Industrial Design Firm

As an industrial design firm, we focus on human-centered industrial designs. We bring new concepts to life and reimagine existing products.

Featured Projects

Flowater
View Work
ThermoFisher
View Work
VGX Innovio
View Work
RKS Guitars
View Work
Singular Genomics G4
View Work
GameVice
View Work
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Next

Industrial Design Overview

About RKS    Design Research    Our Process    Solutions    FAQs

RKS logo small
“…It’s about how the design or experience makes you feel about yourself.”

– Ravi Sawhney, Founder

About RKS

As a top industrial design firm we focus on human-centered industrial design and innovation. We have deep expertise in industrial design and we engage with clients at all product lifecycle stages, from strategy to ideation to design and development. We use our advanced psycho-aesthetic design-thinking methodology to solve complex industrial design problems. Among the best industrial design firms, we are unique in our experience and expertise. Our cross-disciplinary designers, specialists, researchers, and engineers leverage their deep understanding of multiple industries and technologies to imagine and design creative and innovative product solutions. Our team is headquartered in a 20,000 sq. ft. studio in California.
1 +
Year of Experience
1 +
Awards
1 +
Patents
Clients that have moved with us

Design Research

Psycho-Aesthetics™ is our human-centered methodology and compass that allows us to target the right combination of functionality and aspiration.

Human-centered industrial design is a collaborative and cross-functional processes. We begin most industrial design engagements by understanding the customer and client through primary and secondary research. Therefore we have to develop deep empathy for our clients and their customers. Our advanced design-thinking framework, Psycho-Aesthetics, is a key tool that helps us understand users and consumers. We use it to understand how to create emotional connections between the user and the product. These emotional connections are what make a product unique and ultimately put a user on the hero’s journey to make a product successful over the long term. Over the decades, we’ve used this framework to design hundreds of products that enrich customers’ lives and propel companies forward.

Research Capabilities

Ethnographic Research

Competitive Benchmarking

Auxiliary Research

User Interviews

Opportunity Zones

Human-Factors Testing

Research Kits

Human-Centered Psycho-Aesthetics (P/A) Methodology​

Over the decades spent developing and evolving P/A, it has continually progressed into a highly advanced design-thinking tool that allows designers to solution around the shared objective, pragmatic, and insightful approaches to product design. Our P/A product design process has seven phases that begin with research. Within the initial research phase, we usually perform customer research, benchmarking, and word bank creation. In the next phase, we synthesize this research into competitive mapping, triggers and personas, and the Opportunity Zone. At this point in the process, we examine, identify, define, and forecast the needs that the product should address. Next, we identify and define the Key Attractors that engage particular target groups. For each target group, we focus on the “Moment of Truth.” Here, we narrow these attractors to those that attract and engage these groups and cause them to adopt the product and become a Hero evangelist. This design process leads to product design that is ready for execution.

Benchmarking for Industrial Design​

Industrial design is a consecutive and interactive process that begins with the research phase. Research provides a foundation for all later decisions in the design process. However, at times research is also revisited to understand why and how key features or design decisions drive emotional resonance. This research phase usually begins with customer research. Our research team works with our clients to understand who their consumers are and how they live their lives. We use primary research tools such as surveys and ethnography, as well as secondary sources such as internal client documentation. In addition to customer research, we also do market research through benchmarking. A product or service’s success is usually measured by its performance against its competitors. We create a landscape of potential competitors, how they position themselves, and what their key differentiators and attractors are in the marketplace. We use the P/A Word Bank to create a library of common descriptors for benchmarking that can be later used to develop a brand or product’s design, look, and feel. These research approaches are used to establish holistic and important understandings that are later synthesized into actionable consumer insights that drive design choices.

Research Synthesis

During the synthesis phase of the process, we transform our research into useful, actionable insights. Often this is when we create the P/A “War Room.” The War Room is an immersive environment that evokes higher levels of empathy and facilitates creative immersion sessions that combine the creative design team with other disciplines, from engineering to marketing to manufacturing and shipping. We begin with competitive mapping, where we translate our general understanding of the market to our P/A Map. At the same time, we translate our understanding of customers to personas and triggers. We then combine our competitive mapping with triggers and personas on the P/A Map, which gives us a qualitative understanding of the Opportunity Zone. The Opportunity Zone is where gaps in consumer emotions and desires are not met by current industry offerings and where improvements in the market can be made. With the opportunity zone mapped, our cross-functional team can now gain a visual understanding of where there is white space representing opportunity.

