Consumer Product Design
We are a human centered consumer product and experience design and development company.
Consumer Products Overview
About RKS
As a full-service consumer product and service design firm, we offer services in research, product design, industrial design, and experience design. We also provide specialized services in product definition, technology roadmap creation, future concept creation, interface design, user research, usability testing, engineering verification, proof of concept prototyping, beta prototyping, intellectual property support, and more. Over the years, we have developed and implemented work in convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought consumer products.
RKS is a leading human-centered consumer product innovation, design, development, and engineering firm. Whether creating new consumer products and services or improving existing ones, we assist at all stages of a product’s life cycle. We use our advanced psycho-aesthetic framework to solve complex problems that address design, engineering, brand, and regulatory issues. Our cross-disciplinary specialists, researchers, designers, and engineers leverage their deep understanding of multiple industries and technologies to spark creative and innovative solutions.
Explore the services behind our Consumer Product Work
Human-Centered Process
Research Design
Ethnographic Research
Consumer Product Strategy Design
Regulation Support
Market Identification
Research Design
In most cases, designers are not the consumers. Without deeper understanding and insights into consumers’ behavior and psychological patterns, RKS designs would be unable to create long and lasting benefits that help consumers over many years. This foundation of this success comes from insights into consumers, their needs, their aspirations, their challenges, how they work, how they live, how they play, and the interior and social architecture of their lives. We use this picture as the basis of our designs. Ultimately, products informed by user research are safer, easier to learn, and simpler to use.
Ethnographic Research
Ethnographic research is a cornerstone of our advanced design thinking methodology, psycho-aesthetics. Ethnographic research is a qualitative method where our researchers observe and interact with potential consumers in their real-life environment. We routinely go into the field to observe consumers in a broad range of contexts from homes to hobbies. We spend time in their company, and in the context of our product how they live their lives. When we can’t be there physically, we use current and emerging technology to gather and analyze data. In addition to ethnography and observation, we use interviews, benchmarking, and competitive analyses, as well as evaluative research methods such as human factors evaluation, simulated use, and comparative testing. Our team has years of experience designing, executing, and transferring data from our ethnographies to award-winning designs.
Consumer Product Strategy Design
Determining a strategy for a medical device requires a holistic approach. We consider everything from our client’s priorities to financial investment to regulatory requirements. In other words, we are not just looking at the product, but the entire user experience with the product. We identify the essential product features and balance those against both product cost and project schedule to come up with a product that meets the users’ requirements at a price that they are willing to pay. Our designers serve as user advocates, examining all the elements of the user experience including everything from user manuals to product graphics, the user interface, and servicing issues. To make the most cost-effective products possible, we consider questions, such as what happens when this product is at the end of its life? What do you do with it, and how do you disassemble it? The industrial nature of medical product, the need for repeated high-velocity use puts unique demands on design and quality. This quality is not just about functionality and durability, but about how the product makes contact with the user, and empowers them.
Consumer Product Strategy Design
Because of their general appeal, consumer products often have complex regulatory and compliance issues. To be sold in the United States, consumer electronics for example, must meet FCC, EMC Testing, RF Testing, and Safety Testing requirements. Most products must also meet a specific CPSC product safety regulation, through CPSC certification, with children’s products having an even higher bar with a CPC certification. We consider these needs throughout the design process, so that the consumer products we design are in compliance with the relevant regulations and ready to be tested by the relevant agencies and third-party testing centers.
Market Identification
Often we receive patents or ideas for products and services and then work to create product market fit. To help create product market fit, we use our psycho-aesthetic framework to define the needs and pain points of consumers. We then zero-in on the key aspects of the product that deliver this value and help these pain points. We design and engineer a MVP that can help further design as a product or service that delivers an improvement multiple. A company often overstates this improvement multiple, which makes our qualitative and quantitative approach to market identification even more important to overcome this bias. We have helped companies bring hundreds of product and service ideas to life over our forty years, through qualitative and quantitative market identifications.features and balance those against both product cost and project schedule to come up with a product that meets the consumer’s requirements at a price that they are willing to pay. Our designers serve as consumer advocates, examining all the elements of the user experience design including everything from user manuals to product graphics, the user interface design, and servicing issues. To make the most cost-effective products possible, we consider questions, such as what happens when this product is at the end of its life, to what a consumer does with it, to how they disassemble it.
