It is the aesthetics and ergonomics of a product. It consists of three-dimensional elements, such as the creation of the product’s shape, or two- dimensional ones, such as graphics, patterns and colors.

Industrial designs are used on a wide range of manufactured and handcrafted objects, including textiles, lighting equipment, jewellery, household furnishings, and a variety of packages and containers. Graphical user interfaces (GUI), logos, and graphic symbols may all be influenced by industrial designs.

An industrial design must be registered in order to be protected by industrial design law as a "registered design" in the majority of the countries. Industrial designs may be covered by "design patents" in some countries' patent laws. Industrial design regulations in certain nations provide so-called "unregistered industrial designs" with time- and scope-limited protection without registration. Industrial designs may also be protected as works of art under copyright law, depending on the specific country law and the type of design.