Design of anything is certainly an art, coupled, in the case of product design, with science and technology, tested for what it looks like, what if feels like, how it works, and if the customer really wants it. But what is it about retro or vintage design that really grabs our attention?
We’ve been keeping a close eye on eVTOL’s (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft), hydrogen powered planes, personal drone technology, autonomous air vehicles and beyond. We even love a personal jet pack, let’s be honest!
The stunning art installation named ‘Can’t Help Myself’, more latterly re-named ‘Couldn’t Help Myself’, was created by Chinese artists Sun Yuan and Peng Yu. Commissioned for the Guggenheim Museum, this piece is based on a Kuka robot, situated in a shallow pool of blood-like water.
This November saw COP26 – the UN Climate Change Conference 2021, take place in Glasgow. This is a forum where governments from the world over, gather to make agreements on how to truly make a difference when it comes to climate change.
It has been widely noted that the agreements in place with objectives which use 2035 as a deadline for change, action and results, aren’t looking as achievable as many had first thought, and that we perhaps need to take a moment, and have a rethink.
As we draw this blog series to a close we turn our focus to the epicentre of this topic – a subject super close to our design hearts, sustainable design, that seeks to provide a genuine end to end cradle to grave solution.
Next up in our ‘Design for Life’ series we take a look at how the elusive daily commute, automotive and travel in general, has been influenced by stand-out product design. The influence of product design on the future of travel, will likely be one of the most significant developments, with an impact we will all likely benefit from.
Installment number three of our ‘Design for Life’ series hones in on how product design has helped aid our fitness and wellness journey, and takes a short tour of some of the more recent innovations to hit the market.
Welcome back to our Design for Life blog series, inspired by one our favourite hashtags, #designforlife. This next blog focuses on product design for the home; design that inspires the way we live our lives in or around the home, and promises, or at least hopes, to revolutionise the way we live.
Our design for life series was inspired by a hashtag we love to use (#designforlife), as we feel it really encapsulates the reason behind a fair few of the innovations, which we like to share with you from the wider world of product design, which are often particularly life enhancing.
When we recently ran our feature on the life cycle of a product, we really got to thinking about what the term ‘design for life’ might mean to us, or to others, so we thought we’d explore it a little further.
In previous blogs we have discussed product obsolescence and how to avoid it. In our last article on the topic we spoke about focus groups, social media polls, analytics, user forums and third party review tools such as Trustpilot.
However, with such a strong focus on moving towards more sustainable living, we can also address the full lifecycle of the product. We can home in on the implications of the products successes, or indeed failures, on the environment as well as on your own business, and of course, the impact to the customer.
A Product Vision is best described as a statement which conveys the very essence of your concept.
You will address the problem the product will solve, who the product is being created for, as well as why you need to create it at this moment in time.
This statement is beneficial to team members for clarity and purpose in what you are collectively trying to achieve. It is also a useful tool to share with other stakeholders in the business, such as investors or any other influential entities involved in your product design journey.
With the end of Lockdown in sight (well, at the time of writing in any case), we are looking to the ‘new normal’ to see how we can work with entrepreneurs and product design partners alike, to help us all thrive, with some super post pandemic productivity!
This time last year we were busy uploading all the excitement for what we thought might lie ahead in 2020 for every product design partner in our network, and beyond. Little did we truly know, just what we were letting ourselves in for, by ringing in that New Year!
As the strangest year that was 2020 comes to an end we thought we’d do a quick round-up of the year that no-one truly expected! Outsourcing your product design and enticing entrepreneurs to unleash their concepts were our two key objectives as 2020 dawned upon us. But who truly believed the landscape would shift quite so dramatically?
Do you have a concept to bring to life that requires software capability? If so, how much attention have you given to this aspect of the project? When considering software for product design, it is important to make sure you are working with a team who fully understands your end goal, and feel confident to help you make it happen.
Hello and welcome to part two of our guide to creating the perfect design brief. In our previous blog we addressed the questions you will need to answer earlier on in the design process….
It’s now critical to ensure you communicate your product concept to your product design consultancy with clarity. There’s a lot to consider, so how about a checklist to ensure you are providing the best brief that you can, for best success? We thought you’d never ask.
So you’ve got a great product idea, sourced some funding to get it moving, and what to approach a product design consultancy. But now what? If you’ve never created a product before, or sometimes, even if you have, it can be pretty confusing trying to understand the right steps to take and in which order, to help you bring your vision to life.
As we settle into the season of giving, our Technical Director Jon, has been working on a project of his own for his 5-year-old daughter’s birthday. This dynamic lightbox is appropriately known in the studio as the Infinity Cube, due to its illuminating and seemingly never-ending light display.
The Entrepreneurs’ Team of the Year Award arguably boasts its strongest category nominations to date. Conficio are honoured to be judged against these inspirational people. Our competition, to mention a few, includes the genius that is minicabit, founded by Dragon’s Den star Amer Hasan; ClearScore, the open banking system co-founded by author and business tycoon Justin Basini; and Speechmatics, the …
For some, mastering the art of sketching can take years to perfect. Leonardo Da Vinci himself dedicated a lifetime to fine tuning and refining this art. In fact, it is rumoured that even some of Da Vinci’s most renowned works were considered incomplete by this prolific artist and engineer. Unlike Da Vinci however, we don’t all have a lifetime to …
Slicker, smoother and smarter than ever; Conficio are delighted to announce the launch of our new and improved website. May 2018 marked Conficio’s first birthday and to celebrate this occasion we decided to refresh and revamp our website, giving it the facelift it deserved. The glossy new site offers a seamless user experience, in which potential clients can easily navigate …
Career progression, science and engineering are due to hit the headlines as hot topics this fortnight. Specifically, this week celebrates National Careers Week in schools, colleges and universities up and down the country; a reminder to those looking to their future careers of what is truly possible. The event will help to educate students on how they map their route …
So you’ve read our ‘Rapid Prototyping – A Beginners Guide’, and now we understand why Rapid Prototyping is important, and what the basic types of testing are. We know that we can commission a ‘looks-like’ or a ‘works-like’ prototype, and we understand what a ‘Proof-of-Concept’ model looks like and that our end goal is to achieve a production-quality prototype that …
Picture the moment; your team have come up with a ground-breaking new concept product. It’s going to be the game changer. It features all the USP’s you could hope for; the concept is immense – it’ll take your business to the next level. Your MD says “Great stuff – let’s move this thing forward!” But what next? What about the …
