Industrial Design
Industrial Design
My approach to industrial design is not only limited to the aesthetic aspects of a product, but all sensorial elements that interact with the user and consumer thorough the product’s lifecycle.
Undoubtedly, the main focus in a product is always around the form, shape, colours and textures. But other aspects, such as weight, sound, temperature and even smell come in place when interacting with a product.
In addition to all these, marketing and branding guidelines have always to be followed to create a product that reflects the brand identity and aspirational messages that wants to bee conveyed.
Design Process
My design process follows an iterative method that adds resolution and detail as the design concepts evolve. Sketches, models and prototypes are constantly evaluated with different stakeholders to determine the ideal design. The initial process explores as many design avenues as possible, to quickly determine the most convenient design approach.
Through this process, I never lose track of engineering and manufacturing constrains, to be sure that all design are cost effective and can be delivered with the project’s timescales andd budgets.
Finding the right design
Design is subjective and personal, and needs to adapt to each consumer’s demands. There is no good or bad design, but there is right and wrong design. In order to find the right design I follow iterative testing with consumers of mood boards, concepts and prototypes to stablish the visual language and design attributes that are key to express the values that need to be conveyed.
Sketch to explore design options
Illustrations to compare shape and proportions
3D CAD model with detail shape and colours
Prototype to evaluate design
Design Thinking
This is a very common process used by most designers, the idea is to conduct quick iterations and create models and prototypes to test them as often as possible with users. Then conduct another design iteration, where the product is refined and model resolution is increased every time. This process is very important to follow as much as possible, as it allows to uncover unexpected user reactions, ways of using a product, which increase the likelihood of product success.
Usability, Interaction, and Industrial Design
All these aspects of the design go hand in hand. In large consultancies and corporations, specialist in each field could be responsible for different aspects of the design. In reality, for most products there is no need to have different designers, as long as the designer understands these three fields.
Having worked in interaction design and usability projects allows me to keep attention in these areas without diverting the focus from the main industrial design solution. A good design, delivers on all interaction, usability and sensorial aspects without compromising costs and timescales.
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How I work
I undertake contract, consultancy and freelance work in Industrial Design, product development and innovation. I am based in Cambridge, UK and constantly support companies and entrepreneurs in finding the best design to exploit their technology and market opportunity.
Find out more on how I workor get in touch