When it comes to product development, design optimization is arguably one of the most important aspects to consider throughout the entire process. That is, optimization is what truly separates average products from the highest-quality, best-selling innovations the market has to offer. At first glance, such a task can certainly seem like a tall order for business owners, but it is certainly achievable with the proper plan of action!
Are you interested in improving your own product but don’t know where to start? In this blog, we’ll be discussing 4 simple yet effective methods from an industrial design company to increase optimization that you may consider utilizing. Keep reading to discover which tools and resources you’ll need to elevate your design from good to great (and even beyond).
4 Tips To Optimize Product Design
1. Consider The End User
There is no greater resource in product development than the end user! This is because your target audience can actually reveal a plethora of pertinent information that can be used to influence several significant design decisions, including elements such as color pallet, price points, materials, size dimensions, mechanisms and features, and so forth. Essentially, studying the consumer can reveal insight into their expectations and demands for a product of your industry’s nature. These specifications can then be explored in the ideation stage to narrow in on a design that possesses most, if not all, of these defining characteristics in order to fulfill the needs of the customer and increase the product’s demand overall.
2. Find A Niche Market Segment
If you’re looking to offer never-before-seen pieces of innovation, then conducting thorough market research to uncover a niche market segment is a must. The goal here is to use resources, including trend reports, questionnaires, focus groups, surveys, and other relevant data, to reveal which unmet needs and persisting problems exist within the market. Using these findings, you will be able to develop something that has quite literally never been done before and is exclusive to your business, effectively increasing its desirability among end users.
3. Prototype
It goes without saying that products with defective features and faulty designs are not exactly characteristics of a best-seller, and this is where prototyping comes into play. After all, prototyping allows you to physically interact with the design and see how it operates in real-time. In other words, you are testing the product, and if there are any aesthetic or functional issues, they will most certainly become apparent at this point of the product development process. In the case that you do find some serious errors after testing, this signals it’s time to hit the drawing board once again to make any necessary adjustments or explore new ideas, thus optimizing the original flawed product design,
4. Outsource To An Industrial Design Company
If you want a ticket straight to optimization with no extra steps on your end, outsourcing to an industrial design company will always be the best option. In doing so, you are onboarding a team of expert designers to essentially spearhead the product development process. For business owners, this means you won’t have to deal with the hassle of navigating optimization and other industrial design services on your own. Instead, you are free to focus on running your business while the design team meticulously works on bringing your one-of-a-kind innovation to life. It’s a win-win! Moreover, if you’d prefer to develop your products in-house, but still have some questions about optimization, many industrial designers, including us here at Design Stein Studios, also offer bespoke consultations for quick one-on-one brainstorming sessions with clients. Ultimately, industrial designers are here to assist in your product’s optimization in whatever capacity you see fit!
This blog is brought to you by Design Stein Studios, one of the top industrial design companies in California. To inquire more about optimization and outsourcing, give us a call at 714-375-4846 to schedule a consultation today.