Floods are becoming more common around the world. What was once a 100-year phenomenon is now a seasonal trend that homeowners must deal with. And the main solution deployed to fight these rising water is sandbags – 1000’s upon 1000’s of sandbags made from burlap or polypropylene. But is this the most effective method? As product designers,  we began thinking about the challenges of floods and exploring other product solutions already on the market. See what we found below: Water gate is a clever PVC device that uses the pressure of […]

Companies in need of hardware product design—particularly hardware startups looking to launch new products—have a lot riding on how they choose to bring their products to market. To ensure manufacturable design concepts, it’s crucial that companies get specialized expertise in both electronics and materials from their design, prototype and manufacturing partners. Why is it so important? Poorly designed and engineered products can sink not only product launches but also careers … and companies. In this blog post, Kevin Bailey, President of Ottawa-based Design 1st, discusses three of the biggest hardware […]

Recently we came across a a Steve Jobs interview excerpt on his thoughts regarding the most important element of product development. The response while aligned with both his and Apple's "Think Different" slogan makes a simple statement that should resonate with anyone evolved in product development: "The process is the magic"

Frog Design has put together an amazing video titled "Industrial Design in the Modern World": In a similar fashion to Design 1st, several of frog's industrial designers and mechanical engineers discuss the principles they implore to make physical products real and meaningful to consumers today. Check-it out!

With CES 2013 just around the corner next week, the “twitterverse”  is filled with commentary and speculation surrounding the release of new innovative products. Among the contenders are new televisions, speakers and personal gadget innovations. One surprise though, (or not such a surprise if you follow CES each year) is that Apple will not be attending. To the average consumer this may seem strange, Apple, with their extravagant product launches, ubiquitous logo and design focus, appears to embody innovation in consumer products. While Apple’ has proved to be innovative in many areas, the physical design, usability […]

It happens all the time. Someone thinks he has a bright idea, and a new consumer product is born. Unfortunately, not every new concept is worth putting on a retail shelf, as illustrated by this 2012 post on the “20 Useless Products No One Should Buy.” So what factors do you need to consider when looking at product usability? Here are four components we recommend.  Reliability  When you pick up a new product, does it work? If not, consumers may think it has malfunctioned or isn’t working as planned. In […]