Consumer Product Design & Manufacturing Services

In today’s society, consumer product design services play an essential role in our global economy. They have become an integral part of gross domestic product internationally and a vehicle for industries in advertising and retail, as well as product design companies.

Given their increasing significance and impact, it is important to understand what they are and how they could help your business grow or perhaps help you realize an idea you’ve long desired to bring to life. Let’s dive into what the core roots of consumer product design and manufacturing services truly are!

What Are Consumer Product Design & Manufacturing Services?

Consumer product design services and manufacturing services focus on designing and producing products that serve as solutions to pressing problems consumers encounter and improve their quality of life. Although some new consumer products are completely original or only take inspiration from other devices, many are modified versions of existing commercial, medical, or industrial products.

Product brands and businesses constantly seek to identify what products modern consumers enjoy, wish they had, or find inadequacies within. Using that intelligence, the industry markets its creations to consumers who are attracted to the cost, functionality, and/or status piece of its product.

For instance, the TikTok-famous Dyson Hair Wrap offers a unique experience by catering to a wide variety of hair types and affording the convenience of styling your hair in various ways with several nozzle options. It incorporates elements of Dyson’s fan model with a powerful digital motor that spins at 110,000 rpm for a faster dry and allows the consumer to have just one tool in place of a dozen.

As consumer product design and manufacturing encompasses numerous multi-stage processes – especially if your product is as technically complex as the Dyson Hair Wrap – it is important to work with an established and experienced team when developing a product. MAKO Design + Invent’s team consists of highly experienced engineers and senior designers who have contributed to Fortune 500 product design and development companies.

We have developed an agile and modernized design process that has allowed us to create award-winning product designs. These include the globally renowned Red Dot Design award, Entrepreneur360, Inc5000, Growth500, and the Best Design Firm in North America awards. Through our successes, we prove that small startups, manufacturers, e-commerce brands, and home CEOs can compete with the very best in the world.

How Does Consumer Product Design & Manufacturing Really Work?

Working with product design companies that are honest and experienced, and treat your business as if its own is vital to maximizing a product’s success in the market. Here are the six standard phases of the product design and manufacturing process that we effectively execute on a daily basis at MAKO. 

Product Design

This is the first and most important step in the product development process. Your idea transforms into a well-functioning and manufacturable consumer product!

Engineering

Mechanical and electrical engineering for an electronic-based product are employed using 3D CAD to confirm each factor in product design work is in exceptional shape. 

Prototyping

Before a product reaches its market, we thoroughly test its form and functionality by developing several prototypes. The main benefit of prototyping is that it can generate traction for marketing endeavors, pre-sales, crowdfunding, and financial initiatives while allowing you to identify and iron out any potential faults or inadequacies. 

Patenting

At MAKO, our network of attorneys offers elite yet affordable connections and pricing throughout the US and Canada. They will help you with securing a patent for your product and everything related to IP (Intellectual Property) protection during the consumer product design process. 

Manufacturing

After the prototyping and engineering phases have been completed, the invention is ready to move into production. In some cases, this step happens after pre-selling through crowdfunding or before selling if you choose to sell directly to buyers once inventory is in stock. 

Selling

The major benefit of working with product design companies like MAKO is the endless connections we have accumulated over the years to boost the launch and sales of our client’s products. We have extensive experience facilitating pre-selling through crowdfunding, bulk order sales directly to wholesalers, distributors, retailers, or directly to the end customer.

Tips For Consumer Product Design & Manufacturing

Inventing a product can be an incredibly exciting process! However, it can also be tricky to navigate without experts in your corner. We have compiled a few key pointers to help get your journey started:

Focus On The Purpose

We found that the best invention ideas are simple to understand. They solve one or two key points for your consumer and amalgamate adaptability in product design. Not to mention, simplicity is much easier to manufacture and reliable. Sometimes, ‘less is more’ truly is universal. 

Get User Feedback

3D printing or additive manufacturing allows us to create an MVP (minimum viable product), prototypes, and often true blue units of your product. You can sell to build, measure, and learn how it functions in the environment. Additionally, it allows you to undergo alterations based on feedback and preferences from real test users.

Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

If your product will eventually be running at a greater production rate or if you decide to sell your IP of the product to a bigger company, the manufacturing process of a 3D prototype and a final product of the production line should not be unassociated with each other.

These decisions may affect the skeletal and artistic requirements of the final product and sometimes the manufacturability of the final CAD Design.

MAKO takes changes to geometry, material selection, surface finish, wall thickness, dimensional allowances, tolerances and other facets for your final product into account.

Work With Credible Partners like MAKO

When launching your product, it’s important to work with reputable product design firms that are just as enthusiastic about your invention idea as you are and have the robust experience to back up their promises.

MAKO is a fee-for-service company. This means we only charge for the services we actually provide, all while our clients are able to keep 100% of the intellectual property. It’s important to us that you know your company and product values will always be in the right hands every step of the way.

Did you know that on Episode 110 of The Product Startup Podcast, MAKO’s Founder + President, Kevin Mako, spoke to Tim Uys, a 25-year experienced senior design leader, the Director of Design at MAKO, and a lecturer on all how to design consumer products for manufacturing?

His past clients include Nike Golf, Dell, Ironman and an array of other prominent brands! Check it out to learn more about the process of working with product design development companies.

Consumer Product Design & Manufacturing – Frequently Asked Questions:

What is consumer product design?

Essentially, consumer product design is a family member of consumer retention. It is not only about making products that are specifically designed to satisfy the wants and needs of your consumers but also placing the customer’s entire journey as a priority to develop lasting relationships. Items can include apparel, major household appliances, furniture, toys, and so much more.

What are consumer product design services?

Ultimately, it’s a fusion of manufacturing potential and product-to-business knowledge. You will be able to transform your ideas into a physical, working, and savvy product.

How much do consumer product design + manufacturing companies charge?

It can be difficult to say exactly how much your invention will cost. However, you can book a consultation with one of our MAKO offices. We have locations in Austin, Toronto, Miami, and San Francisco.

Where can I get a product designed?

Right here at MAKO, one of the world’s best product design firms. You can check out some of our work to see how we have made fellow entrepreneurs’ ideas come to life!

If you have an invention idea for a consumer product that you want to bring to life, reach out to MAKO today, and we can set you up on a call with our product strategist.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!