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Industrial designer: what the job actually is

Designing physical products, from a kettle to a hospital cart, so they work well, can be made and are pleasant to use.

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Industrial designer: quick facts

Industrial designer salary in Ontario: the median pay is $37.74 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is limited. The job usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years.

Median pay in Ontario
$37.74 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$24.04 to $57.69 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Limited
People working in it in Ontario
5,550
Usually needs
Usually a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 22211. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Designing objects people use: appliances, tools, furniture, packaging, medical equipment. You decide how a thing looks, how it feels in the hand and how it is made.
  • The job sits between art and manufacturing. A beautiful design that cannot be made at a sensible cost is a drawing, not a product.
  • Industrial designers work in design studios, in manufacturers' own design departments and as consultants. Job Bank's Ontario requirements page uses fixture designer as its example title.
  • Job Bank's Ontario outlook for this group is Limited. Its text says a moderate number of positions will become available through retirements, and several unemployed workers with recent experience are looking for the same jobs. Be realistic: a strong portfolio matters.
  • A project moves from sketches to models to drawings, with feedback from engineers, makers, clients and the people who will use the product.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 9:00 — Look at yesterday's sketches pinned on the wall. Half of them are bad. That is how it works.
  2. 9:30 — Review with the engineer. The handle you drew cannot be moulded in one piece, so you redraw it.
  3. 10:30 — Build a rough model from cardboard and foam. It is ugly, and it tells you more than the drawing did.
  4. 12:00 — Lunch, with a product you admire on the table to be annoyed by.
  5. 13:00 — Computer modelling. Turn the best sketch into a precise three-dimensional model.
  6. 15:00 — Client meeting. They like the shape and want it in a colour that will not survive a production run.
  7. 16:00 — Test the model with someone who has not seen it before. Watch where they hold it wrong.
  8. 17:00 — Update the project folder with materials, sizes and notes so the engineers can pick it up.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You look at everyday objects and think about why they were made that way.
  • You like sketching and also like understanding how things are manufactured.
  • You can take criticism of your idea from engineers, clients and users without taking it personally.
  • You enjoy building rough models with your hands as well as drawing on a screen.
  • You are happy to build a portfolio, because the job ads ask to see it.
You may hate this if
  • You want your design to survive unchanged. Compromise with cost, safety and manufacturing is the job.
  • You want certainty about the labour market. Job Bank reports a Limited Ontario outlook.
  • You do not want a university degree or college diploma, since Job Bank says one is required.
  • You dislike showing unfinished work. Designers do it constantly.
  • You expect a pure art career. This is design under constraint.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. A degree or diploma and a portfolio

    Job Bank's Ontario page says a university degree in industrial design, architecture or engineering, or a college diploma in industrial design, is required. It also says creative ability, as shown by a portfolio of work, is required. Search for industrial design and related programmes on ontariocolleges.ca and in the Ontario universities' program lists.

  2. No licence

    Job Bank says the occupation is not regulated in Canada and professional certification is not compulsory in Ontario. This page names no Ontario professional association because none was confirmed on a page read for this entry.

  3. Build the portfolio early

    Programmes often ask for a portfolio at application. Start now with sketches, models and redesigns of everyday objects, with notes on what problem each one solves.

  4. Work in a studio or in-house

    Many junior designers start in a studio or a manufacturer's design department and learn how production works while they build a track record.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Requirements for industrial designers in Ontario · Job Bank — Ontario wage report for industrial designers · ontariocolleges.ca — program search

The money

Industrial designer salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$24.04
Low (hourly)
$37.74
Median (hourly)
$57.69
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 22211. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Industrial designer wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Limited2 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

5,550
people work in this job in Ontario
40%
are women (48% across all jobs)
20%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Industrial designers job prospects in Ontario (NOC 22211). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take visual arts, technological design and any shop or design class your school offers, and keep every sketch in a folder.
  • Choose one everyday object and redesign it on paper, with notes on what was wrong with the original.
  • Ask your guidance office which colleges and universities ask for a portfolio and by when.
  • Visit a design school open house or look at its student showcase online to see what the work looks like.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Redesign one object you use every day and test your version

About 90 minutes
  1. Pick an object that annoys you: a water bottle, a pencil case, a phone stand. Write three sentences on what is wrong with it.
  2. Sketch five different fixes on paper. Choose one.
  3. Build a rough model from cardboard, tape and whatever is at home. Do not make it pretty.
  4. Give it to someone else to use without explanation and watch what they do. Write down what surprised you.

What it tells you. If you enjoyed the building and the watching, and wanted to try version two, industrial design may suit you, and the next step is to start a portfolio. If you liked the sketching but found the testing and cardboard tedious, you may prefer graphic or digital design, and if you enjoyed the problem and not the object, look at engineering instead.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How much of your work is drawing and how much is working with engineers and manufacturers?”
  2. “What did your first portfolio look like, and what got you your first job?”
  3. “How do you handle it when the client changes your design?”
  4. “What do you do when a good design cannot be made for the budget?”
  5. “Do you work in a studio or in-house, and what is different about each?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes. Job Bank counts a share of this group as self-employed. You can run a freelance design practice or create and sell your own products. The honest limit: getting a product made and sold needs money and manufacturing contacts, and consulting work depends on winning clients.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an industrial designer make in Ontario?

The median pay for an industrial designer in Ontario is $37.74 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $24.04 to $57.69 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an industrial designer in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as limited for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements. There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an industrial designer in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years. The usual route in Ontario, in order: A degree or diploma and a portfolio; No licence; Build the portfolio early.

How many people work as an industrial designer in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 5,550 people working in this job in Ontario. 40% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Where people come from

Which programs lead here?

In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.

What can you do with your degree?

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

Try Future Finder — freeAll jobs

Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

If this appeals, look at these too

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.