Research and User Experience

Thorough research fuels exceptional design. Our aim is to cultivate a profound understanding and empathy for the end-user by immersing ourselves in their experiences. We've traversed backcountry mountains, observed clinical settings, practiced complex procedures on 3D printed hearts, and spent late nights in international airports to observe the behaviours of passengers. This real-world immersion informs and guides our work by helping us identify opportunities, highlight risks, and capitalize on inherent strengths. 

Identify

We nurture a culture of awareness for socio-economic and environmental trends to discern currents that influence consumer behaviour and market demands. We leverage these insights with a deep appreciation of aesthetic and user-experience, ensuring our choices remain relevant and responsive. This ability to forecast success is pivotal for ensuring the economic viability and successful adoption of the end product.

Envision

We swiftly explore design options utilizing a blend of sketching, sketch CAD, and 3D visualization techniques. Maintaining sensitivity to brand identity is crucial, particularly as our work often intersects with existing product lines or envisions the next generation. For projects with a technical focus, configuration studies are employed to efficiently eliminate redundancies. Our overarching objective is to cultivate a symbiotic relationship where function propels form, and form effectively communicates function.

Make

Design concepts are most effectively comprehended as tangible 3D objects that can be touched, manipulated, examined, tested, and shared with end users. Our approach involves a blend of soft modeling techniques, full-scale CNC foam models, 3D printed prototypes, and machined plastic parts.

Review

Effective iteration relies on ongoing and transparent communication among our industrial design teams, engineers, and clients, alongside invaluable input from user testing. We cherish the opportunity to exchange constructive criticism as we pursue enhanced and refined solutions.

Develop & Refine

Our ID team and engineers operate a variety of CAD programs dependant on the requirements and complexity of the project. We can work in varying group sizes to build components and assemblies during the various stages of design and engineering activities. 

Prototype

The Concept Design stage typically culminates with high-fidelity prototypes. Many start-ups we've worked with use these prototypes for crowdfunding campaigns, securing funds, and creating marketing material. For established businesses, high-fidelity prototypes offer an invaluable opportunity to evaluate internally, test the market, and display at trade shows. 

Design for Manufacture

We lead projects from concept to completion. By understanding both the capabilities and limitations of manufacturing, we intelligently and confidently tackle the many challenges that occur during design for manufacture. We have extensive experience in enclosure design, ingress protection, light pipe design, and heatsinks. We utilize Finite Element Analysis, drop testing, and water and dust ingress tests. We engage with a wide range of vendors and have longstanding relationships with manufacturing partners in North America and Asia. These partnerships allow us to retain control over design decisions, ensuring the product vision is honored throughout the process.

Marketing Visualisation

3D visualization offers an accessible, highly creative, and cost-effective alternative to traditional product photography for producing captivating marketing imagery and product shots. With 3D rendering, additional images can be generated effortlessly without the need for costly or time-consuming setup, offering flexibility and efficiency. Moreover, digital assets can be quickly adapted for various marketing mediums.