Types of Designers

Design encompasses a number of different fields. Many designers specialize in a particular area of design, whereas others work in more than one.

Industrials designers develop countless manufactured products, including airplanes; cars; home appliances; children's toys; computer equipment; and medical, office & recreational equipment. They combine artistic talent with research on product use, marketing, materials and production methods to create the most functional and appealing design and to make the products competitive with others in the marketplace. Most industrial designers concentrate in an area of sub specialization, such as kitchen appliances.

Furniture designers design furniture for manufacture. This designers use their knowledge of design trends, competitors' products, production costs, production capability & characteristics of a company's market to create home and office furniture that is both functional and attractive. They also may prepare detailed drawings of fixtures, forms, or tools required in the production of furniture. Some furniture designers fashion custom pieces or styles according to a specific period or country. Furniture designers must be strongly involved with the fashion industry and aware of current trends and styles.

Interior designers plan the space and furnish the interiors of private homes, public buildings and commercial or institutional establishments, such as offices, restaurants, hospitals, hotel and theaters. They also plan the interiors for additions to and renovations of existing structures. Most interior designers specialize and some further specialize in a related line of work. For example, some may concentrate in residential design and others may further specialize by focusing on a particular room, such as kitchens or baths.

With a client's tastes, needs and budget in mind, interior designers prepare drawings and specifications for interior constructions, furnishings, lighting and finish es. Increasingly, designers use computers to plan layout s that can be changed easily to include ideas received from the client. Interior designers also design lighting and architectural details, such as crown molding, coordinate colors and select furniture, floor coverings and curtain s. Interior designers must design space to conform to Federal, State and local laws, including building codes. Design plans for public areas also must meet accessibility standards for the disabled and elderly.

Set, lighting and costume designers create set, lighting and costume designs for movie, television and theater productions. They study scripts, confer with directors and other designers and conduct research to determine the appropriate historical period, fashion and architectural styles.

Fashion designers design clothing and accessories. Some high-fashion designers are self-employed and design for individual clients. Other high-fashion designers cater to specialty stores or high-fashion department stores. These designers create original garments, as well as follow established fashion trends. Most fashion designers, however, work for apparel manufacturers, adapting designs of men's, women's & children's fashions for the mass market.

Textile designers, using their knowledge of textile materials and fashion trends, design fabric for garments, upholstery, rugs and other products. Computers are widely used in pattern design and grading: intelligent pattern engineering (IPE) systems enable great automation in generating patterns.

Floral designers cut and arrange live, dried, or artificial flowers and foliage into designs, according to the customer's order. They trim flowers and arrange bouquets, sprays, wreaths, dish gardens and terrariums. They usually work from a written order indicating the occasion, customer preference for color and type of flower, price and the date, time and place the floral arrangement or plan is to be ready to be delivered. The variety of duties performed by a floral designer depends on the size of the shop and the number of designers employed. In a small operation, the floral designer may own the shop and do almost everything, from growing and purchasing flowers to keeping financial records.

Merchandise displayers and window dressers plan and erect commercial displays, such as those in windows and interiors of retail stores and at trade exhibitions.

The costume designer is the person who is responsible for designing costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered part of the "production team," alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers. The costume designer might also collaborate with a hair master or a makeup designer, with the latter two operating on a subordinate level. In European theatre the role is somewhat different as the theatre designer will design both costume and scenic elements.

An architect is a person who is involved in the planning, designing, modeling and oversight of a building's construction. An architect must thoroughly understand the building and operational codes under which his or her design must conform. Architects must understand the various methods available to the builder for building the client's structure, so that he or she can negotiate with the client to produce a best possible compromise of the results desired within explicit cost and time boundaries.

Glass art is the use of glass as an artistic medium. Specific approaches include stained glass, working glass in a torch flame (lampworking), glass beadmaking, glass casting, glass fusing, and, most notably, glass blowing. As a decorative and functional medium, glass was extensively developed in Egypt and Assyria, brought to the fore by the Romans (who developed glassblowing), and includes among its greatest triumphs European cathedral stained glass windows. The glass objects created are intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement.

The term garden designer (or Landscape designer) can refer either to an amateur or a professional. Amateurs design their own gardens. Professionals design other people's gardens. The compositional elements of garden design are: landform, water, planting, buildings, paving and climate. Professional garden designers and landscape architects are trained in both the technical and the aesthetic skills. They are able to survey the site, source the materials, and prepare drawings for the development of a garden from start to finish.

Graphic design is the process of communicating visually using typography and images to present information. Graphic design practice embraces a range of cognitive skills, aesthetics and crafts, including typography, visual arts and page layout. Like other forms of design, graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated.

Environmental design is the process of addressing environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. Classical prudent design may have always considered environmental factors. Environmental Design has been defined: "We live in the world by design. Creating the everyday environment in which we live involves complex systems of cultural meaning, visual communication and the use of tools, technology and materials. Design asks us to find answers to the most fundamental of human questions: how should we live in the world and what should inform our actions?

Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The design and development of a modern motor vehicle is typically done by a large team from many different disciplines. Automotive design in this context is primarily concerned with developing the visual appearance or aesthetics of the vehicle, though it is also involved in the creation of the product concept.

Game designer. Though this term usually refers to video or computer game designers, this also might refer to those who design board games. A video or computer game designer develops the layout, concept and gameplay, the game design of a video or computer game. This may include playfield design, specification writing, and entry of numeric properties that balance and tune the gameplay. A game designer works for a developer (which may additionally be the game's video game publisher). This person usually has a lot of writing experience and may even have a degree in writing or a related field (such as English). This person's primary job function is writing, so the more experience they have with the activity, the better. Some art and programming skills are also helpful for this job, but are not strictly necessary. Game designers often have studied relevant liberal arts such as psychology, sociology, drama, fine art or philosophy. Many young game designers may also come from a computer science or other computer engineering background.

Motion graphics (broadcast designer) are graphics that use video and/or animation technology to create the illusion of motion or a transforming appearance. These motion graphics are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are usually displayed via electronic media technology.

Jewelry design is the art or profession of creating, crafting, fabricating, or rendering designs for jewelry. This is an ancient practice of the goldsmith or metalworker that evolved to a billion-dollar industry with the odyssey from ancient cultures into the machine age. Jewelry design falls under the category of what is commonly known as "functional art", being art that can be worn or used. Before an article of jewelry is created, it is typically rendered by a jewelry designer, a professional who is trained in the architectural and functional knowledge of not only metallurgy but also design elements such as composition and wearability.

Web design is the skill of creating presentations of content (usually hypertext or hypermedia) that is delivered to an end-user through the World Wide Web, by way of a Web browser or other Web-enabled software like Internet television clients. Web design is a kind of graphic design intended for development and styling of objects of the Internet's information environment to provide them with high-end consumer features and aesthetic qualities.