4 Tips for Perfect Product Design: Prototyping Your Product
Hello again to all my eager innovators. Your brains are looking mighty fine today. We see the gears turning and know you are anxious to see your product idea come to life. We are excited for you as well. We also want to see you succeed. That is why we are sharing our 4 Tips for Perfect Product Design with you! Tip 2 is a great one: Provide proof of concept with a prototype.
Why Create a Prototype for Your Design?
Since you are looking to create the absolute best product design, you need to provide a proof of concept. Until there is a prototype your design is simply a concept. Once you create a prototype the concept is actualized. In many cases, a design prototypes can be created with a 3D printer. The idea of prototyping your design is extremely helpful in many ways. First, it will save you time and money. Additionally, it will help you increase the product quality. Lastly, it will help you sell more products down the road and increase your profit margin.
Reasons to Prototype Your Design:
1. Save Time & Money
Creating a prototype for your design can help you save time and money. When you sit down with your engineer and discuss your design, all figures, including costs are still estimates. Once the product is created in the prototype stage, you will be able to get the most solid idea of production costs. This stage also allows you the opportunity to test your product and work out the potential issues. For example, if you are designing a collapsible ladder, perhaps you realize that you are going to need a specific material, or that the design at the hinges doesn’t work as you expected. A prototype gives you the opportunity to work through the kinks in your design before getting a mold made for producing your product on a larger scale. This saves you time and money long-term because you are more likely to get the mold design right the first time. Molds are one of the most expensive aspects of producing a product, so it is best to get this right the first time.
2. Increase Product Quality
Not only does prototyping your design save you time and money, but it also increases your product quality. It gives you the opportunity to test your design and make sure it is functioning how you envisioned. Additionally, it gives you the opportunity to share this design with friends and trusted colleagues so that they have the opportunity to provide helpful feedback. Taking others feedback into consideration for your design can really increase the quality of the product.
3. Sell More & Increase Profit Margin
Lastly, prototyping your design will help you sell more products and increase profit margin. Getting your product tangible gives a few unique opportunities. It allows you to take your prototype to potential clients and consumers and hear their feedback. Until the product is tangible, it is only a concept. It is hard for people to agree to buying a concept, and much simpler to get them excited about buying a tangible product. The prototyping stage also allows you to be more ingenuitive about materials, production, and sourcing and get a wide range of accurate quotes. This can potentially reduce production costs, while maintaining integrity, and increasing your profit margin. Lastly, it sets you up for patented success, literally. Once you have a product in hand, you can take it to a patent attorney and see if there is any aspect of the design that is patentable, which will protect your product helping you sell more and increase profit.
How We Can Help
At Vero Innovations we can help you prototype your design idea. An engineer will sit down with you and discuss the best route for prototyping your design. We can help you save time and money, increase product quality, and increase your profit margin. We will collaborate and provide expert manufacturing feedback along the way to facilitate your success.
