At Mako we help a lot of different clients and inventors with their ideas daily. A common question and theme we see a lot here is inventors who wonder what the equation is for developing a successful product. With hundreds of ideas and products pitched to us daily, designers at Mako give an easy answer on how to approach the design process and create a successful product; simplicity.
If you think that creating a product or invention with a simple product design is easy, you might be surprised to find out that it is more difficult than it seems. Approaching large ideas, specific functions and added details are hard to tackle all at once, and designers are encountered with overwhelming request that make the design process more difficult to tackle than it should be. A reason for why this typically happens is because a lot of inventors are usually very excited about getting their idea out there and ready for production as soon as possible.
Why is simplicity ideal?
In order to create a successful product, one tip that we cannot stress enough here at Mako is to approach your idea or invention with a simple product design. It’s always a pleasure seeing clients come in with huge ideas and plans for detailed features and designs that they’d like to add onto their inventions – but approaching your product design with simple and efficient goals in mind would not only benefit yourself, but the industrial designers and engineers you work with.
What does it mean to keep you’re your product design simple?
Now that we’ve discussed what a great trait for having a successful product design is, we must define how we approach a simple product design. The first thing to do would be to take a step back and reevaluate your product. What problem is your product solving? What is its main function? Once you answer these questions, you have the focus for what you want to create your simple product design around. The answer to those two questions should be what you consider important to your overall design, so when you approach a designer or engineering with your product design, you put all your focus in making sure the first prototype and product design you create is focused on making sure that your product is fully functional and working.
Rather than focusing on the details of your product, its smarter to prioritize and make sure that the main function of your product design is working and well-designed, which will make it easier to present and market to consumers and investors. Once you can create a concrete product that solves a problem and is viable within market value (the product can sell to a niche market), you can release the first version of your product and see how it measures amongst audiences.
Getting to the Details
Once you’ve created a simple product design with a focused function that can sell to markets and receive funding from investors or corporations, you can go back, redesign and redevelop your product. This is where details, product packaging, and extra functions can all come together to create a newer version of your product that has all the features you have envisioned it to have. The important thing to learn from following a simple design process is that you’re keeping the design process of your product focused and efficient, making it easier to accomplish your goals and future development goals.
If you have a great new invention and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO here and visit our website to find out more. Feel free to give us a call at 1-888-MAKO and we can set you up on a call with our product analyst!
About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!
