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.
Finding the right product design engineers can be a challenging task. Not only are you looking for top quality recruits, but you will most likely want to scale quickly to get your workflow moving and overall, reduce the faff!
Electronics for product design can be easily overlooked during the early part of the design phase. It’s all well and good creating a super slick product that the design gods would admire, but what about the functionality?
If you’re constantly googling the words ‘product design for startups’ chances are, you are a startup, seeking some product design. Are we right? If this is you, then you have come to the right place.
So you’ve had the idea brewing in your mind for a while now, you’re eureka moment has occurred and you are now working with your product designer, in order to design and manufacture a product.
Now it’s time to start to bring it to fruition. It’s very easy to get swallowed up in the product design process. On this journey, it is critical to remember the very reason for your product coming to life, is to get it manufactured and get it to market!
Welcome to the final instalment in our blog series on how the product design journey works from end to end. We hope that by now we’ve provided you with some useful tips and insights on how you can ensure your product design journey runs as smoothly as possible, from start to finish. To round off this series, this feature is all about preventing obsolescence.
We’ve covered a myriad of topics during this blog series, and as we draw a little closer towards the end of this journey, it’s time to look at marketing your product and how to launch that finished article for your customers to find and buy!
Our next instalment in our blog series on taking your product to market, focuses on protecting your idea. You’ve already invested time, energy and money in bringing your concept to life, so don’t forget to make sure you try and protect yourself from copycats; whilst we understand that your vision is unique to you, someone else may well have a similar concept in mind. Give yourself the best chance of commercial success and choose the most suitable forms of legal protection for your idea and product. This article will help you to understand the different types of intellectual property (IP) protection, how they differ and how to go about it.
Welcome back to our blog series, which strives to give you, the client, as much information as possible to help give you an insight into the product design process.
Over the past few months you might have caught our blog series, which focuses on giving you, the client, as many tools as possible, in order to make your product design journey the smoothest and most enjoyable experience possible. This month we turn our focus to understanding product design terminology.
This month, as part of our product design know-how blog series, we’re talking about setting and managing expectations, and understanding how to determine and manage the scope of a project. Product design is a pretty involved process, can be fairly costly and is also usually quite an exciting journey to be part of, so it stands to reason that it can be easy to get caught up in the moment.
Achieving a beautifully designed new product, featuring all the key elements for success in the market place, is no mean feat. After all, you will need to achieve not only a fantastic user experience, but you’ll need to meet the desired outcomes for both the business and the end user in order for the product to become a success. Enter, The Design Process.
This month our blog series returns with the spotlight switching to one of the most contentious of pain points when it comes to managing any project; budgeting for product design. It’s critical to get this fundamental aspect of your project nailed as early in the design process as possible – you won’t know if you’re on budget, if you don’t have one!
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….
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.
