Industrial design is the discipline that deals with designing and creating everyday objects that are functional, aesthetically pleasing and suitable for the social and cultural context in which they are inserted. Industrial design applies to different sectors, such as furniture, electronics, transport, fashion, packaging, etc. It has a strong influence on people's quality of life, their habits, their emotions and consumption choices.

How industrial design was born

Industrial design originates in the 19th century, with the industrial revolution, which led to the mass production of consumer goods, often devoid of quality and personality. Some artists and craftsmen react to this situation by proposing a reform of art applied to industry, which enhances the beauty, function and harmony of objects. Thus were born the Arts and Crafts movements in England, Art Nouveau in France and Jugendstil in Germany, which express an organic and decorative vision of design.

In the 20th century, industrial design evolves and diversifies, in relation to the technological, social and cultural changes that characterize the century. Among the most important currents, we can mention:
• The Bauhaus, the German school founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius, which proposes a synthesis between art, craftsmanship and technique, based on the principles of form following function, rationality, simplicity and geometric abstraction.
• The international style, widespread in the 30s and 40s, which is inspired by the Bauhaus and architectural rationalism, and which is expressed in an essential, elegant and universal design, free of frills and historical or regional references.
• The organic style, which emerged in the 40s and 50s, which contrasts with the international style, and which is based on natural, curved, soft and dynamic shapes, which recall the human body, animals and plants.
• Pop design, born in the 60s and 70s, which is inspired by popular culture, advertising, comics, music and cinema, and which manifests itself in a colourful, ironic, kitsch and provocative design, which reflects the climate of protest and liberation of the time.
• Postmodern design, developed in the 80s and 90s, which opposes modernism and functionalism, and which is characterized by an eclectic, heterogeneous, symbolic and narrative design, which recovers historical, cultural and local elements, and which plays with quotation, parody and pastiche.

What are the challenges of industrial design

Industrial design, in the 21st century, finds itself facing new challenges, linked to changes in society, technology and the environment. Among these, we can mention:
• Sustainability, understood as the ability to design and produce objects that respect the environment, natural resources, people's health and well-being, and which are recyclable, reusable and repairable.

• Participation, understood as the possibility of involving users in the process of designing and producing objects, through tools such as co-design, crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, fab lab, etc.
• Innovation, understood as the ability to create objects that are able to satisfy new needs, solve new problems, generate new experiences and create new values.

Conclusions

Industrial design is a discipline that has a long history and has contributed to defining the material culture of our time. Industrial design has a great responsibility and a great opportunity to improve the quality of people's lives, through the creation of objects that are functional, aesthetically pleasing and socially and ecologically sustainable.