Design Review
Transforming a conceptual vision into a tangible product is a sophisticated undertaking and not an easy journey -speaking from experience! Although highly rewarding (if successful!) there are a series of intricate challenges along the way that most people don’t appreciate before they get started. Our Design Review service analyses any design work that has been completed to date against a set of criteria designed to evaluatae commercial potential and highlight any critical issues.
Our Process
Upon receiving your design, our team conducts a thorough evaluation. This could be examining the functionally of a prototype or reviewing the details of a CAD model. We assess every part, considering aesthetics, functionality, manufacturability, ergonomics, necessary standards and the suitability for the intended market.
It’s essential to understand where the design stands before suggesting improvements and this step will draw out any concerns and particular challenges by detailed examination by experienced designers who understand production requirements.
A design must be visually compelling, but it must also be functional, practical and pragmatic. We tend to take a Minimum Viable Product approach which reduced initial investment and reduces risk. As such this analysis part of the service seeks to understand the role of each component and overall design intent.
Understanding who the product is designed for is crucial. We align the design with the preferences, needs, and expectations of the intended market. This initial assessment lays a foundation, providing a clear picture of the design’s current standing.
Leveraging our vast experience in the industry, we pinpoint areas where the design might fall short. Often these problems are in terms of manufacturability and cost-effectiveness. This could range from overly complex features, which can skyrocket manufacturing costs, to simpler oversights that could decrease efficiency in mass production.
In some cases we have found designs where core functionally simply doesn’t work and needs re-designing to be effective. We have also previously discovered oversights of ergonomics meaning that the end product would have been uncomfortable or even impossible to use.
Full consideration for environment of use is critical as certain elements (such as sea water) can have a massively detrimental impact of the durability and therefore life of the product. We have reviewed various product concept designs before where no considerations had been made for environmental factors and significant material changes where needed as a result.
Review of the product life-cycle is often included within this service resulting in potential to improve the green credentials of the product.
Concept visuals can often mask ineffective solutions to fundamental requirements and we will seek to make suggestions and refinements to ensure that these aspects are fully effective whilst also ensuring that the aesthetics of the concept are not compromised.
Suggested iterative design improvements are also likely to include options for reduced component count, simplified assembly and minimised production setup costs (including tooling). Ideally we will be able to change elements to reduce packaging size or complexity as this not only reducing packaging costs, but minimises shipping costs as well.
Our experience with textiles, as well as hard materials like metals and plastics, sometimes proves invaluable as often we can suggest a fabric based solutions to some parts that reduces tooling cost significantly. On one recent project we removed the need for any tooling saving over £30,000 of upfront costs.
A second set of eyes, with clear focus on efficacy, is often highly effective to avoid problems later down the line and also reduce overall costs.
Cost-Efficiency
Benefit 1 Text: Without a cost effective design hidden costs can quickly multiple development budgets and lengthen the time before you gain to return on your investment. Our Product Design Review acts as a financial compass, navigating you away from potential monetary pitfalls and ensuring your ongoing development budget is used effectively.
A stitch in time – rectifying an error during the design phase is considerably cheaper than post-production or even post-prototyping. By meticulously analysing your design against practical production realities, we ensure that you avert these costly oversights early on and reduce the chances of unknown unknowns.
Return on Investment (ROI) Focus: Our insights not only help in cutting down unwarranted expenses but also maximise the potential returns. A well-priced, cost-effective product stands a better chance in a competitive market, yielding higher ROI.
Streamlined Manufacturing
- Anticipating Challenges: Every step in the manufacturing process presents its own set of challenges. We predict these hurdles well in advance, so you’re never caught off-guard.
- From Paper to Product Seamlessly: A hiccup during manufacturing isn’t just costly—it can derail timelines and shake stakeholder confidence. We ensure that your design is robust and ready, mitigating risks of unexpected disruptions.
- Collaboration with Manufacturers: Having worked across various sectors, we have insights into manufacturer expectations and requirements. This ensures your design is not just theoretically sound but practically executable.
Product Market Fit
- Consumer-Centric Approach: In today’s era, consumer is king. We never lose sight of this. Every review, every suggestion is anchored around the ultimate end-user—the consumer.
