Getting Started with Design 1st
Design 1st is recognized as a leader in physical product design and a responsive partner. You can trust Design 1st to turn your ideas into engaging products that are user-friendly, cost-effective and manufacturing ready. Call Us toll free at 1.877.235.1004 and let's discuss how we can help you realize your product design objectives.
Mutual Non Disclosure Agreement
To protect your ideas and intellectual property we begin our relationship with a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). View a printable version of our Mutual NDA…
First Meeting
We listen to your ideas, requirements, specifications, risks and challenges. If you have a prototype or sketch this is helpful. Explain to us what you are trying to achieve and we will let you know how we can help with the product design, the schedule planning and the cost estimating. Identifying the risky elements of your design is very important to do at this stage as time and possibly outside experts will be suggested to address each of these elements.
Quotation
We work with the information at hand and can quickly provide a draft quotation for completing the three key stages of the product development using a project manager lead and members of our Industrial design and mechanical engineering team. If outside experts are required in addition to our team we will coordinate their work or recommend and connect you with these specialists for further discussion.
Project Management
Our design team have been creating new physical product designs in all their complexities for 25 years. The management team have run product businesses and appreciate that product design is not an independent exercise. Working closely with your team we find solutions with a business focus. Set a direction and stand back and watch us go. We don’t need to be managed and will always come to you with multiple options for many decision points. We will go out of our way to find you the right configuration for your market and business case. Take a look at what some of our clients are saying.
Project Start
We generally start off with a working meeting and prefer a face-to-face. After identifying the high risk elements of the design we will engage and resolve these challenges first. With the knowledge acquired and often in parallel we will build models, sketches, renderings, simulations and whatever is necessary to hold, interact and experience the new product and its features.
Working Together
Weekly meetings, audio calls, visits, emails, interactive white boarding, e-drawings, webcasts, skype-video, foam models, machined assemblies, photos and renderings are tools we use depending on where our client is located and the requirement for interactivity. We see some of our in-town clients less than we see our out-of-town clients. Designing remotely from our clients can be a challenge and we continue to improve our tools to bring our experience and solutions to your doorstep.
