Conceptual design
Each program we work on has one or more inherent design challenges or technical hurdles to overcome. Conceptual design is a key area where our teams excel by developing creative design solutions and new product concepts that drive innovation and growth.
Overview
- new product design concepts
- advanced concept design
- proof-of-concept design and prototyping
- technical feasibility analysis
- visual brand language (VBL) development
- product line expansion planning
- front end innovation
- intellectual asset strategy
New Design Concepts
In the early stages of a new product development project, a wide variety of preliminary design concepts are developed and studied to gain a broad perspective of the possibilities. Our creative team excels at laying out diverse concepts that span the range from practical to innovative and sometimes even downright crazy.
The best solution is not always the simplest or the most innovative. Oftentimes, they do not present themselves immediately, and they can evolve from a combination of prior concepts. During the development of new design concepts, everyone involved needs to keep an open mind, capture a wide variety of ideas, and circle back several times to give the ideas time to germinate and evolve.
Advanced Concept Design
A subset of conceptual design is advanced concept design, which involves the development, prototyping, and testing of innovative new products, devices and systems. Our team has developed broad expertise in the advanced development arena, including:
- innovative design concepts that advance the state of the art
- implementation of new technologies
- new combinations of features to differentiate products and brands
- proof-of-concept design and prototyping
- new manufacturing processes that improve the design and/or cost
- new user interface designs that improve control, feedback, and satisfaction
Proof of Concept Prototyping
One of our core strengths at Design Integrity is our ability to develop new design concepts and test them out quickly with proof of concept (PoC) prototypes. Early in our projects, our teams focus on the areas of new designs that involve the biggest technical challenges and the highest amount of risk.
The design portion of a PoC effort is similar to a research and development program. Various design options are development and studied until the most viable design is selected for refinement. The chosen design is then engineered to the point where a PoC prototype can be fabricated and tested.
In our world, PoC prototypes typically have a high level of precision, and the primary goal is to determine the technical viability of the concept by proving out one or more specific functions. Over the years, PoC prototypes have become a key service offering and an integral part of our new product design and development process.
Concept Documentation
Our preliminary design concepts are documented with a series of concept sketches, which are typically drawn by hand with enough detail to communicate the basic concept. As selected designs are refined, they are oftentimes documented with clean hand sketches with a higher level of detail.
The most promising concepts are further refined and captured with 2D color renderings (quality shaded drawings) that give our clients a more formal representation of what the product or concept would look like. Once the final design starts coming together, it is oftentimes documented with a 3D computer-generated rendering that provides an accurate representation of the selected design. 3D renderings are based on solid models developed with 3D CAD software, which initially start out as layouts and evolve into detailed designs that can eventually be prototyped for testing.
Feasibility Analysis
New product development projects and innovation programs do come with a level of risk. Oftentimes, management needs to have a firm handle on the technical challenges and risk areas before committing to an endeavor.
Our team has extensive experience performing feasibility analyses for our clients, ranging from smaller technical issues and product feature decisions to large-scale technology roll outs and long-term product line plans.
Contact Us
Click the link below to talk with our staff about your needs or our expertise.