When I attended an international business and industry conference a while back, I was pleasantly surprised to see and hear a great deal of interest in excellence in product design. I spoke with many CEOs of major rotational molders in the US and around the globe who were either hiring designers directly or seeking qualified consultants. Many of the presentations, including the event’s keynote address, emphasized the importance of good design. It always plays an essential role in the development of the rotational molding industry. I have been writing about the importance of product design excellence for many years and
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Archives for Plastic Design
Transparency: The Critical View of Your Customer
Designing products is always challenging. Perhaps it’s industrial design, medical product design or other projects in the industry, a number of personalities and talents are required to create the next best wonder widget. Talented product designers must be empathetic, observant, open-minded, analytical and creative. Plus, they must be convincing, opinionated, stubborn and extremely creative. But, another trait that is often overlooked is being a great communicator. Yes, designers must be good communicators with project team members as well as with their customers. Effective communication requires insight into another person’s perceptions and thought processes. Therefore a designer must also be perceptive
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Product Branding: What Does It Really Mean?
Everyone has heard the term “product branding.” These words are often used by marketing companies, advertising firms, industrial design firms and the media. But what does product branding really mean and how is it affected by product design? Product branding refers to the instantaneous association you make between a product and its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Corporations have discovered how effective product branding is as part of their marketing strategy, and utilize it as an extremely important marketing tool. Product branding plays such an important part of sales and marketing that companies invest hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars
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Top Six Capabilities Designers Want in Custom Rotational Molders
Over the years, I’ve designed many rotational molded parts and projects. And I’ve worked with dozens of molders throughout the country. Although the process is called rotational molding, each molder is actually unique. Their work is based on a plan layout, staff, equipment, business model, preference of resins and capabilities. The United States claims to have more than 400 rotational molders, but only a small percentage of this list are willing or capable of molding complex custom molded plastic parts. Many custom molders, for example, require high production minimum orders before quoting a potential project. Some molders limit part size,
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Starting Gate: How to Successfully Begin Product Design
Clearly, the most critical phase of any design project is the first step. At the starting gate is when you set the all-important criteria and some concepts for your product design. Accurately defining specifications is absolutely essential for launching any successful industrial design project. The first step is clearly defining what it is you’re after because without knowing that, you’ll never get it. It’s surprising, but this step is either trivialized or omitted in the design process. I often work with companies developing a new product based on a sketchy description of what it is and how it should perform.
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The Importance of Designing With Impact!
Exactly WHY do some companies outsell their competitors by ten to one…and at premium prices? Usually, it’s because their products resonate with, and are highly desired by, their customers. Plus, these buyers are willing to pay the bigger price tag for a brand name product. These products have earned a branded reputation for a number of reasons, all of which can be summarized in one word: IMPACT. Products with strong brand-name recognition make an impact and connection with their target audience. Product branding describes the marketing strategy that establishes a strong preference and allegiance for a particular product versus the
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How Engineering, Product Design and Art Achieve Quality
Engineering, product design and art are distinctly different from one another. Yet they all share the same principles of quality…and lead to success. To illustrate, the engineering field is always associated with technology and the application of sciences to achieve a utilitarian objective. Design, on the other hand, embodies the disciplines of engineering with artistic values to achieve an aesthetically utilitarian objective. And art is frequently associated with nonfunctional mediums that express emotional, religious, social or political perspectives with symbolism. It’s interesting to note, however, that these three disciplines are all interrelated. They will often blur the boundaries between each
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Industrial Design Versus Engineering Design
It’s fairly universal: You think and therefore you can design. And, believe it or not, everyone has designed something in his or her life. Beginning at an early age…when you created your first crayon drawing or clay blob. But, designing products is far more complicated and challenging than creating clay blobs as a child. The millions of products on the market are the result of designers, who specialize in specific disciplines, effectively performing their jobs. The two major disciplines within the product design profession are industrial designers and design engineers. Each specialist makes an invaluable contribution to the successful design
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Characteristics of Product Design
Exactly what does product design or industrial design have to do with these human characteristics? My answer is EVERYTHING. The design process requires you to think, analyze, assess options and make decisions based on your values. It doesn’t matter if you are designing a logo, a chair, a building or a rotationally-molded tank, the final design solution will depend upon your character, integrity and morals. How are these human traits related to design? Here are my thoughts. Let’s start with honesty. I’m sure many of you have heard someone use the term “honest design.” But what is honest design? It’s
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Concept Refinement and the Road to Design Perfection
Previously, I’ve written about the importance of developing many concepts before settling on a final product design direction. Developing a concept is a critical step in product design that defines the premise for all subsequent decisions throughout the development process. Design concepts loosely define the project direction. The specificity of a concept may range from something as vague as a scribbled sketch or cardboard model to a photorealistic industrial design rendering. In any case, concepts always require further, detailed development. Concept refinement can take any number of paths depending on the project and the designer. Here are some design concept
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