The Professional Challenges of Industrial Designer in Industry 4.0

TL;DR

This paper explores the evolving role of industrial designers in Industry 4.0, emphasizing the new skills needed and how education can support this transition based on Chinese enterprise insights.

Contribution

It identifies the qualities industrial designers must develop for Industry 4.0 and proposes educational strategies to cultivate these skills.

Findings

Industrial designers need new interdisciplinary skills.

Educational programs can effectively enhance designers' capabilities.

Chinese enterprises are adapting to Industry 4.0 requirements.

Abstract

The Industry 4.0 refers to a industrial ecology which will merge the information system, physical system and service system into an integrate platform. Since now the industrial designers either conceive the physical part of products, or design the User Interfaces of computer systems, the new industrial ecology will give them a chance to redefine their roles in R&D work-flow. In this paper we discussed the required qualities of industrial designer in the new era, according to an investigation among Chinese enterprises. Additionally, how to promote these qualities though educational program.