Sorry but I totally disagree with your comments on industrial design as
it is in 2006 worldwide. Perhaps this is and has been the case in the
SA - to do the design engineering then "dress it up" but this will not
give you a fully integrated design process. Most, if not all, major
manufacturers and product development consultancies operate with
engineers and designers in the same team. Only by considering function,
aesthetics, ergonomics and manufacturability can a good product be
developed. Good product development is about teamwork and communication
not them and us.
These days the boundaries do merge. I am a degree qualified mechanical
engineer, but with a masters in industrial design. That was 20 years ago.
More and more graduates are emerging from "joint" courses. This is the
future.
As for software, the one thing that is missing is the ability produce
quality 2D drawings as well, or at the very least drawings from the 3D
model, and high quality outputs to prototyping systems as STL.