Opportunity Zones​

Once we synthesize our research, we can create insights that will make their way into the product. By identifying repeating patterns of desire in the personas, we are able to define what is most important to each individual. We call these patterns of desire Key Attractors, and we can turn them into considerations to motivate the product design. These Key Attractors will motivate us to choose specific design features, touchpoints, haptics, and emotional responses that engage particular target groups. They will continue to provide guidance throughout the design process and can be evaluated against competitive offerings to ensure the creation of unique products and services that successfully differentiate in the market.

Cue

Truly wireless headphones with hybrid driver technology for uncompromised sound.

Our Process

Our industrial design process is fundamentally cross-functional so that project risk is understood and addressed at every step of the process.

The Industrial Design process is the transformational challenge of creation, design, and innovation from an idea and research into reality. In the execution phase of the process, our designers transform Key Attractors into tangible elements. The tangible elements have to come together into a product. Often elements of a new product pose unique technological, engineering, or design challenges. In those cases, we sometimes have to invent new technology or use existing technologies or materials in new ways. We overcome these challenges by focusing on those issues first. Once solved, these issues provide the foundation to design and engineer the rest of the product.
Industrial Design Capabilities

Concept Visualization

Aesthetics Refinement (CMF)

Human factors & ergonomics analysis

Functional invention and feature exploration

Physical model making & validation

Material and detail specification

Packaging design

Sustainable design

Integrated Design and Development

Emerging Technology Integration

Business Model Design

Experiential Prototyping

Engineering and Testing

Our design engineering teams have years of experience in engineering concept designs. With the help of 3D modeling software (CAD – Computer-Aided Design), we develop computerized 3D models of the product. These 3D models will help us identify any problematic areas where the theoretical stresses and strains on the product to be developed will be exposed. They also allow us to focus on individual components that may require special focus. At the same time, they are engineering a product; engineers are also testing the product. Advanced software can expose components to stressors in the virtual environment. These engineering and testing methods enable our engineers to create products that meet their user requirements while taking into account COGS constraints, manufacturing and production timelines.

Proof of Concept

Industrial design is a consecutive and interactive process that begins with the research phase. Research provides a foundation for all later decisions in the design process. However, at times research is also revisited to understand why and how key features or design decisions drive emotional resonance. This research phase usually begins with customer research. Our research team works with our clients to understand who their consumers are and how they live their lives. We use primary research tools such as surveys and ethnography, as well as secondary sources such as internal client documentation. In addition to customer research, we also do market research through benchmarking. A product or service’s success is usually measured by its performance against its competitors. We create a landscape of potential competitors, how they position themselves, and what their key differentiators and attractors are in the marketplace. We use the P/A Word Bank to create a library of common descriptors for benchmarking that can be later used to develop a brand or product’s design, look, and feel. These research approaches are used to establish holistic and important understandings that are later synthesized into actionable consumer insights that drive design choices.

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 form 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 issue. At our large industrial design studio, we provide designers with the space and resources they need to prototype and create models. Our studio is equipped with cutting-edge technology and machinery, such as 3D printers, CNC machines, and laser cutters, that allow designers to quickly and efficiently bring their ideas to life. We also offer ample studio space for designers to work on multiple projects at once, collaborate with peers, and experiment with new materials and techniques. Our team of experienced technicians and engineers are available to provide support and guidance throughout the design process, ensuring that each prototype and model is of the highest quality. With our expansive studio, industrial designers can maximize their creativity and productivity, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in their field.

