Question 1

What is a product design company?

Accepted Answer

A product design company has a team of product designers, packaging experts, strategists, and engineers who can design different product categories aligned with varying business objectives. It helps brands through every stage of the product development process, from strategy and market research to prototyping, design, and manufacturing.

Product design companies use different design software and tools to create or improve physical or digital products. The goal is to make them more user-friendly, address consumer problems, and offer a meaningful, positive user experience.

Question 2

What services does a product design company provide?

Accepted Answer

A product design company provides the following services:

Market research
Product strategy and design
UI/UX design
Product packaging
Industrial, digital, and graphic design
Art direction
Product innovation
3D product visualization
Mechanical engineering
Prototyping
Sourcing and manufacturing support

Some product design firms help their clients with patenting and marketing of the products. In addition to the above services, some companies can offer services such as branding, consulting, digital marketing, eCommerce marketing, and more.

Question 3

How much does it cost to work with a product design company?

Accepted Answer

Working with a product design company costs anywhere between $18 and $450 per hour, depending on the agency's location. Here's a more detailed look into how much these specialized agencies per region charge for their services:

Region	Hourly rate range
US	$100 - $450
Latin America	$30 - $50
Eastern Europe	$25 - $50
Asia	$18 - $40

Besides the agency's location, other factors affecting these prices are as follows:

Project size, complexity, and number of product features
Testing and QA requirements
Supporting services, maintenance, and updates
Compliance with regulatory requirements

The top 50 product design agencies on DesignRush charge an average of $95/hour. Roughly 7.3% of the product design companies on DesignRush have a minimum budget of $1,000, while 4.9% require a $50,000+ minimum budget.

Question 4

Why do companies need product designers?

Accepted Answer

Companies need product designers because they have the technical and design expertise to deliver an integrated customer experience, make brands more memorable, and improve productivity and customer satisfaction.

By understanding the mechanics of products, product design experts can create user-centered design approaches. They think outside the box to provide innovative solutions for using the products, testing, and validating.

More than 70% of companies use design to reshape products, services, or entire portfolios, so hiring a product designer can give you a competitive advantage. Other reasons companies should hire product designers are to:

Set their brands apart from the saturated marketplace
Increase brand awareness and visibility
Develop a unique brand identity
Attract and engage consumers
Raise revenue

Central Garden & Pet wanted to transform its packaging, storage, and application of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. The project was a success thanks to Delve’s strategic, technical, and design solutions. Delve designed the Amdro PowerFlex System, which sold 25 million units for its first order – more than double the brand’s expectations.

Question 5

How to choose the best product design agency?

Accepted Answer

Choose the best product design agency following these steps:

Product specifications: Specify the product and its features, who will buy and use it, what consumer problem it will solve, and what you want to achieve with it.
Long list: Evaluate the capabilities and specialized services of potential partners on online directories.
Initial assessment: Check their portfolios, design process, and development strategies. Also, look up and validate client reviews.
Shortlist and RFP: Based on industry expertise and successful projects, trim your list to up to five qualified firms. Provide a product design request for proposal (RFP) to shortlisted candidates.
Interviews: Arrange meetings where you can discuss the proposals in detail. Inquire how they will validate the new product's desirability and viability and establish its unique position in the market. If you have existing products, ask about their auditing process to guarantee brand alignment.
Deliverables and QA: Discuss the delivery of wireframes and prototypes, product testing, and feedback collection processes. Learn about the materials and labor quality necessary for your product’s success.
Policies: Understand their guidelines on intellectual property and confirm you will own all rights to your product. Request access to technologies used in the project, your rights to the technology, and the costs that come with it. This is crucial for future product design updates. For example, the agency may use proprietary software for the design.
Team capacity: Ask about the design experts, engineers, and data analysts who will work with you.
Final assessment and decision: Select an agency partner based on the proposals and interviews.

DesignRush can help you find the ideal product design agency. Simply visit our Marketplace and tell us about your project. We'll look through our global Agency Directory to find the most fitting partner firms that match your requirements—for free.

Question 6

What questions should I ask product design agencies when choosing one?

Accepted Answer

Be sure to ask these questions when selecting a product design agency:

Its Relevant Background

What is your experience designing products in our industry/in this particular category?
What are some of your most successful product design projects? Can you walk us through the process and the outcomes?
How do you assign teams or specialists based on the design requirements?
What's the background of your subject matter experts?
What types of materials are you most familiar working with?
Which design tools are you proficient in?

Company Services and Processes

What typically goes into your end-to-end design process?
How do you evaluate design ideas, methodologies, and product usability?
How do you create user personas? How about mapping out user journeys?
What product and failure analysis services do you offer?
What factors ultimately influence which product functionalities and features to include?

The Project

Who will work on our project?
Who will be our point of contact and account manager?
Do you assist with manufacturing?
What is the turnaround time for key decisions, prototyping, and final product delivery?
How will you assist us in running a trial once the product is ready?

Question 7

Can a product design company assist with manufacturing and production?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a product design company can assist with manufacturing and production as it knows all the facets of the ideal output — from its manufacturing feasibility and timeline to its look, feel, and functionalities. It can also execute product strategies and perform market research to gain insights into the end users' needs, best materials to source, and required labor quality.

Question 8

What are the best product design agencies in the U.S.?

Accepted Answer

Some of the best product design agencies in the U.S. are:

Speck Design
- 4.3 on DesignRush (1 reviews)
- 5.0 on Google (1 review)
- Top clients: Google, Ford, Microsoft, Cisco, TurnCare
Apptension
- 4.7 on DesignRush (18 reviews)
- 4.7 on Google (18 reviews)
- Top clients: Netflix, Uber, Spotify, Heineken, LESS_
Design 1st
- 5.0 on Google (7 reviews)
- Top clients: NASA, Lifepod, SkyX, vSculpt, CablePrep®
Delve
- 4.8 on DesignRush (5 reviews)
- 4.3 on Google (12 reviews)
- Top clients: Google, Amazon, Dexcom, Weber, Audio Technica
MAKO Design + Invent
- 4.3 on DesignRush (1 review)
- 5.0 on Google (7 reviews)
- Top clients: Go Fish, PetBot, Moonlite, CarGenerator, CNCT Coolers

Learn more about the agencies above and remember to explore the rest of the listing. Filter them according to location, ratings, fees, team size, and other parameters.

List of the Best Product Design Firms

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