumer. In his work, he takes into consideration practical and aesthetic issues as well as the production methods and economic interests. The term “design” derives from the Latin “designare” (= to describe, to outline). Derived from the French, the term “dessin” entered the German language at the start of the 19th century, and since the 1960s has been increasingly displaced by the English word “design”.