How do you design a product? – Part 1

It may seem daunting to start with, especially if you are new to product development. But as with most things it can be simplified by breaking it down into smaller steps and manageable tasks. What we are talking about here is the process of designing a product not the process of identifying a product opportunity and justifying the cost of development through market analysis and evidence. That’s a whole separate issue. Once a product opportunity has been identified and the required funding to develop the product secured, what are the steps and stages involved in designing a product?

1. Create a Design Specification

Designing a product with no specification or criteria for it to comply with is the best and easiest way to create a product that fails commercially. If it doesn’t meet the market and customer needs then it won’t sell in any volume and ultimately will not make a return on the investment to development. To determine what the market and user needs are for a product you could use a tool like our free Product Design Checklist. This will ask the important questions about what the design of the product needs to consider and will help identify key information to be gathered to inform the direction the design goes in. Once you feel you have asked all the important questions on what factors will inform the design then a simple bullet point list can be created outlining what the requirements and criteria of the product design are. If the design meets all these requirements, then this is your Minimum Viable Product or MVP.

2. Employ a Designer

As with any creative process choosing the right partner is crucial to the success of the project. Most designers will be able to propose a solution that ticks all the points on the design specification but with differing results and approaches. Speak to a few different design agencies look at their previous work, is it inspiring? Was it commercially successful? Read their reviews, were they easy to work with or precious and difficult? Product design is more similar to architecture than most other disciplines of design. A product design must be a successful combination of aesthetics, materials, construction methods and user interface. It’s a blend of the creative and technical skills and knowledge of the design team. It’s not just about the looks. If you would like to discuss your new product development process with us and receive a free, no obligation consultation and quotation then get in touch.

3. The Design Process……to be continued