Mistakes To Avoid When Designing A Product

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At ArtSHINE,  we design our products on a regular basis,  from homewares, tableware to fashion.

A lot research, thoughts go into designing a successful product. Below are just some of the biggest and most common design mistakes that are worth avoiding. 

Failing to balance aesthetics and function

A product needs to look good and it needs to function well. Many product designers can end up compromising one or the other. Make sure that you’re focusing on both factors when designing your product. For instance, quirky shaped wine glass still needs to be easy to hold and easy to sip from. An industrial machine could meanwhile still benefit from powder coating to give it a glossy high-quality appearance. Few products are purely aesthetic or purely functional. 

Underestimating the cost of production

It’s important that your product doesn’t cost too much to produce. The more expensive it is to manufacture, the higher the price you’ll have to market it at – which could make it harder to attract customers. When designing features of your product, think about what tools you will use to manufacture them and how easy these tools are to acquire. It’s worth researching different methods of manufacture as some options may be cheaper than others. 

Overlooking sustainability 

You need to consider the environmental impact of your product. Growing public awareness of climate change is causing more consumers to shop sustainably. If your product isn’t very environmentally friendly, it could put off certain customers. When looking into plastics and metals, consider recyclable options that you can build your product with. You should also be careful of using too many man-made toxic chemicals. When considering manufacturing methods, you should also consider how much energy you will be using. When designing an electrical appliance, you may want to take measures to make the product as energy-efficient as possible. 

Not looking into patents

It’s possible that your product may borrow certain design features from other products. You should consider whether any of the products that you are inspired by are patented. A patent is a bit like a copyright or trademark – it grants ownership of an idea or concept that cannot be replicated without permission. If you borrow too heavily from a patented product and don’t get permission from the patent holder, you could be sued for patent infringement. You can look up information on patents online.

Not testing your product enough

Before bringing a product to market, you should take the time to heavily test it out. This allows you to find flaws, which can then be fixed. Without testing your product enough, you risk selling a product that is flawed, which could result in customer complaints and returns. There are various different tests that you can carry out on your product such as testing its durability, user-friendliness and function. Tests could be carried out in a lab among you and colleagues or you could test products directly on consumers. Keep a record of any problems you detect and then try to work out if you can rectify these problems. 

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