There are plenty of individuals who have ideas for products, and they try to make a go of it without an industrial design company. Some of them succeed. No rule says that you need to employ such a company if your product is going to be a success.
If you look at the success rate of inventors who use industrial design companies, though, there is no denying that they get their ideas to market much more often than if they go about all phases of the process on their own. That is because when you use an industrial design company, you’re getting highly skilled, professionally trained experts who can give you a hand with any part of the creation process where you happened to get stuck.
Here are five ways that an industrial design company can help you that you may wish to consider.
Developing a Prototype
The sample product or prototype is something that either you or your industrial design company will have to develop before mass production can occur. Maybe you have the engineering and design expertise to do it yourself, but more likely you’ll need to farm it out to the company you hire. What you should be asking the company is whether they have the know-how to come up with that prototype and how long they estimate it is going to take them.
They should be able to give you a reasonably accurate timetable, and once that sample product is in front of you, then you’ll be able to see if your industrial design company is on the same page with you. If you find that modifications are in order, you can instruct them on where you want those changes made. If all looks as it should then you can order them to go on to the next step, which will probably be user testing. They can set that up for you as well.
Expertise in Many Different Product Categories
Another way that an industrial design company can be of use to you is that they will likely have many different product categories at which they are experts. Because of that, it’s unlikely there is any product idea you can bring to them that they haven’t dealt with in some capacity in the past.
You can use that to your advantage. They will probably be able to look at your project and draw on past experiences in your niche, making it unlikely that previous mistakes will be repeated. If you didn’t hire an industrial design company, then you would likely make some of those missteps and miscalculations. Working with people who do this sort of thing for a living is inherently valuable, and you’ll soon see that once you hire them.
Individuals with Different Skill Sets
Industrial design companies often employ individuals with many different skill sets who can aid you in your quest to develop a superior product. They will likely have backgrounds in things like engineering, mathematics, and various elements of sales and business. They can oversee every phase of the creation of your product.
They can study the market in which your product is going to be fighting for prominence. They will make sure that the appearance of the product, the advertising language used to describe it, and other aspects of the marketing are just as they should be. These individuals sometimes go by different job titles, but the idea is always the same: these are the people whose brilliant minds you can lean on as your product gets closer to making its debut.
Product Packaging
Product design goes far beyond the product itself. The colors, packaging, and the descriptions are all going to play a part in whether your creation becomes a hit or not. Your industrial design company can help you make the product appealing to as many people as possible through user testing. Subtle changes can be made so that a new demographic might have an interest in the product that might not have otherwise.
You should meet with the people who will be designing your product’s packaging. You will likely have some input for them, and you can also give your feedback when they tell you what they have in mind. Together you should be able to not only make your product the best that it can be but also the presentation of it that is almost equally important.
Product Analysis Services
Of all the things that an industrial design company can do for you, this is very high on the list of usefulness. You need your products to perform well before you release them for public consumption. Your product design company can do the extensive testing necessary to make sure that your product is not a danger to anyone and that it will not cease to be effective very quickly after it is purchased.
If your product testing is not sufficient, then your face risks that are far greater than a failed launch. If someone is hurt by one of your defective products then you could face a lawsuit, and win or lose, it’s going to damage your company’s reputation. Maybe your business is just starting or perhaps this is a new product to add to many other ones already on the market, but either way, you can’t afford to have this happen. Be sure to get your industrial design company to help in this area.
Now you see why product design companies are so vital for the creation process. They can help you in dozens of different areas, or just a couple if you already have a team working on some aspects of your product’s design journey already. There are all kinds of different service packages an industrial design company can offer you, so speak to one today. That’s how your product has the best chance to break through and justify the hard work you’ve put into it. The difference between success and failure might be as simple as a phone call to an industrial design company.