体育用品设计师

工作安排

• Sports Goods Designers usually work full-time jobs, generally indoors but with travel sometimes needed to visit and collaborate with project managers and engineers.

主要职责

• Review markets for trends
• Conceptualize potential new products or upgrades on existing ones
• Look for problems that a new product or feature could solve for users
• Research existing products and designs to see what’s currently available or what’s been tried before
• Come up with design ideas on potential consumer interest
• Review and analyze competitor products to uncover unmet consumer needs or wants
• Draft initial concept sketches and visual designs to go over with other designers, managers, and engineers
• Apply aesthetic skills to producing 3D models
• Consider materials and fabrics to be used
• Keep user experience and ergonomics in mind while designing
• Discuss short- and long-term potential for products
• Go over cost estimates with production executives
• Continue to develop approved ideas until they are ready to be prototyped, tested, manufactured, and marketed
• Pay close attention to feedback during testing 

其他职责

• Explore ideas with team members outside the design department
• Consider stakeholder interests and be able to explain product strategies and visions
• Stay involved and offer support during the execution of design plans
• Monitor sales performance and consumer feedback after a product is launched

软技能

• 沟通能力
• 以消费者为中心  
• 创造力
• 好奇心
• 演绎推理
• 共情
• 热情
• Interest in games, sports, and fitness
• 组织能力
• 耐心
• 说服力
• 机智
• 明智的判断与决策
• 团队合作
• 时间管理

技术技能

• Business-orientation
• Familiarity with design tools
• 掌握与以下领域相关的软件知识：

1. 分析
2. 计算机辅助设计
3. 计算机辅助制造
4. 开发环境
5. 企业资源规划
6. 财务分析  
7. 地理信息系统
8. 图形
9. Object or component-oriented development

• 对视听设备的了解
• Knowledge of generative research methods
• Understanding problem-solving frameworks and lean product management

• Sporting goods and exercise equipment manufacturers and businesses
• 制造业
• 批发贸易

Sports and fitness equipment and gear must be rugged, durable, and reliable because it gets used over and over, sometimes by multiple people. Thus, consumers expect companies to produce goods that will last. 

Meanwhile, product manufacturers are interested in keeping costs as low as possible, so designers are stuck in the middle, trying to help companies save money while also putting out products that meet customer expectations. To an extent, they must ensure sufficient research and development is budgeted for. They must also be involved with quality assurance, so products are developed utilizing quality materials that meet necessary safety standards and prototypes are thoroughly tested before hitting the market.

Sports Goods Designers must use a human-centered design approach that puts consumer safety and needs first. Communication between teams is vital and designers may need to put their people skills to full use as they work with others to meet objectives and address issues effectively. 

The sports equipment industry has been valued at ~$111 billion, making it a wildly lucrative area of business. As Keith Storey, President of Sports Marketing Surveys USA, noted, “It’s impressive to see that the sports industry has outperformed the US economy for a second straight year. It highlights again the growing number of people taking part in sport, and…the wider pool of potential buyers in particular sports.”

Trends include an increase in individual outdoor sports and home exercise; a major boost in sales for “athleisure” wear; more digitally enabled fitness and exercise offerings (allowing for remote group exercising); and shifts in how goods are sold (increasing online and with the help of influencer marketing). 

Sports Goods Designers likely enjoyed playing sports or engaging in fitness-related hobbies that required equipment or gear. It’s possible they noted problems that they wanted to fix one day by creating better products. Like most designers, they’re creative and have a talent for art, but they are also practical and realistic. They may have liked tinkering with gadgets, doing arts and crafts projects, or creating tangible things with their hands.