Industrial Design

Core Capabilities

Our office is home to a collaborative team of product developers, whose foundation lies in mechanical engineering and industrial design, with a particular expertise in creating tool-ready designs. We have a broad range of in-house tools including 3D CAD software, 3D printers, and finite-element analysis (FEA), but if we can’t complete a task under our roof, we turn to our reliable network of vendors for processes like rapid prototyping or machining and fabrication. We also call upon design partners in the areas of electrical engineering, nonlinear and thermal analysis, and UX/UI. No matter how complex the problem, it’s likely SPARK can help.

SparkPD

March 13, 2021

Industrial Design

SparkPD

March 13, 2021

Overview

How do you know that your product or idea is appealing and intuitive to its intended user while matching your company’s brand or position in the market? Industrial design is the translation of a concept into a tangible product that will meet the needs of the consumer and fit seamlessly into the process it is meant to facilitate.

Industrial design capabilities allow SPARK to rapidly refine a concept through a series of sketches, models and/or prototypes, always focused on the aesthetic appeal and usability of the end product. SPARK uses a range of digital and physical tools to hone in on a design which elevates the initial concept to its maximum potential. At SPARK, we help our clients to develop elegant, user-centric product solutions through creative exploration of function, ergonomics, and aesthetics that will exude a look and feel of quality.

Branding

Branding in product development is the practice of designing products to share similar attributes or features so they appear to belong to a common “family.” Branded products should fit a company’s image, identify with their target market, and be recognizable by consumers based on appearance alone.

Conceptualization

Whether beginning with a sketch or a functioning prototype, the conceptualization stage involves the creative exploration of design options focused around carefully defined objectives and criteria.

Photo-realistic Rendering

Using software tools such as KeyShot, SPARK can generate realistic images (or videos) of your product before anything has been physically built. This allows you to present different aesthetic variations to stakeholders, create marketing materials, or provide reference images for market testing prior to investing in further development of a concept.

Product Architecture

Industrial design isn’t all about “looks.” Creative exploration can also focus on functional aspects of a product. How will a product solve a problem? What materials are to be used? How should internal mechanisms are arranged? Where are various user touch-points located for ease of use and maximum functionality?

Prototyping

Prototyping is the fabrication of one or more sample parts to test the function, form, or feel of a design concept. Prototyping can be an iterative process and will widely vary in complexity and cost based on finish quality and the process involved. However, physically interacting with a prototype is an irreplaceable experience that is key to identifying usablity issues and refining ergonomics.

Sketching

The core of conceptualization and ideation, sketching allows our industrial designers to quickly explore and communicate various functional and aesthetic directions. Sketching can be rougher for quick, broad exploration or more refined for honing in on a “look” or explaining an idea to outside stakeholders.

User Research

Who will actually be using your product? How will they use it? What do they really want? User research can help to define your market and clarify what problems need to be solved. This will drive a product’s function, features, and aesthetics. After all, a beautiful product is not much use if nobody buys it.

User-Centered Design

User-centered design is an approach to problem-solving that focuses passionately on the actual humans that will be the end users of a product. SPARK takes this approach with all design challenges, as we find it leads to the most elegant, creative, and desirable product solutions.

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