What You Need to Know at the Initial Product Design Stages
If you’ve had an exciting product idea, it’s likely that you’re super keen to get going with the design and prototyping processes. Before you get started though, there are some important things to consider to help ensure you don’t run into any common issues further down the line.
From designing with compliance in mind to ensuring that you can manufacture your product design en masse, here are some of the things we thought you should know about the product design journey.
Design with regulatory compliance in mind
Right from the very beginning, you want to be thinking about any regulatory hoops that you might need to jump through. Retroactively ensuring compliance can be a far more tricky process than doing it while you design – it can lead to scenarios where you have a product that works, but that will need to be totally rethought in order to comply.
As a result, it’s a good thing to keep in mind from the very initial stages. It might seem annoying but trust us, the alternative scenario described above is far more annoying.
Remember it needs to be scalable
From the very beginning, it’s important that you design a product that’s actually scalable at a reasonably low cost. Obviously, it’s possible to design and build almost anything given enough time and resources, but if that incredible product then can’t be manufactured and sold at a profit, it will remain a concept forever.
It’s important to consider the materials you’re using, and how they might be manufactured. If certain parts have to be handmade, then find a new way of making the product. Dimensional Inspection must also be done before mass-producing your products.
Keep your design goals in mind
It’s likely that you came up with your product to solve a reasonably specific issue, to fill a certain slot in the market. It’s solving that issue that will make your product valuable to people, and will enable you to market it effectively.
While you’re designing the product, keep that function in mind. It’s common during the design process to start slightly shifting the product in order to make it ‘practical’. While this is to be expected, make sure you don’t shift too far, or you may end up with something that people will no longer benefit from owning. As you develop various elements of the product, consider the balance of form versus function in order to put together something that appeals on a utilitarian level as well as on a visual level. In order to most effectively do this, it’s important to do research into the kinds of materials you can use that possess attributes that can make the product function best. For example, you might be aiming to design something lightweight and durable, in which case doing research into where to buy carbon fiber tubes and how to best use them would be beneficial. At the same time, when considering these materials think about how you can best display them in order to make the product visually appealing to potential customers.
Use a prototype design service from the beginning
While it can be tempting to design the product yourself, it’s advisable to use a prototyping and electronics manufacturing company from the very beginning. They’ll be able to ensure that your design is compliant with the necessary regulations, and if you work with an electronic contract manufacturing company, they’ll be able to design something that they’re certain they can manufacture themselves, avoiding any significant complications.
As you can see, there’s a lot to keep in mind when you’re designing a product, even from the very beginning stages. By keeping these few tips in mind, you stand to avoid a lot of unnecessary stress later down the line