If you have never gone through the process of hiring an industrial design company to help you with the creation and launch of a product or a line of products, then you might find yourself baffled regarding how to vet them. Are there specific questions that you should ask, and are there certain characteristics that should make some candidates more attractive than the others?
The truth is that much of what you’re going to be searching for from an industrial design company is going to depend on your needs and priorities. You might need more from their creative team if you haven’t the slightest clue about the engineering of your product. You might need their advice and assistance with mass production, or distribution. To start getting an idea of whether a candidate is the right fit for you, you can start by bringing up the following points.
User Experience and Visual Appeal
Some products become best sellers based only on their practical use, while they don’t offer much visually. On the other hand, sometimes a product has a certain look, and that’s enough to make it fly off the shelves. Ideally, though, you want the best of both worlds.
That means that your industrial design company should be able to help you out in both these areas. The best company for you should be able to create a product that performs at a high level, but also has an attractive appearance that is going to increase the chances that someone will buy it.
Prior Knowledge
The ideal industrial design company is also going to have the expertise in graphic and structural design to make a product that is going to stand up to any endurance test that you deem appropriate for it. It should be able to withstand any of the wear and tear that it’s going to endure once someone buys it, and that means it can’t be flimsy or built according to an unsound design. The company you hire should be well versed in creating products that can survive and fulfill their purpose in the real world.
Materials
You should also make a point of talking to your industrial design company about the materials that they have used in previous projects and where the expertise of their engineers lies. If your product is going to be made of an element in which your company has no prior experience, then you may wish to reconsider your choice.
If the industrial design company that you are considering sounds like a good fit for you, then you can hire them on a short term basis to see them in action. If they can live up to their claims, then you may wish to lock them into a longer contract. Trust your instincts, and base your relationship with them on the results that they produce if you want the vision for your products to be realized.