Industrial Design
In our work, we take seriously our responsibility to create impactful products that define their markets and industries, and create new intellectual property. Our highly collaborative environment helps our designers to find best-in-class solutions that consider and define product form and function, usability, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand development, sustainability, and sales. We begin by using our psycho aesthetics research framework to understand the critical needs of our users and determine the areas where we can create the most value.
Industrial Design Capabilities
Consumer Product Definition
Engineering and Verification
Technology Roadmap
Proof of Concept
Beta Prototyping
Future Concept Development
Intellectual Property Support
Consumer Product Definition and Product Design
Our product definition and design framework uses our unique psycho-aesthetic approach, which aims to create emotional connections between the device and consumers. To this end, we ask not how a product makes a consumer feel, but how a product makes them feel about themselves. In the industrial design we consider not only the aesthetic aspects of a product, its specific shape, its color, but also how it feels, and how it delivers “Moments of Truth”. In using whatever product they choose, consumers are seeking acceptance of others. In the case of today’s consumer products that we carry or wear, we seek to convey empowerment. We’re all looking to do more tomorrow than we are today, that is the human condition. Moments of Truth are essential to our needs of self-actualization and acceptance. Using these insights, we aim to create new, distinctively looking products.
Engineering and Verification
Technology Roadmap
Proof of Concept
Our proof of concept method enables our team to share internal knowledge, explore emerging technologies on the technology roadmap, and provide a tangible concept. By its nature a proof of concept (POC) is a small exercise to test the design idea, an assumption, or a technology. The main purpose of developing a POC is to demonstrate the basic functionality of our design and to verify a certain concept or theory that can be achieved in development. Included in this can be a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to ensure that the consumer product meets the safety standards put in place by various governing bodies, such as the FDA, CSA, CE, and UL.
Beta Prototyping
Beta Prototyping is a quick and effective way of bringing a proof of concept to life and allows potential consumers to evaluate, test and share their feedback. We can use this feedback to make improvements to the design and functionality of the product. Internally, beta prototyping helps our team create a more accurate estimate of how long it will take to complete a production model, and after that to manufacturing. Because our human-centered design framework focuses on the consumer, prototyping is one of the most useful activities for moving forward into production, while quickly finding any issues.
Future Concept Development
After designing a proof of concept and producing a prototype, we roadmap future features, technologies, and products. Future concept development engages the dynamic environment of future technologies, global trends, changing markets, and user needs. Future concepts can include simple requirements or additional proof of concepts and prototypes. This part of the process often depends on the needs of the client, and the specific type of device.
Intellectual Property Support
Patenting new device technology is critical in creating lasting value to our clients and to end consumers. We consider whether there is technology to patent early on in the design process, and work with our customers to file patents to the USPTO. We routinely assist attorneys and agents with the technical muscle to support the patent applications of our clients. Our experts help patent professionals draft effective and comprehensive claims based on the invention and the characterization data. In addition to data, we provide clear technical support throughout the entire application. In the end, patents allow our customers to own outright the innovations we build together.
Engineering and Experience Design
This UX must often comply with regulatory guidance while providing an excellent UX and UI. During all stages of our design and engineering, we apply usability testing, we apply formative testing, Human Factors Validation Testing, and Usability Engineering for Risk Management.
Experience Design Capabilities
Usability & Engineering
UX Design
UI Design
Brand Design
Digital Development
Usability & Engineering
Product designers must conduct human factors validation testing to demonstrate that the intended users of a device can use the product to perform the intended uses in the intended use environment. Otherwise known as usability engineering, the goal of these requirements are to ensure that the device has been optimized to eliminate, or reduce to the furthest extent possible, use errors that could cause harm to a patient. We conduct formative studies on product prototypes with representative users to answer design questions, identify strengths, probe for weaknesses, and detect potential use errors that may occur while using a product. We also work with consumer device manufacturers to craft our research around risk analyses that identify the risks associated with device use and the KPIs that have been chosen to reduce those risks.
UX Design
UI Design
Brand Design
Digital Development
FAQ's
What is consumer product design?