- A Design That Sells: It’s not enough for a product to be aesthetically pleasing; it must resonate with its target audience. Our review considers global trends, regional preferences, and niche market needs to ensure your design has the best shot at market success.
- Balancing Innovation with Practicality: We champion innovation but temper it with market realities. This balance ensures that while your product is fresh and unique, it’s also relatable and desirable to your target demographic.
FAQs
What is a design review?
A general design review is a systematic evaluation of a design’s suitability, effectiveness, and potential for successful implementation. Typically carried out in various stages of product development or engineering processes, its main objective is to identify problems and suggest improvements before further resources are committed.
What is D2M's Product Design Review?
The “Product Design Review” by D2M is a comprehensive evaluation of your product’s design to ensure it is not only aesthetically appealing but also functional, manufacturable, and commercially viable. It bridges the gap between a product’s conceptual vision and its real-world feasibility, identifying potential design pitfalls that could lead to increased production costs or market misalignment.
What risks come from bad initial design?
Bad initial designs pose significant risks including escalating production costs due to design revisions and material wastage. Such designs can result in products that are unsafe or non-compliant with regulations, leading to recalls and legal repercussions. There’s also a risk of elongated time-to-market, giving competitors an advantage. Moreover, products that don’t resonate with consumer needs or expectations can damage brand reputation and trust. Consequently, investments in marketing and inventory can be wasted. Ultimately, poor initial designs can result in financial losses, lost market opportunities, and potential harm to end-users.
Why is designer experience in production rare?
This service will provide insights to enhance cost-efficiency, streamline manufacturing processes, and ensure your product’s market fit. By identifying and addressing design flaws early on, you can save significant money, time, and safeguard your brand’s reputation. Moreover, D2M’s decade-long experience can be invaluable in refining your product for better market reception and profitability.
Why should I opt for a Design Review of my concept design? What's in it for me?
This service will provide insights to enhance cost-efficiency, streamline manufacturing processes, and ensure your product’s market fit. By identifying and addressing design flaws early on, you can save significant money, time, and safeguard your brand’s reputation. Moreover, D2M’s decade-long experience can be invaluable in refining your product for better market reception and profitability.
Overview of Design Review
In the world of product development, there is a vast difference between a design that possesses aesthetic appeal and one that is feasible for production and commercially viable. It is all too easy to be wowed by photorealistic renders and fancy designs but miss the fact that really the design is actually an impractical concept masked by pretty pictures.
Think amazing looking concept cars that attract PR but where the design is majorly watered down and compromised before it ever becomes a drivable road car.
All too often designs, even if aesthetically beautiful, fall short when it comes to pragmatic considerations such as manufacturability, cost efficiency, market suitability and potential to pass the necessary standards and certification. Designers with a profound aesthetic sense, but perhaps with limited commercial acumen and/or manufacturing experience, can inadvertently escalate production expenses and introduce unnecessary costs.
D2M’s “Product Design Review” service acts as a sense-check before continuing product development. More than just an evaluative stage, this service is a comprehensive approach, ensuring that the design you have is practical, producible, and primed for commercial success. We aim to blend design aesthetics with tangible feasibility, making certain the resulting product doesn’t merely catch attention, but is appropriate in all areas for its intended audience.
In today’s ultra-competitive market landscape, aesthetics alone don’t seal a product’s fate. Modern consumers, spoilt with choices, yearn for products that offer genuine value, competitive pricing, and immediate availability. Unanticipated cost surges during production can ripple through, affecting the product’s pricing strategy, accessibility, and overall market perception. Overlooking initial design flaws can have lasting repercussions, potentially tarnishing brand reputation through product recalls, adverse reviews, or waning consumer trust.
Working with D2M’s design team, boasting over a decade of varied product design experience, highlights potential issues and helps improve your product’s chances of successful launch. Our experienced professionals, having hands-on experience developing products from ideation to production – experience surprisingly rare among designers – ensuring no stone is left unturned. When you commission this service, every area of your concept undergoes rigorous evaluation, set against the evaluation criteria of market expectations, production feasibility, and cost implications.
Venturing into prototyping and manufacturing phases demands considerable investment in both finances and time. The “Product Design Review” service, ensure that you are taking a rigorously evaluated concept further rather than just a pretty picture of an attractive concept that could be fatally flawed.