Industrial Design Consultancy puts understanding at the core of its product design process. For each project we ask the question ‘What exactly is the problem we are trying to solve?’. For many projects this can be answered quite quickly but for others this starts process of research and insight gathering which leads through idea generation and detailed engineering to production. Our full process is explained below.

Understand

IDC’s product development process begins with a thorough understanding of users’ perceptions of products and their meanings. The research phase gathers information to gain insight into people, cultures, brands, markets, trends and technology. Exploring the relationship between brand values and objects helps create products that align with the brand expectations. This stage may include observing in-context situations, desk research, ethnography, interviews and using test rigs to raise empathy, gain understanding and gather insights. For technology driven projects, research of competitors, patents and scientific literature is used.

Create

The Create stage is where the skill, experience and creativity of IDC’s design team are used to generate designs which address the identified needs. By applying the insights and understanding of the issues driving customer needs, the product development process can focus on developing concepts that appeal to specific needs or concepts to reflect the changes and developments in the marketplace. Typical outputs of this stage would be sketch or rendered product concepts or new and innovative ideas suitable for patent application

Define

Once concepts have been approved, the next stage is to finalise engineering detail and design for manufacture and assembly to ensure fit, function and performance. This is done through a prototype testing and review programme. Where necessary, suitable manufacturers are selected and production prices obtained. The output of this element of the development process would often be the production information required for manufacture of the tooling and production of parts.

Implement

Commercial product development expands beyond design into project management and the management of the manufacturing scale up. IDC’s team fully supports clients through the transition form prototype through to volume production and assists with setting up quality standards, validating tooling and establishing production procedures. Industrial Design Consultancy also reviews regulatory requirements to ensure all standards are met and supports product testing, production certification and validation programmes.