by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems This project serves as an excellent example of how a vision, cooperation, great communication, and technical expertise can result in successful products. The classic Qdesk design—adapted for a new consumer market—is the focus of this Case Study. Qproducts LLC is a multinational organization dedicated to designing, manufacturing and licensing unique eco-friendly products. Their manufacturing plant is located in Venezuela and its marketing offices in Clearwater Florida. Their flagship product is a one-piece rotationally molded school desk, which was originated by its founder Benedetto Lombardo. He successfully marketed it throughout South America, Mexico, and
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Monthly Archives May 2019
Breaking the Dull Barrier: Dynamics of Color Selection and Graphic Design
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems When engineers refer to design they are typically thinking about how the part will be created or how it will perform after it is manufactured. Their concerns are typically focused on part geometry, material properties and other technical parameters. However, most consumers and managers are usually influenced by how the product looks. The subtle engineering and complex performance issues usually go unnoticed. Typically, they have little effect on customer satisfaction or their influence on the purchase decision. On the other hand, color and graphic design do have a major influence on product identity,
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Human Factors in Product Design: Begin with the End (User) in Mind
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems How many times have you used a tool, appliance or vehicle and wondered why it was so uncomfortable or difficult to use? Conversely, how often have you taken notice of how easy it was to operate a remote control device, operate a power tool or interact with the dashboard of your rental car? It’s human nature to remember the bad experiences, but not to take notice of the good ones. That is unless they are exceptionally pleasurable. That’s because human factors are subjective, and are an essential design consideration for most products to
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Making the Case for Exceptional Product Design
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems Pardon my soapbox, but in my opinion, good design is vital, but an often-neglected, consideration in many product applications. Here’s why excellence in the design must not be a poor relative in early product planning. Consider this: All products are born from someone’s imagination to satisfy a particular market need. Sometimes that need is functional, other times it is to lower cost or sometimes it is purely a matter of style. No matter how a product idea is germinated, every product must be designed. Ultimately, the design will have a major effect on
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Healthcare Product Design: The Chemistry of Applying the Human Element
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems This brief article highlights the importance of human factors and their effect on healthcare product design. The broad term “healthcare products” embraces everything from disposable syringes to multimillion-dollar MRI machines. Some products are microscopic in size while others can fill a room. Despite the wide range of cost, size, shape or complexity, all of these products have one thing in common: the human element. Human Factors – designing healthcare products for people These are people products. People interact with healthcare products as clinicians or patients. It’s essential that these devices be designed for
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Say Hello to Industrial Design: Forging Artistry with Engineering
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems Individuals in the industry, including rotational molders, are familiar with engineers and product designers, but many are unaware of industrial designers. This is important, but sometimes misunderstood or unknown segment, of the design community. Even among those in the profession its purpose and definition are debated. Many think of industrial designers as stylists who create beautiful products that usually cannot be manufactured. Others employ industrial designers to create exotic concepts or conduct human factors studies for products. Although these perceptions are not totally incorrect, industrial designers are responsible for much more than styling
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