When it comes to developing a product at an industrial design company that you could eventually (and hopefully) one day sell, it is not only an art but also a science. The art of product design for many industrial design companies in California involves creating a new product that a company wants to sell to its customers, and it is a process that has many steps, producing several repetitions of a concept or idea that are then refined into a final design. The long-term goal of this process is to make a product that combines form and function and turns the concept into a tangible item that can then be sold to the customer.
What Happens When You Launch A Product Design?
Many industrial design services launch a product design project either as a response to an issue or query or as a blank state meant to bring up something completely new. In the first instance, there could be a customer requirement that isn’t being met or a problem with declining sales in a specific product line that has to be focused on.
In the second instance, individuals normally concentrate on the next step forward or a big idea — something that can restore a company’s product portfolio. The process is usually the same no matter what starts it. The only difference is that brainstorming to solve an issue will have to be more aimed at that particular domain, while with a blank slate, all concepts may be valid.
What Is The Product Design Process?
To get started with the product design process at a local industrial design company, you have to start with innovation. This involves a collection of new ideas from a brainstorming session, where no one has a wrong, or silly answer and all options are laid out. Afterward, this collection undergoes a review process where insightful experts can comb through the ideas by evaluating their feasibility, risk, potential rewards, appeal, and any other desired metrics.
Once this has been carried out, a decision is usually made by the company’s executives, board, and/or upper management. Normally, an industrial design company has multiple projects that are selected to go on to the next step, which is the creation and construction of a prototype project. These prototypes are analyzed and then changed based on feedback, and this cycle repeats until the product is considered quintessential.
What Are The Approaches To Product Design?
Many people prefer to go to design firms to develop their products since there are so many ways of conceptualizing this process. The best method for a company will depend on its products, markets, and goals. There are various methodologies for turning ideas into sellable goods. Larger companies could even develop their own product design philosophies based on previous successes.
What Are The Concerns Of A Product Design?
There are many factors to think about when you come to the product design process, and also, at the brainstorming stage, awareness of these factors is very important.
- Customer needs: The customer will have certain expectations when it comes to quality, safety, reliability, lifetime, and so on. Any object that becomes a product will have to meet these requirements upfront.
- Production capability: When the idea is a tangible product, the existing production plant structure will be required to make the product. For intangible services or systems, the existing infrastructure will need to be able to make them happen. This may call for capital investment.
- Raw material availability: The company will need to have stable, reliable sources of the raw materials needed. Any new raw material streams will have to go through a process to confirm and ensure their quality.
- Cost and price: There should be a good awareness of the estimated cost to produce the new product as well as the expected price for which it can be sold. Comparing this cost to competitors can help clarify the product design.
- Effect on the product portfolio: More often than not, new product lines can eat away at existing product sales. This leads to current customers choosing to switch to the new product, leaving the old product unsold. The company needs to think about the effects of the new product on future production and future sales and modify the mix accordingly.
- Company brand: A business that has taken time to build a company image in the mind of consumers will anticipate any new products to match this image. For instance, a company known for its environmental awareness should think about whether new products help build that image or destroy it.
Why Is Product Design Important?
Many people feel that the product design process is way too complicated and complex, and a lot of business owners get tempted to streamline just to get their product on the market as fast as possible. Nevertheless, good product design can determine the difference between market success and product failure.
A good product design has to be innovative as well as useful, and the advantages of good product design cannot be blown out of proportion. It is critical that you make certain that the product does something new and different and that what it can accomplish is actually useful for the consumer.
What Is Product Design And Quality?
When the product design is good, so is the quality. So, you have to think about the factors that will communicate quality to the customer when they purchase it and throughout the lifetime of the product. This could signify that even the aesthetics of the product are a critical part of its design.
Also, when you mention quality, most customers think that durability and reliability should be part of the design process. You have to consider whether the expected lifetime is a year or 10 years. These are all of the factors that you have to consider that will count for the customer and has to be declared within the product design.
So, if you are a company in California and looking for a design company to help you through the design process and much more, contact Designstein Studios at 714.375.4846 or email us at info@DesignSteinStudios.com.