Design 1st Case Studies
Since 1996, we have been helping 100's of clients design, engineer, prototype and manufacture winning hardware products.
GeoSight
Rugged LIDAR Scanner for Mining
“We were fortunate Design 1st had experience in outdoor products and Geotechnical probes. It meant a quick learning curve to understand this specific use situation and environment. They were up to speed on the key mechanical challenges in a few hours of discussion, and identified plausible low-risk solutions quickly to guide the choice of engineering direction to focus on.”John Lupton, Managing Director at GeoSight
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Armstrong Fluid Technology
Re-imagining a family of products for Armstrong
“Design 1st should be commended for contributing to the overall vision of all lines of Armstrong product. The parabolic whiplash shape is coherent, innovative and embedded in the idea of science versus design.”Neil Halverson, Corporate Identity
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Lifepod
Voice-enabled Caregiving Assistant for Seniors
“Advanced, voice-controlled, IoT products incorporate many technical elements and their development requires a very broad range of expertise. Coordinating all of those moving parts can quickly become a nightmare, but Design 1st brings it all together by having a tight in-house team of industrial designers; mechanical, electronics engineers; prototyping specialists, production experts"Dennis Fountaine, CEO of Transcendent Technologies
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Molecule
Desiccant Nanomaterial HVAC Prototype
"I did a lot of due diligence on product development companies and Design 1st had the deepest bench for technical capability. They worked on such a broad range of products with successful commercialization and had all the technical expertise in-house. Design 1st's early efforts in prototype development helped us move from a powder substrate into a commercially produced product for testing."Kurt Francis, CTO
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QuirkLogic
Word's First Connected eWriter
“QuirkLogic came to Design 1st with multiple design requirements including e-ink technology, wall-mount, portability, screen size, weight, and desire to replicate a pen-to-paper user experience. The toughest challenge was finding a lightweight material that was strong enough to prevent screen flex and cost-effective to manufacture."James Henderson, VP Design, Design 1st
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Tablo TV
Disruptive over-the-air television DVR system
“ Design 1st has been a great partner from the very beginning - assisting us with turning ideas into product renderings for our investment rounds, and then working with our requirements and budget to turn Tablo into a reality. Kevin and his team provided support and great insight into the commercialization process and delivered absolutely excellent design and engineering work.”Grant Hall, CEO
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ProDrive Systems
Universal High-Speed Dental Drill System
“We partnered with Design 1st because they were able to provide a solution to overcome the complexity of factors impacting our unique chuck and bur system design. Their considerable design expertise and manufacturing knowledge was critical in problem-solving and expediting us to working prototypes. Design 1st’s work behind the scenes helped us to be the leading dental technology company revolutionizing our industry.”Richard St-Pierre, President and CEO
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Neptec (Maxar Technologies)
Extreme Condition 3D LiDAR Object Detection
“We came to Design 1st because we needed an up and running industrial engineering team right away. Design 1st delivered and brought many interesting ideas and paths we did not think of. The result was a fully functional rugged prototype ready for infield testing. "Derek Butler, Director Engineering, Neptec Design Group
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Rumidifier Home Comforts Inc.
Humidify Using ZERO Energy
“I needed to transform the Rumidifier napkin sketch design into a working prototype and then a real product in order to engage retail buyers. In my search for a design firm, Design 1st definitely stood out. Combining strong Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering experience in product development and a professional approach, their artistic team created a great looking product that is easy to use.”Jeri Rodrigs, Founder
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Nuraleve
Addiction and pain therapy using neuromodulation.
“We came to Design 1st with an ugly black box and knew we needed a better solution. Design 1st came through and gave us ideas we never thought possible that exceeded our expectations.”Matt Lemay, VP Delivery, Nuraleve
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Stanley HealthCare Solutions
Pedz™ Tag and RFID Securaband™ Tag
“Two end users had to be accommodated – the individuals who wear the tags and the healthcare providers who use our systems. Design 1st did a superb job of balancing the end user requirements of both our products. We needed both devices to be durable and secure as well as easy-to-use, while still being attractive and comfortable to the individual patients."Kevin Smith, Product Manager
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Caframo Ltd.
