A lot takes place between planning a product as an idea and actualizing it so that it reaches store shelves. It involves even more detail to make the situation successful. Perhaps this is why so much time, energy, and money goes into designing products. Product design services have a market value of more than $3 billion right now.
If you want to take your product from concept to profitable, you need the right advice. The points below will assist you when you’re ready to get the most from your product design needs.
1. Focus on Utility Over Everything
Let’s face it—we all love nice, shiny objects. Unboxing videos drive a lot of traffic on YouTube because something about opening a well-done package just feels like Christmas morning. The aesthetics of your product are crucial, but make sure that you never lose sight of making something useful that customers will appreciate.
When you are brainstorming your product design, be sure that utility and functionality are your main focus. Good product design is part art, part science, so make sure that every component has a purpose. Strip away any redundancy, and be prepared to put your product through rigorous testing to make sure that everything has a useful place.
The main question you should ask yourself is what problem your product solves. If you can’t give a simple, clear-cut answer, your product probably does too much or not enough. Follow the keep it simple mantra and build a product that accomplishes the goals you set.
2. Study Your Industry and Fill a Need
Once you have hashed out the foundation of your product goals, you need to make sure that you study the industry to see how your product will fit into the current landscape.
A little bit of market research and competitive analysis can go a long way for product design. In doing this research, you’ll see how others have filled this void. From there, you can assess how well they have done so, and what sort of potential they’re leaving on the table.
Solving problems better than your competition is the very basis by which you’ll gain a competitive edge, which will also help you get more market share. When you study your competitors you can learn from their mistakes while also improving on the things that they do well.
3. Make It Look Amazing
While functionality is the most important thing, never shortchange your consumers when it comes to the appearance of your product. There’s a reason why items like the iPhone and Macbook Pros are as much culturally iconic products as they are masterfully engineered pieces of technology. They are sleek, stylish electronics that set design trends in their industry every time they’re released.
These are products that people are proud to own and proud to be seen in public with. Having products that look so good that people are proud to own them turns one-time buyers into lifelong customers. It’s every bit as important to make your products something that people would want in their homes as it is to make sure that the product serves a purpose.
Be sure that the product has style points so that when people snap photos and share them on social media, it’ll market itself.
4. Research Your User
Do your due diligence to make sure that you understand your user. Whether you’re rolling out a piece of software, a kitchen appliance, or a piece of clothing, you need to make sure that you understand what your customer is looking for and how they will interact with your product.
One of the best ways to do this is by putting together a focus group. Your focus group will give you valuable feedback that you can use before your product release. Studying your consumer will teach you about which materials people prefer, how often they use your product, and most importantly, whether they intuitively know how to use your product and whether the learning curve is adaptable.
The last thing you want to do is frustrate your customer. Allow your test groups to give you valuable insight that you can use through each step of your design phase.
5. Put Your Best Heads Together
The problem that many companies have with product design is that they don’t have enough Renditions of their product before the final version is released. Put together your best and brightest minds so that they can all have input on your prototypes prior to moving forward. This gives you plenty of checks and balances and will make sure you’re not overlooking anything.
You should have a team of artists, designers, engineers, and other pros who understand what you’re trying to accomplish. Get insight from people in the industry and outside of it so that you don’t develop blind spots that hinder you from being innovative.
6. Consider Your Color Scheme
When you’re designing a new product, you need to also make sure that you choose color schemes that work. This might seem like a minor detail, but color psychology means a lot in the world of products. Colors like red are bold and attention-grabbing. They are also colors that invoke passion and determination.
Colors like yellow are calming, pleasant, and denote joy and happiness. Blue is a color that denotes sincerity and authenticity, while green is a color for earthiness, harmony, and nature.
There are no hard and fast rules for how you have to use these colors, but understanding the meaning that the human psyche gives to it can be to your advantage when you design a product.
Aside from color psychology points, make sure that your color scheme suits your brand. There are so many different shades you can choose, so find some that are unique that will stand out so that you can use them to grow your brand identity. Figure out what combination of colors you can explore that will leave a lasting impression.
7. Use the Best Processes
It’s also important that you use the best processes available to design your products. You can create prototypes using 3D printing technology. Product engineering is a complex process that requires the help of experts, but you’ll get the best results when you have all the tools for the job that you need.
Investing in laser etching service can help create a lasting impression with your product. This will let you put together details with speed and precision. You can use these machines to create lasting effects and you won’t have to break the bank in the process.
The work is flexible and allows you to leave impressions on a variety of materials, such as stone, metal, plastic, glass, and wood. This versatility makes it one of the best machines to use when you’re designing a quality product.
8. Map Out a Timetable
Next, take the time to create a timetable that you can stick to for your product design and development. This will let you brainstorm things in detail so that you have everything in place when the time comes. You will need to meaningfully go through the different stages, including ideation, screening, concept development, testing, market analysis, advertising, and launching the actual product.
Knowing what stages you have to go through will help you put the right amount of time into each. From there, you will know you are sticking to the landing as you move forward.
Your timetable might also include logistical details like getting your hands on a quality laser etching machine that can handle some work for you, and putting together pitches for funding.
9. Plan Out Your Marketing
Get specific when it comes to the way that you plan your marketing. Figure out who your audience is and find ways to reach them where they congregate.
This means knowing what social media outlets to use and figuring out a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising strategy that accurately targets people. Know your goals and reverse engineer them as you execute marketing strategies that get results.
10. Focus on Longevity
Finally, think about the entire life cycle of your product as you develop it. This means taking a long-game approach and designing it in a way that makes considerations for every stage of the process. Put together strong support so that your customers are taken care of long after the product launches.
Consider things like add-ons to extend the life cycle, and make sure that your product is built to last as long as you need it to.
Get the Best From Your Product Design
These tips will help you when you’re trying to do what’s best for your product design needs. Follow these suggestions in detail so that your product design process is successful.
Ace Laser Co is top-notch when it comes to providing excellent laser cutting service. If you’re ready to take advantage of our service, send us a message or call (562)481-1548.
