by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems When engineers refer to design they are typically thinking about how the part will be created or how it will perform after it is manufactured. Their concerns are typically focused on part geometry, material properties and other technical parameters. However, most consumers and managers are usually influenced by how the product looks. The subtle engineering and complex performance issues usually go unnoticed. Typically, they have little effect on customer satisfaction or their influence on the purchase decision. On the other hand, color and graphic design do have a major influence on product identity,
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Human Factors in Product Design: Begin with the End (User) in Mind
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems How many times have you used a tool, appliance or vehicle and wondered why it was so uncomfortable or difficult to use? Conversely, how often have you taken notice of how easy it was to operate a remote control device, operate a power tool or interact with the dashboard of your rental car? It’s human nature to remember the bad experiences, but not to take notice of the good ones. That is unless they are exceptionally pleasurable. That’s because human factors are subjective, and are an essential design consideration for most products to
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Making the Case for Exceptional Product Design
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems Pardon my soapbox, but in my opinion, good design is vital, but an often-neglected, consideration in many product applications. Here’s why excellence in the design must not be a poor relative in early product planning. Consider this: All products are born from someone’s imagination to satisfy a particular market need. Sometimes that need is functional, other times it is to lower cost or sometimes it is purely a matter of style. No matter how a product idea is germinated, every product must be designed. Ultimately, the design will have a major effect on
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Healthcare Product Design: The Chemistry of Applying the Human Element
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems This brief article highlights the importance of human factors and their effect on healthcare product design. The broad term “healthcare products” embraces everything from disposable syringes to multimillion-dollar MRI machines. Some products are microscopic in size while others can fill a room. Despite the wide range of cost, size, shape or complexity, all of these products have one thing in common: the human element. Human Factors – designing healthcare products for people These are people products. People interact with healthcare products as clinicians or patients. It’s essential that these devices be designed for
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Say Hello to Industrial Design: Forging Artistry with Engineering
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems Individuals in the industry, including rotational molders, are familiar with engineers and product designers, but many are unaware of industrial designers. This is important, but sometimes misunderstood or unknown segment, of the design community. Even among those in the profession its purpose and definition are debated. Many think of industrial designers as stylists who create beautiful products that usually cannot be manufactured. Others employ industrial designers to create exotic concepts or conduct human factors studies for products. Although these perceptions are not totally incorrect, industrial designers are responsible for much more than styling
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Reimagine the Commercial Dishwasher
by Michael Paloian, President, Integrated Design Systems Mike Paloian is an acomplished designer, inventor, lecturer and educator. Integrated Design Systems Inc. (IDS), is an award-winning industrial design firm with practical expertise in medical, analytical and testing, and plastic display and plastic product design. Mr. Paloian serves as Chairman, Product Design & Development for the Society of Plastics Engineers. He is a faculty member, Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and a Contributing Design Editor, RotoWorld Magazine. Better Plastic Design Challenge: Rethink the Commercial Dishwasher How to Design a Non-traditional Solution for a Better Conventional Product New markets for rotational
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Heineken Case Study: A Thirst-Quenching Plastic Display Design
This is the concept-to-completion success story of meeting the needs of the consumer exactly when they are ready to buy. And, not to spoil the tale, the hero is an internationally known brand and a unique plastic display design. Mass marketing companies are continually seeking innovative ways to beat the competition and promote product sales. A strategic part of their advertising and marketing includes displays—often designs in plastic—to grab consumer awareness and retail floor space. To be effective, displays must be imaginative, visually appealing and distinctive. Companies with household names like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Budweiser and Heineken are battling for
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Production Design Demands a Holistic Approach
Creating a 3D Solid Block Master Model FOURTH AND FINAL SEGMENT When I begin developing a production design I don’t think linearly. That’s a process that would solve a single detail at a time. Instead, I try to approach the process holistically. The idea is to understand the basic objectives of the project and the purpose of the product. This perspective helps establish a set of priorities to be applied to decisions throughout the design process. At this stage of development, most concepts have a defined appearance based on a manufacturing process, component layout and segmentation of parts that form
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Product Design Detail and Documentation
Building a Comprehensive Set of Production Drawings [THIRD OF FOUR SEGMENTS] Production Documentation Nowadays the information displayed on production drawings is limited to critical dimensions. Typically, these include specified tolerances, material specifications, special notes, textures and other information to documents the manufacturing expectations. At one time, however, not too long ago, production drawings were required to include all geometric details illustrating every feature of the part as well as all dimensions. These drawings were used to machine molds as well as establish production quality standards. Today the majority of products are designed with the aid of 3D CAD and used
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Blog, Plastic Design, and Rotational Molding.
Part Two: Successful Product Design Secrets
Bringing It Together: Research, Concept Development and Product Engineering Details [SECOND SEGMENT IN A SERIES OF FOUR] Phase 2: Research and Concept Development Most product development projects don’t strictly follow a linear path from Phase 1, to Phase 2, and on to Phase 3. In fact, most development steps are required to be completed before this phase is initiated. The scheduling depends on the product and management’s set of priorities. Traditionally some information gathering or research is conducted after the development team has accepted specifications. In most instances, concepts are concurrently developed and evaluated, and that forms a foundation for
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