Top Industrial Design Agencies

What Is An Industrial Design Agency?

An industrial design agency develops technical concepts and designs products, systems and end-to-end services.

An industrial design company develops models, concepts and final products for a wide array of manufacturing industries including vehicles, electronics, home appliances and more. They help other companies and enterprises produce their ideas and turn them into tangible, real-life solutions.

They provide the professional service of creating and optimizing specifications that enhance function, value and the appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both the end-user and the manufacturer.

In addition to combining aesthetics, usability and ergonomics into a final product, the work of an industrial design company encompasses engineering, market placement and user-oriented concerns such as psychology, goals, needs and emotional attachment.

Industrial design firms bring a broad skill/toolset to the table, from product conceptualization to visual brand language and the aforementioned human factor research.

What Does An Industrial Design Company Do?

An industrial design agency is a strategic problem-solver and innovator – as such, it contributes to the business success of their clients and contributes to the better life quality of end-users through novelty functionalities, UX-centric design, creative systems and services.

Industrial design firms work closely with or have their own in-house engineers, production experts and marketing specialists.

With their trans-disciplinary skillset, industrial design firms bridge the gap between idea and possibility. They harness a problem-solving approach to co-create tangible solutions and products, with the goal of helping their clients reach their business objectives.

The scope of an industrial design agency’s work typically consists of:

• Researching the demographics that will use the product/service
• Ways in which product/service can be used
• Planning out ideas and creating blueprints
• Using computer software to develop virtual models of different designs
• Examining materials and production cost to determine manufacturing requirements
• Working with other product specialists to evaluate whether the design concepts fit the client’s requirements and end-users' needs
• Evaluating the cost of production
• Evaluating product safety, appearance, and function to determine whether a design is practical
• Presenting designs and demonstrating prototypes to clients for approval

The Future Of Industrial Design

Rapid technological changes, evolving digital revolution, combined with improvements in the overall post-pandemic economy and changing consumer preferences have led to increased need and use of industry services by key markets.

Increased consumer spending in the automotive industry, electronics, furniture, etc. will likely reflect on the industrial design firms’ revenue as well.

Due to shifting, but positive consumer behavior, rising corporate profit and expanding research and development (R&D) budgets, industrial design industry revenue is expected to maintain steady growth in the coming years.

Moreover, as a direct response to the pandemic, recent healthcare reform has increased the number of people with health insurance, thus raising the total health expenditure. In response, medical equipment manufacturers are anticipated to hire industrial design firms’ services to adjust to market needs.

What Types Of Industrial Design Firms Exist?

Any product a consumer buys was in some way involved with the work of an industrial designer -from bottled water to the cars we drive.

Rapid technological changes, evolving digital revolution, combined with improvements in the overall post-pandemic economy and changing consumer preferences have led to increased need and use of industrial design services in key markets.

A single industrial design agency typically focuses on a specific product category. Every product category or type of industrial design corresponds to consumers’ specific needs, sense of aesthetics and budget. Each has its own set of considerations, technical knowledge and processes.

For example, one agency may pivot toward medical equipment, while other works on consumer electronics (such as computers or smartphones) - or gym equipment, bicycles, housewares, etc.

Different types of industrial design include:

• Airline design
• Airline interior design/styling
• Transportation design
• Automobile design
• Automobile interior design
• Sports equipment design
• Design directing
• Tool design
• Packaging design
• Stencil making
• Product photographing
• Safety clothing and equipment design
• Model building
• Lighting design
• Furniture reproduction
• Glass technology
• Heavy equipment design
• And more

What Is The Difference Between Product Design And Industrial Design Companies?

Although industrial design covers many aspects of product design, there are a couple of differences between the two.

The product designer’s primary focus is making the product more appealing to the customers whereas the industrial designer would look at all the possible variations to be brought in, enhancing the existing or new products to be easily recognized by the customer.

The product designer focuses on making the product unique, creative and appealing to the end-user. The industrial designer’s goal is to predict the process of design to make the product as easy and cheap to manufacture as possible and prepare it for mass production.

How Much Does Industrial Design Agency Charge For Its Services?

Product and brand development are essential strategic activities that can make or break the product and, by extension, a company.

Investing in industrial design can make your product stand out from the competition, ensuring a better market positioning and brand recognition. This can be costly, but it will strengthen your brand’s presence and appeal, enhance customer loyalty, increase revenue and stabilize your company’s growth.

Industrial design pricing can range from a couple of thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands, depending on the complexity of the product you are creating.

The average hourly wage for an industrial designer in the US falls anywhere between $25 to $100.

Bigger projects, that cover multiple phases, are calculated in a similar way as smaller ones: by estimating the hours for every single phase. For bigger volume projects, many industrial design firms apply a reduced hourly rate per project.

Why Hire An Industrial Design Agency?

Here are five reasons why you should look to hire an industrial design agency and why finding the perfect fit for your business can lead you to success:

1. Trained Problem Solvers

An industrial design agency employs experts trained to understand all the facets of product development. These specialists can help your business differentiate and elevate not just your product, but your overall brand.

