Article in a sentence:
Industrial Designers offer the ability to improve your inventions
usability, aesthetics and ergonomics, increasing your inventions
perceived value and potential.

Industrial Design and your Invention

by Brian Gates, President / Lead Designer, Design My Idea, LLC. December 2007

We
have all seen excellent examples of industrial design mastery such as
the iPod or Wii where the products design, function and form all play
together beautifully.

Yet how does an inventor achieve the same level of dynamics in their own invention?

The solution is to work with an industrial designer to fully develop your idea.

To get a better understanding of what industrial design is, let’s look at the three main traits of a well-designed product.

Form / Ergonomics

Industrial
designers are trained to recognize how different shapes and sizes play
with a user. In order to illustrate this point and others let’s look at
the following examples of a TV remote control design.

The
remotes pictured on the right show two completely different designs.
The first design (Example A) is very blocky and uninteresting. The
edges of the product are sharp and would feel very uncomfortable in the
user’s hand.

Example B has flowing organic curves that
mimic the user’s hand. These traits improve the ergonomics of the
device and the comfort experienced by the user while using the product.
Based purely on the form of the invention the second image may have
broader appeal and will stand out compared to the first image. This
difference increases the perceived value of the product and thus
creates a greater desire for the consumer to purchase this product over
the latter.

Function / Usability

Usability
is a relatively new term but the concept has been around forever and is
the reason why a lot of inventors are here and are successful. The
majority of inventions are improvements on current products based on
the usability of the device. For this reason a lot of industrial
designers focus on how the person experiences the product. Industrial
designers have the schooling and ability to get inside the consumers
world and project how the product may be used. By doing this they are
able to adjust, foresee or even develop completely new solutions to an
invention, improving the products ease of use.

To
continue our remote design example let's look at the button layout.
Example A has all the buttons arrange in rows with no real reason for
the arrangement of the buttons. Example B on the other hand users color
coding and key groupings to allow the user to quickly find the
necessary keys. Additionally, the shape of the remote allows for a
“natural” position for the users hand that places them on the more
commonly used keys. Furthermore, the keys are arranged in a hierarchy
of most used functions to least used at the bottom of the remote to
further aid in the user experience.

Materials / Aesthetics

Material
selection in your invention can make a world of difference in not only
the cost but the overall success of the product. Industrial Designers
have a broad understanding of the types of materials available to
inventors and how those materials work with each other. They are able
to correctly specify the materials and colors so the product is
attractive and user friendly while being cost effective.

Example
A has a black body made completely out of plastic with a black silicon
key pad. There is little contrast between the body and the keys making
the remote boring and unintuitive. Example B has a plastic body with a
rubberized coating along the bottom for added grip. The top has an
attractively painted plastic body with a silicon keypad. Special keys
contain an epoxy coating which further highlights the keys and improves
the appearance of the remote.

Summary

As
more and more inventors race to get their ideas to market it is
extremely important that the expertise offered by a competent
Industrial designer not be overlooked. The designer’s ability to
understand the end user, materials, ergonomics and appearance of the
product can greatly improve the potential success of the invention.

Design My Idea
provides you with the ability to work hand in hand with an industrial
designer to take your invention to the next level at inventor friendly
prices.