Industrial Design / Product Design

Developing a new product starts with an idea and no matter how well you’ve thought it out, that idea needs to be refined into a recipe for manufacturing. Industrial Design is the first phase of developing that recipe and at Harbor Designs & Manufacturing we take a more comprehensive approach to this than most.

Its during the Industrial Design phase that we figure out exactly what your product will do, how it will work, and what it should look like. Since our goal is to produce your product, and produce as much as possible, we go above and beyond in our Industrial Design phase to make sure it has an edge on market in every way possible. The more marketable and cost effective your product, the more you can sell which is good for Harbor and good for our clients.

We take a team approach at Harbor Designs & Manufacturing and truly look at our clients as trusted partners. In the Industrial Design phase we will work closely with you to properly define design goals, establishing your companies product image or brand and pave the way to cost effective manufacturing.

A typical products Industrial Design phase will consist of the following steps:

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Define the Products Goals

First things first, this is your product so it makes sense to start with what you know and build from there. We get an understanding for what you’re trying to accomplish with your product, how you see it working and being used and what you know about the market and any competing products that may already exist. This is a highly interactive process where we sit down and brainstorm together. Listening to each other, thinking off the cuff, playing devil’s advocate and countless whiteboard sketches are usually key to a proper definition. We’ll present our own research on the market, creative ideas and look for as many cost effective ways as possible to make your product the clearly superior solution to whatever options may already exist in the market place. By the time this step is complete we will have defined what your product will do, how it will work, and what features you want included, as well as identify any potentially patentable elements.  

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Lay Out the Products Design

Once the products parameters are defined we transition into Defining the Design. Whats it look like? How does it feel? We’ll put ourselves in the place of the consumer or end user and explore all of our options regarding style, ergonomics, possible manufacturing pathways and ease of assembly. If your company already offers products we’ll work to propose designs that compliment your company style, or, if your product line is in need of a make over or if this is your first product, we’ll give it a fresh look guaranteed to resonate with your desired demographic. Based on your input we’ll supply multiple design pathways and concepts in the form of Detailed Sketches, 3-D CAD Models and when appropriate Physical Design Models. See the bottom of this page for examples.

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Refine the Products Goals and Design

We’ll respond to your feedback and make revisions until your satisfied, presenting you with a clearly defined product design ready to be transitioned to engineering. We’ll make sure you’re happy with the shape, proposed function, and artwork design. You will be made aware of the intended manufacturing pathways and expectations will be set with regards to any set up charges that are likely to come with a proposed manufacturing approach. At this point the Industrial Design phase is typically complete and we’re ready to be break your product down into detailed manufacturable components via the Mechanical Engineering phase.

 

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The following illustrations, sketches and 3D Models are examples of design pathways being explored for several products.

 

 Click on the Mechanical Engineering link to see how we transform an Industrial Design into a Final Product Design ready for manufacturing.