Industrial designers are thought and trained to be problem solvers. By understanding research, design and manufacturing techniques, they come up with solutions that solve problems both for you and your customers.

2. An Outside Perspective

Industrial design firms offer a new perspective on each respective project. They can anticipate issues or developments that your company or your dedicated employees may not notice because they are too close to the project.

Industrial design agency doesn’t take anything for granted and their strategic approach can and will deconstruct every single element of your idea, for the better of the end-result.

Because of their unique position and experience, industrial design firms have the know-how forto making your product unique. By communicating through product semantics, color and packaging, as well as understanding current and predicting future trends, industrial designers present you with a better market “pole position”.

3. Deep Market Understanding

Keeping on top of market trends is a full-time job. If you have been focusing on your business/products and not on the market and audience’s changing needs, your grasp on it may be lacking.

The best USA industrial design firms employ market researchers who not only know the latest trends but who also understand how to harness and capitalize on them. With their help, your product has the chance of being the best, as well as landing at the exact spot, with the right target audience at the perfect moment.

4. Cut Down Expenses

By using high-end software tools to sketch out ideas, industrial designers can help you envision your ideas before spending your entire budget on samples and testing. Not only does this lower your expenses, but it also allows you to experiment with different idea variants so you can find the best fit for your end-user.

They apply the input, feedback and professional expertise from engineers, factories and market research analysts to further develop the designs, which results in a product that not only looks good but works at an affordable cost.

5. Focus On What You Do Best

Similar to other kinds of outsourcing, choosing to work with an industrial design agency significantly frees up your schedule and lets your business focus on what it knows and does best, whether it’s marketing, manufacturing and/or distribution.

The greatest perk of hiring an industrial design company is that you are getting a whole company of experienced experts. Tapping into all that knowledge can be the difference between a good product and a revolutionary one.

How To Choose The Best Industrial Design Company?

If you are an inventor or own a business with a great product idea, you may be looking for an industrial design agency’s services. But how do you choose the right one?

With so many industrial design firms offering top-of-the-line services, choosing the perfect fit may seem a difficult task.

To make it easier, consider the following aspects when choosing the future partner:

• Expertise: The best industrial design firms in the United States should have extensive overall experience. Besides their technical expertise and creativity, they should also be collaborative, willing to listen and truly understand your brand and project.
• Versatility: No matter what type of specific product you’re working on, you need to find an industrial design company that is versatile. The more fields they’ve covered, the more likely they will know about various market segments and what is needed for the said project to succeed.
• Portfolio: Before choosing an industrial design agency, you need to learn what kind of work they've done so far. Skim through their portfolio to see exactly what kinds of projects they helmed in the past and what different processes they have experience with. Looking at the previous work of every industrial design company will help you decide whether they can match your requirements, expectations and deliver value.
• Industries they serve: The best industrial design firms should also have experience working with clients in your industry/niche. They will not be able to deliver a successful project unless they have an understanding of the environment in which your business operates.
• Pricing: When you consider and compare the industrial design firms in terms of cost, make sure you have complete visibility of their pricing tiers. Communicate your business needs and goals to them and then let them provide you with a final price estimate. This should help you avoid any hidden costs or overlooked investments.
• Team: Industrial designers are not just product designers. A great industrial design company is composed of mechanical designers, engineers, product designers, graphic designers, as well as the marketing department. In some cases, electronic engineers are in-house or outsourced, as not all projects have electronics involved. Make sure to choose a partner with a complete team that can take care of every phase of your product development. If you plan to protect your idea/IP, ensure that the company has extensive knowledge of patents and find one that has patented products before.

15 Questions To Ask Before Hiring An Industrial Design Agency

If you take the time to understand each industrial design agency’s potential, service offerings, pricing, methods and more, you’re sure to find the company that best suits your business’ needs.

However, before making the final choice, make sure to gather as much information as you can about their approach, processes, quality of work and/or their company culture.

Ask them these questions:

1. Are you experienced in designing products similar to our own?
2. Do you understand our niche/industry and the specific product category?
3. Can you share some of your success stories from this industry?
4. What does your design process look like?
5. How will you create a product design and development strategy?
6. Do you have the resources to handle end-to-end development, from initial concept to production?
7. How do you conduct market research and analyze data?
8. How will you ensure that the final product represents our brand well?
9. What is the typical turnaround for this specific category product?
10. Do you keep up with the latest trends in design?
11. What is your design philosophy and designing process?
12. What do you prioritize in your design, visual appeal, or user experience?
13. Who will be our primary point of contact for this project?
14. What kind of prototyping do you offer and do you offer failure analysis?
15. What sets you apart from other industrial design and development companies?

Takeaways On Top Industrial Design Firms

The best industrial design firms keep up with industry trends and have access to the latest tools and resources to create technical concepts, systems and processes and design products for the mutual benefit of users and manufacturers.

Top industrial design companies provide a wide array of services, such as:

• Consumer research
• Planning and blueprinting
• Developing virtual models of different designs
• Evaluating cost
• Product testing
• And more

The average hourly rate for industrial designers ranges from $20 to $100.

Good luck!

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