Aesthetic Prototypes

Development of a visual representation of your new product idea. Find out all you need to know about producing aesthetic models of your concept.

Aesthetic prototypes development emphasis’ the overall look, styling and finish of your concept. They have many purposes from generating interest from potential investors or gaining feedback on the look appearance from potential buyers and consumers. They are considerably more cost effective than full working prototypes and so have a place in the product development journey where risk mitigation is key.

What is aesthetic prototypes?

This type of prototype will largely be built from bespoke parts from the agreed CAD model. However ‘off the shelf’ parts will be used where appropriate and where they are true representations of the final product. This type of prototype is unlikely to function as intended but will be similar in form, finish, colours and materials to the final product.

It is likely that materials close to the production grade will be used however, these are still unlikely to be as good as production materials. Often spray painting is used for this type of prototype and this wears and chips over time and so aesthetic prototypes should be treated with care.

What might happen during this stage?

Consideration of appropriate materials for the various components that closely represent production materials.
Selection of appropriate prototyping method for each component.
Consideration of finish and colour to be similar to final product.
Complex or key visual parts for the prototype are ordered from trusted suppliers.
Spray painting or coating where necessary.
The parts are assembled and necessary tweaks made.

This is a complete list of all potential requirements of this stage. It does depend on your project and your specific requirements and therefore all of these elements might not be necessary in your case.

What value does this stage add to my project?

Prototypes speak volumes to investors, retailers and manufacturers about the level of development of the design. This type of prototype seeks to demonstrate the key visual elements of the product and provides a representation of what the product would look like. This enables feedback from buyers and consumers and also these models have been used to gain investment for the product.

How much and how long?

This stage would typically take three to four weeks. The cost of this stage can vary greatly based on the size of the product. The cost typically could range from £1200 to £6000.

Why use D2M to do this stage?

Two key reasons:

We’ve built hundreds of prototypes before and have the workshop facilities to do so.
We have a diverse experienced team that can bring your idea to life.