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Elevate Your Product with Industrial Design Consultancy
The term Industrial Design Company is a little more common to hear over the pond. The actual definition of industrial design varies depending on the industrial designers you speak to. Here at Flynn we think industrial design has transcended the iterative improvement, aesthetic enhancement of a product. We think industrial design is the non-linear process of design thinking as it applies to physical, digital or even virtual experiences. Industrial design is ultimately about people and their product environment. Developing that industrial design so it is better for business, manufacturable, feasible and tangibly beneficial, comes as standard with our industrial design consultancy.
Industrial Design Consultancy
RE-THINK
Our consultancy aims to be a little different. There are many who offer industrial design as a service, but one of the core areas that sets limits are potentially those early assumptions. What inputs have arrived at the formula? What is the core problem statement? Sometimes this is hidden, but it can pay dividends to work through this in our workshops.
IMAGINE
When you deeply connect with the core problem statement, ideas start to flow. The solutions are out there waiting to be discovered, like tuning in to the right frequency. Our industrial designers have an uncanny touch at creating novel and inventive concepts which are more often than not, Patentable. Breaking free “sandboxing” and creating a safe place for ideas to live, even for a short time enables us to imagine a better way.
TEST
Industrial designers must test and validate at each of these stages. We established it was critical to test the original thinking that goes into the brief and PDS (product design specification? How do you know which idea to move forward and develop? Test – find a way, create a test rig, an experiment – prototype and validate. Move that idea forward into prototype, test assemblies prior to investment in hard tooling as much to de-risk the process.
CREATE
We take the Darwinian approach to product development and nurture those seedlings into concepts, give them names and introduce our clients to the fruit of our imaginations. Once intros are out of the way we work with our clients to analyse which of these concepts is the best fit for its environment. Which one or which combination of attributes brought into a whole can thrive in the marketplace gaining market traction and disrupt sectors.
Form Meets Functionality
Immerse your product in a harmonious blend of form and functionality. Our industrial design expertise ensures that every curve, contour, and detail serves a purpose, enhancing both aesthetics and user experience.
Innovation at Every Angle
We go beyond the ordinary, infusing innovative solutions into every aspect of your product. Our team explores new materials, cutting-edge technologies, and unique design elements to ensure your product not only meets industry standards but sets them.
User-Centric Approach
Your end-users are at the forefront of our design process. We delve deep into understanding their preferences, needs, and behaviours, ensuring that the industrial design not only captures attention on the shelf but also resonates seamlessly with the intended audience.
FAQ
What is the difference between industrial design and product design?
The honest answer when it comes to the difference between industrial design and product design the line has blurred significantly. And at Flynn, we think it’s a good thing. Industrial design mostly focuses on the physical aspects of a product, like how it looks, how it feels, and how it functions. This includes form, ergonomics, materials, and ensuring the design can be manufactured efficiently.
Whereas product design is much broader. It focuses on, and covers the entire product experience, such as the design, engineering, user experience (UX), and overall product strategy.
In practice today, both terms are often used interchangeably and most leading consultancies, including Flynn, treat them as two threads of the same discipline.
How to choose an industrial design agency for product development?
Choosing the right industrial design agency is one of the most important decisions you will make for your product. Here is the process you can follow to chose the right industrial design agency for product development.
Look at their thought process - A good industrial design agency should be able to show you why a product looks, and works the way it does, they cannot just show you that it looks good, they need explain the design philosophy behind the product, what made them to finalize this design.
Check for end to end capability - The agency before designing the product should understand about how manufacturing works, The agency you choose should know about the Design for Manufacture (DFM), prototyping, materials selection, and commercial viability.
Analyze the questions they ask - An agency that focuses on designing a commercially succesful product will push back on your brief and ask detailed questions. They may not simply take your spec and execute it.
Look for relevant industry experience - Industry, and domain knowledge matters, especially in regulated areas like medical devices or products with complex electronics.
Pay attention to how they communicate – A introductory session, or an audit report about your product spec is a great way to test before you commit. Because, how they explain their ideas, handle feedback, and involve you in the process is a strong factor on how they will communicate throughout the design process.
The best agency client relationships feel like genuine partnerships. You want a team that is as invested in the success of your product as you are, not one that disappears between milestone deliverables.
What is Design for Manufacture (DFM) and why does it matter?
Design for Manufacture (DFM) is the process of designing a product so it can be produced efficiently, cost-effectively, and at scale. It involves selecting the right materials, simplifying components, and ensuring the design works with real-world manufacturing processes.
DFM matters a lot because even a great concept can fail if it’s too complex or expensive to produce. With the implementation of DFM process, you reduce production costs, avoid delays, and minimize the risk of redesigning later in the process.
At Flynn, DFM is built into every stage of development, ensuring the product is not only well designed but also cost effective to produce, and scalable
What industries do you work with?
Flynn has worked across consumer products, medical devices, wearable technology, marine, sports and leisure, industrial equipment, and emerging technology products.
Regulated industries are well within our scope. Medical product design in particular demands a rigorous approach to user research, clinical input, materials selection, and compliance, and it's an area where Flynn has deep experience.
If your product sits within a regulated category, the design process needs to account for that from day one, not as an afterthought. We are well versed in designing products where the stakes of getting them wrong are high.
If you are not sure whether we are the right fit for your industry, just ask us. Some of our most interesting projects have come from industries we had not worked in before.
How much does industrial design consultancy cost?
It is the question almost everyone wants to ask first, and it’s really a fair question. The honest answer is that industrial design consultancy costs vary significantly depending on the scope, and complexity.
Broadly speaking, project fees range from £5,000 to well over £500,000. Most mid complexity product development projects land somewhere between £20,000 and £150,000.
What you are really paying for is risk reduction. The cost of hiring a consultancy is almost always smaller than the cost of getting it wrong. Several factors decide the cost of a project, which includes the technical complexity, electrics, or software involved, the regulatory compliance, and the level of prototyping, and testing required, all these factors decide the cost of a project.
At Flynn, we use an initial workshop or discovery session to properly understand the scope of the project, which means the fee we propose is grounded in reality, not a ballpark price.
“we believe in pushing boundaries and disrupting markets with our skillset”
Tom Brew - Product Designer
