Translation guide
A person who designs things, especially professionally. In Japanese, the English loanword デザイナー is most common, but native terms like 設計者 and 意匠家 exist for specific fields.
Referring to someone whose job is to design, especially in fashion, graphics, or industrial design.
The most common and versatile term for a professional designer. Used across many fields.
彼女は有名なファッションデザイナーです。
She is a famous fashion designer.
グラフィックデザイナーとして働いています。
I work as a graphic designer.
Used for designers in engineering, architecture, or systems. Emphasizes the planning/designing aspect.
彼は橋の設計者です。
He is the designer of the bridge.
A formal or literary term for a designer, especially in decorative arts or industrial design. Rare in everyday speech.
彼は優れた意匠家として知られている。
He is known as an outstanding designer.
Referring to designer goods, especially in fashion (e.g., designer bags, designer clothes).
Used as a prefix to mean 'designer' in the sense of high-end or branded items. Often used in compounds like デザイナーズブランド.
デザイナーズバッグが欲しい。
I want a designer bag.
彼女はデザイナーズブランドが好きだ。
She likes designer brands.
Colloquial term for designer items. もの means 'thing'.
この財布、デザイナーものなんだって。
This wallet is a designer item, apparently.
Referring to someone who designs something, not necessarily as a job title.
A descriptive phrase meaning 'a person who designs ~'. Useful when a specific noun is needed.
このゲームをデザインした人は誰ですか？
Who is the person who designed this game?
Means 'inventor' or 'originator', but can be used for someone who devised a plan or design. More formal.
このシステムの考案者は彼です。
He is the designer of this system.
デザイナー is used for artistic/creative fields (fashion, graphics, etc.), while 設計者 is for technical/engineering fields (architecture, machinery, systems). Using デザイナー for an engineer may sound odd.
彼はファッションデザイナーです。
He is a fashion designer.
彼はソフトウェアの設計者です。
He is a software designer.
In Japanese, デザイナー strongly implies a creative profession. For roles like 'instructional designer' or 'database designer', 設計者 or a more specific term is often better.