UX and UI Design

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design are essential components of our holistic design process. Together they define how a user likes a product or service. While UX and UI are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different. The “UI” is the graphical layout of a product. It consists of the buttons users click on, the text a user reads, the images, sliders, text entry fields, and other items the user interacts with. The “UX” is a user’s experience of the product or service, which is determined by how they interact with it. User experience is determined by how easy or difficult it is to interact with the product or service and how it makes a user feel about themselves. Our designers apply insights from our research process to UX and UI to ensure that a product is a perfect blend of form and function.

Microlab Prep

Compact Laboratory Pipetting Automation that scales with your medical lab to increase efficiency.

Technology Roadmap

The technology roadmap development creates our framework for our technologies. The road mapping is conducted in three phases: preliminary activities, the development of the roadmap, and the follow-up activities phase. In the preliminary activities stage, we satisfy essential design requirements, assign leadership, and define the scope and boundaries under the initial vision. In the second phase, the development of the roadmap, we identify the critical system requirements, the major technology areas, the technology drivers and their targets, and the alternatives. In the final phase, we allow our roadmap to be critiqued and improved before implementation. This unique process assures that we focus on cost-advantageous technologies that deliver remarkable results.

Intellectual Property Support

Patenting new device technology is critical in creating lasting value for 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.

Execution​

Our work spans nearly every sector, and we use our experience to crosspolinate ideas to execute, creating Moments of Truth and viral adoption

Our designers have created designs that have enhanced the lives of millions of people around the world. At the same time, our products have created new opportunities for thousands of companies. To achieve a successful industrial design project, companies need to work with design agencies that have experience in consulting, advertising, and mechanical design. The right agency can help to optimize the use of the budget and come up with a design that will be effective in the target market. With a wide range of projects that companies undertake, it is essential to work with an agency that understands the client’s needs and can deliver designs that meet those needs.

Execution Capabilities

Design and Development

Emerging Technology Integration

Business Model Design

Experimental Prototyping

Qualitative Resonance Testing

Pilot Design and Testing

Rollout Support

Discus Dental

Advanced dental composite syringe to enhance usability for dental assistance and outperform the competition.

Commercial Products​

Over our long history, we’ve designed and consulted some of the most well-known industrial products around the world. From some of the largest carmakers in the world to the largest semiconductor companies in the world, our work is broad and deep. In most cases, our work is confidential. We work in the background to help companies reimagine industries, products, and the processes around them. Industrial products are often incredibly demanding: low tolerances, high precision, and longevity. New materials are constantly being created. We take our job seriously to design products that meet these demanding needs while using the latest technologies to drive down costs and increase productivity.

Medical Devices​

Medical products allow us to use emotional resonance to save lives and help people at their most vulnerable. Because of their importance in caregiving, many stakeholders’ needs are usually considered in the designs. These stakeholders can be nurses, patients, and even the government, which may need to be considered in designing medical products. Each stakeholder potentially has various requirements that range from regulatory to budgetary. We’ve worked in these complex stakeholder environments to engineer mobile ventilators that help people breathe and designed DNA sequencers to help technicians work with doctors to diagnose genetic diseases.

Open Innovation​

Some product categories go beyond or blend traditional market categories. The problem they seek to solve has no solution yet. In some cases, the solution has not yet found a designer to solve it. Our designers thrive in environments of uncertainty and bold ideas. The best design can come from the hardest problem – a problem where just testing solutions are at the forefront of technology or industry. Our cross-collaborative environment of the best designers, engineers, and innovators is perfectly suited for generating and confronting bold ideas that solve problems by finding the best solutions.

Digital​

As more people use their devices to interact with friends, family, and companies, emotionally connected digital experiences are more important than ever. These connections are formed by using our P/A framework to solve deep and important needs for users worldwide. Not only do emotionally connected digital experiences increase important business factors like CLV and decrease CAC, they drive important human results. We’ve developed digital tools to help solve the student debt crises. We’ve created user interfaces for medical, consumer, and industrial devices that increase efficiency and lower the risks of life-threatening errors. In each case, we’ve combined our cross-functional expertise with the latest technologies to deliver engaging and relevant digital experiences.

Cue

Truly wireless headphones with hybrid driver technology for uncompromised sound.

