In the realm of products that impact your life daily—be it pet furniture or a biomedical device— our industrial design services (or that of companies like us) are a behind-the-scenes force at work. We aren’t just people doodling on paper and focusing on aesthetics; we live, breathe, and dream in 3D. The role of industrial design studios is often ignored or underestimated, yet we are the architects of everyday experiences.

So what exactly do we do? Let’s pull back the curtain and get into the nitty-gritty details of what our design team does every single day.

From a Sketch to Your Home

Picture this: You’ve got an idea, maybe a sketch on a napkin or an idea hastily typed out in your smartphone. How does that become something you can touch?

It won’t happen by magic. It requires meticulous craftsmanship.

That’s our job.

When most people think of industrial design services, they imagine intricate drawings and technical blueprints. While that's part of the process, it’s also merely the tip of the iceberg as our role extends far beyond the initial sketch or idea. We're not just making pretty objects. We are problem-solvers, engineers, and artists rolled into one. We act as the central players in the process of transforming a client’s product idea into a tangible, functional, and market-ready item.

Our team is where creativity meets utility. The products that you interact with every day are the representation of an industrial designer’s ability to bring functionality and aesthetics into harmony.

Research and Development: Laying Down the Framework

The journey starts with an in-depth analysis of market needs, target demographics, and existing solutions. An industrial design studio often must invest a significant portion of time in comprehensive research and development. These findings are like the scaffolding around a building; they shape and support the design.

We’re more than design experts. To build a solid foundation, our team will provide critical marketing support to make sure the product is designed for success from the beginning.

A sample of a few of our research capabilities include:

Target Market Research: Our staff conducts in-depth industry research to identify target audiences for products. This includes geographic and demographic exploration and provides marketing insights for licensees, distributors, industry partners, and B2B or B2C customers.
Industry Research: Our team determines the level of product-market fit, industry trends, and external drivers that impact downstream sales and branding strategies.
Regulatory Requirements: We often identify necessary regulatory obligations and relay any required validation processes.

Design and Prototyping: Bringing Ideas to Life

If R&D is the brain, design and prototyping are the heart and soul of industrial design services. This is where ideas take physical form.

The design phase is where the pencil meets paper, and our designers shape the idea into something that would work. It’s not an isolated act. It's a collaborative endeavor, often involving numerous iterations where concept sketches evolve into detailed renderings and digital models.

Prototyping is the creation of the awkward first drafts of the idea. You can hold it, test it, and, most importantly, figure out what needs fixing. It’s beta testing for products, where the physical meets the theoretical.

While we customize our industrial design services packages based on our client’s needs, we typically recommend intertwining design and prototyping services.

Why? It’s because we are big believers in continuous product design. Prototypes serve as the initial iterations of the product, allowing designers and stakeholders to identify weaknesses, make necessary adjustments, and optimize functionality with small (or sometimes big) changes to the design.

Examples of design and prototyping services include:

Functional Design: Our staff will solve all functional design needs of the product, including any necessary features and mechanisms, while optimizing performance.
CAD Modeling: Our designers use CAD software to convert the most feasible concept solutions into 3D modeled parts. We verify fit and functionality within CAD assemblies for each product version. These models serve as source material for CAD drawings and product renderings.
Iterative Prototypes: We will perform iterative cycles for creating and refining the design based on observations obtained from physical testing.
Final Prototype: Once a product’s final design has been validated, a series of final prototypes are made at 1:1 scale from correct materials. These prototypes are as close as possible to production units and are useful for marketing, trade shows, in-person product demonstrations, and additional external testing.

Production & Manufacturing: The Road to Reality

Transitioning from a prototype to a mass-produced product is a complex process. Once the design is done, industrial design studios don’t wash our hands off the project. In fact, we often become a liaison between the client and the manufacturer.

We work closely with manufacturing companies to ensure that the product maintains its designed principles while being feasible for mass production. From helping design the tools necessary for manufacturing the product to troubleshooting issues that may affect scalability and cost or assisting in developing/selecting a supply chain, designers are involved in each step. It’s our job to guarantee that the end product is not just beautiful but also viable and affordable.

Examples of design and prototyping services include:

Supply Chain: We help the client select their ideal supply chain based on factors such as price point, availability, regional location, and quality of production.
Production Tooling: We will design custom production fixtures to aid in part fabrication and unit assembly as needed.
Quality Control Strategy: Our team will identify performance measurements and QC standards, then create a thorough verification checklist with critical step sign-offs to ensure supply chain accountability.
Cost Reduction & Benefit Analysis: Our team will examine the manufacturing process and material selections to uncover cost reduction or product improvement opportunities that realize a favorable return on investment (ROI).

Why Industrial Design Matters

So why should you care about industrial design services? It's not just about making good-looking, easy-to-sell products anymore. At our firm, we're dead set on a mission that goes beyond that. We believe in developing meaningful products that challenge the norm.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, it's about using design to tackle challenges head-on. We can help clients create products that change lives, and not just in a “this coffee maker is revolutionary” kind of way. We are the first step in creating products that make a difference, which gets us out of bed in the morning.

Products, no matter how small or big in scale, can make a difference. The more intuitive and user-friendly sustainable products are, the faster they're adopted, and the quicker we can collectively move the needle toward meaningful change.

Take sustainability, for instance. It's not just an environmental issue; it's an everything issue. So how can design step in? At Avail Creative, we offer a sustainability review to help clients ensure a responsible approach to their product’s environmental impact. Our team of experts can advise on material use, material type selection, packaging efficiency, and connect clients with third parties that help validate the accountability of the supply chain.

So, when we talk about "developing meaningful products," we're not just setting our sights on the big, headline-grabbing innovations. We're equally focused on the smaller, everyday items that, if designed thoughtfully, have the power to challenge norms and make a tangible difference. Whether it's a mail slot insulator that makes households more energy efficient or permanent holiday lights that make winter decorations more sustainable, the potential for products to enact meaningful change is not just significant—it's transformative.

Wrapping it Up

Industrial design may not be a household term, but it’s an integral part of every household. It’s in every product you touch, use, and love in your daily life.

Our firm is committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible through physical product design. If you're an entrepreneur or a business looking to turn a dream into a tangible product, our industrial design services can be your first step toward making a significant impact. Remember, meaningful change can begin with a single, well-designed product.

What Exactly Do We Do? | How Industrial Design Services Shape Everyday Products