Consumer Product Design is the art and science of creating and developing products for consumers. Generally consumer product design is reserved or product for general use, and excludes products that are for use by professionals in controlled environments, like medical products or commercial products. The consumer design process involves a combination of form and function, with designers focusing on the aesthetic appeal, usability, and functionality of the product. The ultimate goal is to create products that meet the needs and wants of consumers, ensuring a positive user experience. This involves understanding consumer psychology, ergonomics, user research, and incorporating these insights into the design. Mass production is also a crucial aspect of Consumer Product Design, requiring designers to consider cost-effective materials and efficient manufacturing processes. An in-depth understanding of both user experience and production processes is essential for success in Consumer Product Design.
How is consumer product design different than other types of design?
Consumer Product Design is a specialized field that differs from other types of design in several ways. It focuses on creating products that meet the needs and wants of consumers, taking into consideration the user experience, aesthetic appeal, and functionality of the product. This type of design requires an understanding of consumer psychology, ergonomics, and user research, as well as the knowledge of efficient production processes to ensure mass production. In comparison, other types of design may not place such emphasis on the consumer experience and the production process. Therefore, Consumer Product Design is unique in its approach to design, incorporating the perspectives of both the user and the manufacturer.
What is human-centered design?
Human-Centered Design is an approach to design that prioritizes the needs and experiences of the user. It is a customer-centric methodology that considers the perspectives of the end-user in the design process. The aim of Human-Centered Design is to create products, services, and experiences that are tailored to meet the needs and wants of the target audience. This approach involves understanding the user’s habits, behaviors, and motivations through user research and testing. Human-Centered Design leads to more user-friendly and efficient products, services, and experiences that deliver a positive impact on the user’s life.
How do you hire a consumer product design company?
When it comes to creating successful consumer products, it’s important to work with a design firm that has expertise in the field. Here’s a guide to help you hire the best Consumer Product Design Company for your needs:
- Define your design goals and requirements: Clearly articulate the design requirements for your project and the goals you hope to achieve.
- Research Consumer Product Design Companies: Look for companies that specialize in Consumer Product Design and have a proven track record of delivering successful products.
- Evaluate portfolios: Review the portfolios of potential design firms to assess their expertise, creativity, and design style.
- Schedule consultations: Schedule consultations with the design firms to discuss your project requirements and to see if they are the right fit for your needs.
- Evaluate their processes: Make sure the design firm has a solid design process in place and has a deep understanding of user-centered design principles.
- Consider pricing: Review the pricing and services offered by the design firms and select one that fits your budget and offers the services you need.
- Sign an agreement: Once you’ve selected the best Consumer Product Design Company, sign an agreement that outlines the scope of work, timeline, and payment terms.
What is product development?
Product Development is the process of bringing a new product to market, from ideation to launch. It involves a series of steps that include research, design, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing. The goal of Product Development is to create a product that meets the needs and wants of the target market, is easy to manufacture, and is profitable. This process requires a team of experts, including designers, engineers, market researchers, and manufacturing specialists, who work together to bring the product to life. Product Development is a crucial aspect of business success, as it ensures that the end-product is relevant, appealing, and well-received by the market.
What are the 4 types of consumer products?
Consumer products can be classified into four distinct categories based on their characteristics and use:
- Convenience Products: These are low-cost, frequently purchased products that are readily available and require minimal effort to purchase.
- Shopping Products: These are products that require more effort to purchase and are often purchased less frequently. Consumers usually compare several brands before making a purchase.
- Specialty Products: These are high-end, unique products that have a particular appeal to a specific target market.
- Unsought Products: These are products that consumers may not know exist or may not have considered buying. These products typically require significant marketing and advertising efforts to raise awareness.
What is a consumer product design firm?
A consumer product design firm is a professional service organization that specializes in the design and development of consumer products. These firms offer a range of services, including product design, engineering, prototyping, and market research, to help clients bring their product ideas to market.
Consumer product design firms work with a wide range of clients, including startups, established companies, and entrepreneurs, to create innovative and appealing products that meet the needs and preferences of consumers. The product design process typically involves collaboration between the firm and the client, with the aim of creating a product that is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and market-ready.
A consumer product design firm provides valuable support and expertise to help clients navigate the complex and competitive world of consumer product development. With a deep understanding of consumer behavior, market trends, and the needs of retailers, a consumer product design firm is a critical partner for organizations looking to bring innovative and successful consumer products to market.