Consumer Products​

RKS has deep experience in solving complex consumer product challenges. RKS founder Ravi Sawhney began his career on the team responsible for the Macintosh graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI later paved the way for Windows and all other operating systems that required users to navigate visually instead of with code. Later, RKS was the design lead for the breakout children’s toy Teddy Ruxbin. Since then, RKS has led the design of hundreds of consumer products, many well known in their industries. RKS designed Gamevice, which allows mobile gamers to turn their devices into ergonomic controllers. FloWater, which is leading the reduction of plastic bottles in workplaces, gyms, and competitive sports worldwide. Our team draws upon this experience as we create entirely new products and product categories.

FAQ's

Industrial design is a field that involves the design and development of a wide range of products used in everyday life. It is concerned with the creation of products that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional, efficient, and user-friendly.

Industrial design encompasses a broad range of industries, including furniture design, product design, automotive design, packaging design, and many more. The ultimate goal of industrial design is to improve the overall user experience by creating products that are both attractive and functional.

Industrial designers work closely with engineers, manufacturers, and marketers to create products that meet the needs of the user while also being economically viable to produce. They typically use a range of tools, including sketches, computer-aided design (CAD) software, 3D modeling, and prototyping to develop and test their designs.

An industrial design firm is a company that specializes in designing and developing a wide range of products for various industries. The primary focus of an industrial design firm is to create products that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and user-friendly.

Industrial design firms typically have a team of experts who have expertise in various areas, such as engineering, product design, material science, user research, and marketing. They work together to create products that are not only visually appealing but also meet the needs and desires of customers.

Industrial design firms typically engage in the following activities:

  1. Product research and development: They research and develop new products, starting from ideation to the creation of the final product.

  2. User research and testing: They conduct user research and usability testing to identify user needs and improve the user experience.

  3. Concept design: They create sketches and mock-ups to visualize product concepts and develop product specifications.

  4. 3D modeling and prototyping: They use 3D modeling software to create product prototypes and test them for functionality and durability.

  5. Manufacturing and production: They work with manufacturers to produce products at scale and ensure that the products meet the required quality standards.

Industrial design often happens in conjunction with product engineering. Industrial design is the process of defining the requirements of a new product and then turning those requirements into a visual, tactile, or digital product. Product engineering determines what and how technologies can be used to fulfill the design requirements. Often there are many iterations of a product at various stages of completion to allow key stakeholders to make decisions. There can be multiple phases of design, including an ideation phase, a sketch phase, a CAD phase, and multiple prototyping phases. Product engineering should happen in conjunction with design to ensure that decisions can be manufactured while maintaining a viable price point for market acceptance. Product engineering is the process of combining or creating technologies and materials to implement the designs.

There are three main types of design: experience design, interface design, and product design. Experience design usually encompasses the second type of design because it refers to the holistic experience of a product. Interface design, also known as user interface design, is often for digital products and refers to the way users interact with digital elements on a screen. In the world of XR, interface design can also refer to pseudo-real elements. Industrial design is a type of product design referring to physical products which may or may not be used for industrial purposes.

Our core design process is Psycho-Aesthetics, a human-centered design-thinking methodology created by RKS Founder Ravi Sawhney. Psycho-Aesthetics has seven main phases: Research, Synthesis, Key Attractors, Hero’s Journey, Design, Execution, and Moments of Truth.

One of the best ways to become a industrial designer is by designing! Formal education can help you build a portfolio, which is critical in attaining a position at a design firm or on a design team. If you don’t have a formal design education, then you should create some side projects that show your design ability. If you already have a portfolio you can apply to a designer role at a design firm like RKS: RKS Careers

Industrial Design Project Spotlight

Intel

Creating a new business unit to position Intel into a service provider and not just a chip manufacturer.

FloWater

A more premium, refreshing and sustainable alternative to disposable water bottles.

FreshRealm

A zero waste solution that provides healthy meals from the farm to the table in two days.
Experience more of our Industrial Design Products
EXPLORE MORE WORK
Industrial Design Firm Header - Xcinex Product Image

Industrial Design Firm

RKS is an industrial design firm based in California that focuses on human-centered industrial design services.

