If you’re an inventor with a great idea, it can seem like all you really need is to smooth the edges and start manufacturing. Industrial design services may seem like a luxury or an unnecessary expense, but when you stop to consider that most new products aren’t successful, it’s clear that something else is needed. Here’s a few ways that you can use industrial design to improve your product and increase the chances that it will be both profitable and long-lasting.
-
Decide On Your Quality Standards
There’s a world of cheap goods out there. Customers are no longer impressed by an inexpensive product if it doesn’t perform well, and many are willing to pay more for a product that is designed well. Even if your invention works, investors may be disinclined to invest in a product whose prototype is unattractive or slapdash. If you care about providing quality to your customers and great returns to your investors, then it pays to invest in design that can help take your product from an idea to a sleek, engaging reality.
-
Add New Features
What if you’ve already got a product–is there any reason to stay in the industrial design loop? The answer lies in the modern consumer’s expectation, conditioned by the cycles of technology. Put simply, people are used to getting a new phone every couple of years, and many of them subconsciously expect everything else to be improving at about the same rate. Most products can be given new features with little headache, especially if those features are aesthetics-based, which can lead to new customers being engaged, even with an old product.
-
Improve Existing Features
Odds are, if you’ve had some success with your product, that you’ve also gotten some not-so-nice feedback from your customers. Are you hearing, for example, that your customers love the way your product works, until the fabric ages and rips? If so, it can be worthwhile to let a design team come up with a way to reinforce that fabric, before you’re inundated with bad product reviews and see your sales droop.
-
Keep Manufacturing Costs Down
Finally, industrial design can help you ensure that manufacturing of your product won’t be held up by design decisions. Since many inventors choose to either license their product or manufacture it overseas, it can be helpful to have a design service that understands the requirements of designing specifically for mass-production.
Does your product need that extra zing?
Sources:
5 Ways To Improve Quality – www.inc.com
Improving Competitive Advantage Through Industrial Design – www.mddionline.com