Your Product Design Idea Made It to a Napkin, Now What?

Our best ideas often strike at the oddest moments: walking in the parking lot from the store to your car, going on a jog, in the shower, or shooting the breeze with friends over drinks in a bar. During those, “aha,” moments, you normally don’t have a notebook or graph paper handy - you have the backs of receipts, your palm, and napkins. But once you decide to pursue your idea for a product design, what do you do?

Are You Ready to Invest?

If you’re serious about your idea—whether it’s a design for a stroller or a car part— consider just how serious you are. Does your design really improve on existing ones? Is there a demonstrated need for your design? How much money are you willing to invest in your idea? We’re not here to discourage you, but these are some of the questions to think about before plunging right in.

Time to Consult

Once you’ve committed to pursuing your idea and starting the design process, it’s time to find the people who can help make it a reality by helping you through the product development process. Outsourcing some or all of the components of designing and developing your idea is the most efficient choice you can make. Partnering with a company of professionals gives you access to their years of experience, their equipment, and their connections, meaning your idea receives top-notch treatment. During that process, the team you work with will likely advise you on aspects of your design covering ergonomics, engineering challenges, form, and function. Can this design be manufactured efficiently, both in process and cost?

Developing Your Product Design

After your design has gone through consultation, conceptual design, engineering, and surely some revision, it’s time to test it. Creating a prototype of your design allows you to evaluate and test your design. Do these materials work? Is there anything that can be revised? How does the design hold up? Making one or a few prototypes is a small investment that’s integral to the product design and development process. Prototyping lets you test your idea on a small scale and make modifications if needed. After this process, you may be ready to go to the big time, and the company you’ve partnered with should be able to help you oversee the manufacturing process, shepherding your design from start to finish.

A scribble on a napkin can lead to big things (just follow the link in the introduction if you don’t believe us), and Impulse Product Development is here to help you turn that scribble into a reality. Consider whether or not you’re ready to invest in your design, and when you’re ready to work with a team of professionals, get in touch with us.