RKS logo small

Featured Projects

FloWater
View Work
Singular Genomics G4
View Work
ThermoFisher
View Work
GameVice
View Work
RKS Guitars
View Work
Previous
Next

Industrial Design Overview

About RKS

Design Research

Our Process

Solutions​

FAQ

RKS logo small
“…It’s about how the design or experience makes you feel about yourself.”

– Ravi Sawhney, Founder

About RKS

As a top industrial design firm we focus on human-centered industrial design and innovation. We have deep expertise in industrial design and we engage with clients at all product lifecycle stages, from strategy to ideation to design and development. We use our advanced psycho-aesthetic design-thinking methodology to solve complex industrial design problems. Among the best industrial design firms, we are unique in our experience and expertise. Our cross-disciplinary designers, specialists, researchers, and engineers leverage their deep understanding of multiple industries and technologies to imagine and design creative and innovative product solutions. Our team is headquartered in a 20,000 sq. ft. studio in California.
1 +
Year of Experience
1 +
Awards
1 +
Patents
Clients that have moved with us

Design Research​

Psycho-Aesthetics™ is our human-centered methodology and compass that allows us to target the right combination of functionality and aspiration.

Research Capabilities

Ethnographic Research
Competitive Benchmarking
Auxiliary Research
User Interviews
Opportunity Zones
Human-Factors Testing
Research Kits
Human-centered industrial design is a collaborative and cross-functional processes. We begin most industrial design engagements by understanding the customer and client through primary and secondary research. Therefore we have to develop deep empathy for our clients and their customers. Our advanced design-thinking framework, Psycho-Aesthetics, is a key tool that helps us understand users and consumers. We use it to understand how to create emotional connections between the user and the product. These emotional connections are what make a product unique and ultimately put a user on the hero’s journey to make a product successful over the long term. Over the decades, we’ve used this framework to design hundreds of products that enrich customers’ lives and propel companies forward.
Industrial Design Firm process

Human-Centered Psycho-Aesthetics (P/A) Methodology​​

Over the decades spent developing and evolving P/A, it has continually progressed into a highly advanced design-thinking tool that allows designers to solution around the shared objective, pragmatic, and insightful approaches to product design. Our P/A product design process has seven phases that begin with research. Within the initial research phase, we usually perform customer research, benchmarking, and word bank creation. In the next phase, we synthesize this research into competitive mapping, triggers and personas, and the Opportunity Zone. At this point in the process, we examine, identify, define, and forecast the needs that the product should address. Next, we identify and define the Key Attractors that engage particular target groups. For each target group, we focus on the “Moment of Truth.” Here, we narrow these attractors to those that attract and engage these groups and cause them to adopt the product and become a Hero evangelist. This design process leads to product design that is ready for execution.

Benchmarking for Industrial Design​​

Industrial design is a consecutive and interactive process that begins with the research phase. Research provides a foundation for all later decisions in the design process. However, at times research is also revisited to understand why and how key features or design decisions drive emotional resonance. This research phase usually begins with customer research. Our research team works with our clients to understand who their consumers are and how they live their lives. We use primary research tools such as surveys and ethnography, as well as secondary sources such as internal client documentation. In addition to customer research, we also do market research through benchmarking. A product or service’s success is usually measured by its performance against its competitors. We create a landscape of potential competitors, how they position themselves, and what their key differentiators and attractors are in the marketplace. We use the P/A Word Bank to create a library of common descriptors for benchmarking that can be later used to develop a brand or product’s design, look, and feel. These research approaches are used to establish holistic and important understandings that are later synthesized into actionable consumer insights that drive design choices.
Industrial Design Firm Cue product image

Cue

Truly wireless headphones with hybrid driver technology for uncompromised sound.

Research Synthesis

During the synthesis phase of the process, we transform our research into useful, actionable insights. Often this is when we create the P/A “War Room.” The War Room is an immersive environment that evokes higher levels of empathy and facilitates creative immersion sessions that combine the creative design team with other disciplines, from engineering to marketing to manufacturing and shipping. We begin with competitive mapping, where we translate our general understanding of the market to our P/A Map. At the same time, we translate our understanding of customers to personas and triggers. We then combine our competitive mapping with triggers and personas on the P/A Map, which gives us a qualitative understanding of the Opportunity Zone. The Opportunity Zone is where gaps in consumer emotions and desires are not met by current industry offerings and where improvements in the market can be made. With the opportunity zone mapped, our cross-functional team can now gain a visual understanding of where there is white space representing opportunity.

