Concept Development & Product Design
Leading UK Product Design
Hallam offers leading-edge product and component design and development support from concept to launch, throughout the life cycle of the product. Such support can be expert design for manufacture (DFM) input or functionality design appraisal and testing. Design support staff have substantial experience across a broad and diverse range of product, industry and market sectors.
Innovative product design consultancy services
Hallam’s design staff adopt a systematic approach to product design and development, using the “double diamond” design process model developed through in-house research at the Design Council in 2005. This principle serves as the platform for innovative product design consulting services. Whether customers are working with independent product concept designers or have an in-house design team, Hallam’s design team facilitate and stimulate product idea review and help to bring ideas to life in an effective manner.
Recent Product Design Projects…
Product Design Process Structure
Within the product design and process design framework there are four distinct stages: discover, define, develop, and deliver. These stages represent the divergent and convergent thinking modes that designers and problem-solvers use to create innovative deliverables. From the most fundamental creative product design sketches to the ultimate development of products in the delivery stage, the process is comprehensive and user-centered.
Sustainable Product Design
Sustainable product design is crucial. Resource efficiency and minimizing environmental impact has to complement competitiveness in the marketplace. Hallam assists businesses in developing products that are not only profitable but also sustainable, with minimal cost of production and maximum resource use efficiency and recyclability.
The Discover phase is a critical starting point for any design process to collect insights through market research, user design and other methods. This step is very important because it forms the basis of sustainable product design, wide idea arrays, and many ways of understanding user needs. By exploring a wide range of ideas and understanding user needs, originating ideas or inspirations primarily come from the Discover stage. Needs are actually usually spotted at the Discover stage from user context; therefore, through lots of activities such as market research or user research, designers can come up with an originating idea or inspiration. A major effort at this stage is to keep the perspectives broad enough to allow for a divergent way of thinking, which is the key to sustainable product design. Throughout the Discover phase, designers are asking questions, forming hypotheses, and identifying potential problems through the analysis of market data, trends, and other key information sources. Though elements of discovery occur throughout the project life-cycle, this stage is crucial for the assimilation of fresh knowledge and competitive challenges as the best course to support sustainable product design and subsequent production.
The Define phase is where ideas developed during the Discover phase are pared down, filtered and placed in alignment with not only user needs but also business goals. This phase is crucial for product design and development, acting as a guide in making sure that the project stays in line with general business goals. This stage is when the designer interprets the needs of end-users and aligns these towards business aims as set out in the Define stage. The task is a critical one and serves as the filtering stage through which the set of ideas from the earlier Discover phase are looked at, chosen, and shaped into achievable tasks.
Work undertaken in the Develop stage merges ideas from Define to make real what was initially conceived through innovative product designs. Iterative testing and refinement of concepts at this stage strongly relies on tight collaboration with engineers, developers, and other key partners. By processing every single idea coming from the Define phase, a particular product design is created and processed in an innovative way; many creative methods and techniques that involve brainstorming, visualization, and prototyping make innovative design solutions for the product effective and market-ready. At the conclusion of the development phase, the project will have reached a state in which the product is mature and ready for delivery.
The conclusion of the design process, the Deliver phase, is the point at which the developed product is tested, approved, and placed on the market. This is critical for the final product’s success and for feeding back insights into the process to inform future sustainable product design efforts. Key activities during the Deliver phase include final product testing, product launch, and setting performance targets. The feedback loops established at this phase of the project ensure lessons learned are considered during future projects and promote sustainable product design and continuous improvement. The Deliver stage also ties back into product development and project management to ensure that the project meets its objectives and is on its way to a successful product launch. At the end of this stage, the product would not only respond to the challenge of the problems observed in the Discover stage but also contribute valuable insights that can be used to inform future product design and development.
Contact us to learn more about how we can help with your Product Design Project…
Design that makes products competitive
Good design has helped Hallam customers respond better to common business challenges and helps businesses to:-
- Make products more competitive. It keeps production costs down but allows higher end-user pricing.
- Keeps users happy, encouraging loyalty and leading to the recommendation of products to other end users and other businesses.
- Develop the power of the brand. A strong brand identity encourages end-users to trust existing products and to try new ones.
Hallam has worked with a wide range of independent designers or customer design staff in developing new products from the concept stage.
The diversity of the product design and development projects on which Hallam has been engaged is spectacular, with concepts ranging from industrial floodlighting systems to garden hardware and sports equipment.
Case studies
If you would like to view any of our case studies click below.
Wide Variety of Project Successes
Hallam’s design support team has vast experience working on successful projects ranging from industrial floodlighting and automotive applications to garden hardware and sports equipment. The widely varied scope of product design and development support provided assures great flexibility and adaptability. Further, the team has developed an extensive network of expertise in specific development areas which it is able to draw upon for particular applications as required.
Ready to Bring a Project Idea to Life?
Hallam offers end-to-end product design services, from initial concept design to prototyping and final product development. Hallam’s design team will help to ensure that your component or product is competitively costed, user-friendly, and sustainable in years to come.
FAQ
The “double diamond” model is a methodical approach to product design and development consisting of the following four phases: discover, define, develop, and deliver.
To ensure minimum environmental impact and increased resource efficiency and production cost effectiveness, Hallam makes sure that design recommendations are both profitable and sustainable.
Hallam’s team has designed and helped design products for a wide range of industrial sectors, including industrial and domestic lighting, automotive, aerospace and medical equipment applications, garden hardware and sports equipment. Hallam focuses on user-centric product design concepts and classical product design principles as well as manufacturing excellence.