Award-Winning Marine Fan Design
“We selected Design 1st because their designers and engineers demonstrated the right creativity and technical understanding. With their CAD and modelling tools they were able to address the numerous design challenges encountered with this type of product. The end result of our collaboration was an easy-to-install, powerful marine hatch fan - unlike any on the market - that quickly and efficiently exhausts stale, hot cabin air to improve boaters’ comfort."Mike Tettenborn, Caframo Ltd.
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BelAir Networks
Wireless Broadband Mesh Networking Solutions
"Design 1st has been our trusted industrial design and mechanical engineering partner for over six years and they have proven themselves to be valuable, competent and committed to our success. They add value because they understand the tradeoffs between user value and cost, the need to balance both the business and product objectives, along with excellent knowledge of materials and manufacturing / tooling options."Stephen Rayment
Chief Technology Officer
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GoldenEar Technology
High Fidelity Audio Loudspeakers
“We wanted cutting edge design that would match our superb performance. Working collaboratively with Design 1st we fully achieved our goals.”Sandy Gross, President
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March Healthcare
Home Telehealth Health Monitoring Kit
“Design 1st were truly an extension of our team showing the same commitment, passion and pride in the successful delivery of the product. As we moved on to development and pre-production of the Health Monitoring Kit, Design 1st found methods, materials and cost effective components to deliver a commercially viable solution to a very technical challenge.”Timon LeDain, VP Engineering
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Christie
Digital and Film Projectors For Any Application
“When we wanted to transition our older generation projector models to a modern look and feel, Design 1st was a valuable asset. Given the depth of their design-engineering experience as well as their core competencies in injection plastics, tooling strategies and manufacturing, Design 1st immediately understood what was needed. They worked with our internal team all the way through the process to provide us with compatible solutions to meet our needs.”George Tsintzouras, Director of Product Management
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Standard Innovation Corporation
We-Vibe® – Adult Lifestyle Luxury Product
“Design 1st’s ability to balance artistry and engineering played a key role in ensuring the We-Vibe® design resulted in a product that was both beautiful and functional. The Design 1st team consistently proved themselves to be a valuable and trusted partner, from their holistic involvement to their invaluable expertise in “design for manufacturability" and “design for quality”. The We-Vibe® has a return rate of 0.2% which is fantastic compared to the industry norm of 1 to 5%."Bruce Murison, Founder and CEO
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Gearwerx
Experiential Marketing
“How do you deliver a campaign that involves moving one million Hershey chocolate bars across Canada in five months? And how do you transform your mobile marketing concepts to do this into the best solution in only six weeks? The right answer is you engage a partner that can make it happen with lightening speed. Design 1st was that partner for Gearwerx. They were able to transform our ideas into a real ”wow” experience for people which took a depth of experience, strong collaboration and team work, constant problem-solving and a little bit of luck.”Adam Starr, Director of Product Management, Business Products
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Fantasy Scoreboard Inc.
IoT experience key to project turnaround, 50% cost reduction, and on-time delivery.
‘It felt like a seamless process working with these two companies, they manage themselves, connected the teams when needed and the job got done right the very first time, going from concept to production ready in under 5 months'Will Nault, Founder
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NorthVu
NorthVu NV20 PRO HDTV Antenna
"As our product development partner, Design 1st delivered an ultra-compact, elegant and reliable enclosure for our innovative antenna as well as product packaging concepts and images for our marketing materials and website. As we move through our new development cycles, we are confident and comfortable in outsourcing our requirements again to Design 1st, as and when we need them.”Spenser Williams, President
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Pliant Technology
Enterprise Flash Drive (EFD) Storage Solutions
“Design 1st continues to be a great partner and one we value highly. In the initial stages, it was critical that we get our EFD right the first time and Design 1st’s expertise and commitment was exactly what we needed as a start-up to be successful. To date, as the product comes to market after 3 years of development there is nothing like our high performance EFD on the market.”Mike Chenery, President/Founder
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