Design Process / User-Centred Design Methodology: Designing new products is a voyage of discovery. How do you determine what your customers really want? What should you make for them if you are to be successful? How do you use precious resources efficiently, profitably and sustainably? We follow a comprehensive design strategy that serves our clients well. It enables us to see through to identify unmet user needs, break through with innovative design solutions and follow through with complete and detailed product specifications. Roll over the see through, break through and follow through buttons to read more about our design strategy.

See Through is a demographic research methodology that informs the entire design process. This is because insights into possible design innovations begin with insights into users' needs. We meet with consumers and watch them use products. We ask them questions, we film them, and we explore their use of the product with them in order to find out what works and what doesn’t. We look for patterns of recurring activity across users, and we find evidence of unmet needs - things users’ want, whether they know it or not, that point toward innovative opportunities for our clients. This is the most important part of the process because before you can hit your target you have to be able to see it.

The second stage in product development, Break Through, is the stage where we use the insights gained in the research phase to propose new conceptual ideas. This is where artistry, innovation, ergonomics, sustainability, mechanical aptitude and an appreciation of financial objectives come together. Through experimentation with rough mock-ups, sketches, computer models, frequent review and critiques, as well as a host of rapid prototyping and modeling techniques, we try new and varied iterations of ideas to see if they work. Conceptual design in the Break Through stage is usually the longest part of the process and with good reason; would you rather find out what’s wrong in development, or in the market?

Once a client has evaluated all proposed concepts and approved one for development, the industrial designer’s role shifts from the imaginary to the concrete. It’s time to Follow Through, and realize our innovative product idea as a complete and detailed product, ready for market. Most new products are developed using powerful 3D CAD tools which allow us to visualize forms and colours, graphic applications, working assemblies, and part build tolerances. We use CAD data to build prototypes to ensure the parts we generate will work as planned. Once all parties are satisfied, these files are sent to tool makers for final production tooling. Ove's approach is a complete process that ensures the intent of the original design is carried through to the final product.