Opportunity Zones​​

Once we synthesize our research, we can create insights that will make their way into the product. By identifying repeating patterns of desire in the personas, we are able to define what is most important to each individual. We call these patterns of desire Key Attractors, and we can turn them into considerations to motivate the product design. These Key Attractors will motivate us to choose specific design features, touchpoints, haptics, and emotional responses that engage particular target groups. They will continue to provide guidance throughout the design process and can be evaluated against competitive offerings to ensure the creation of unique products and services that successfully differentiate in the market.

Our Process​

Our industrial design process is fundamentally cross-functional so that project risk is understood and addressed at every step of the process.

Industrial Design Capabilities

Concept Visualization

Aesthetics Refinement (CMF)

Human factors & ergonomics analysis

Functional invention and
feature exploration

Physical model making & validation

Material and detail specification

Packaging design

Sustainable design

Integrated Design and Development

Emerging Technology Integration

Business Model Design

Experiential Prototyping

The Industrial Design process is the transformational challenge of creation, design, and innovation from an idea and research into reality. In the execution phase of the process, our designers transform Key Attractors into tangible elements. The tangible elements have to come together into a product. Often elements of a new product pose unique technological, engineering, or design challenges. In those cases, we sometimes have to invent new technology or use existing technologies or materials in new ways. We overcome these challenges by focusing on those issues first. Once solved, these issues provide the foundation to design and engineer the rest of the product.
Industrial Design Firm Zyliss product image

Engineering and Testing

Our design engineering teams have years of experience in engineering concept designs. With the help of 3D modeling software (CAD – Computer-Aided Design), we develop computerized 3D models of the product. These 3D models will help us identify any problematic areas where the theoretical stresses and strains on the product to be developed will be exposed. They also allow us to focus on individual components that may require special focus. At the same time, they are engineering a product; engineers are also testing the product. Advanced software can expose components to stressors in the virtual environment. These engineering and testing methods enable our engineers to create products that meet their user requirements while taking into account COGS constraints, manufacturing and production timelines.

Proof of Concept

Industrial design is a consecutive and interactive process that begins with the research phase. Research provides a foundation for all later decisions in the design process. However, at times research is also revisited to understand why and how key features or design decisions drive emotional resonance. This research phase usually begins with customer research. Our research team works with our clients to understand who their consumers are and how they live their lives. We use primary research tools such as surveys and ethnography, as well as secondary sources such as internal client documentation. In addition to customer research, we also do market research through benchmarking. A product or service’s success is usually measured by its performance against its competitors.

 

We create a landscape of potential competitors, how they position themselves, and what their key differentiators and attractors are in the marketplace. We use the P/A Word Bank to create a library of common descriptors for benchmarking that can be later used to develop a brand or product’s design, look, and feel. These research approaches are used to establish holistic and important understandings that are later synthesized into actionable consumer insights that drive design choices.

Industrial Design Firm MicroLab Prep product image

Microlab Prep

Compact Laboratory Pipetting Automation that scales with your medical lab to increase efficiency.

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 form 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 issue. At our large industrial design studio, we provide designers with the space and resources they need to prototype and create models. Our studio is equipped with cutting-edge technology and machinery, such as 3D printers, CNC machines, and laser cutters, that allow designers to quickly and efficiently bring their ideas to life. We also offer ample studio space for designers to work on multiple projects at once, collaborate with peers, and experiment with new materials and techniques. Our team of experienced technicians and engineers are available to provide support and guidance throughout the design process, ensuring that each prototype and model is of the highest quality. With our expansive studio, industrial designers can maximize their creativity and productivity, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in their field.

UX and UI Design

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design are essential components of our holistic design process. Together they define how a user likes a product or service. While UX and UI are sometimes used interchangeably, they are different. The “UI” is the graphical layout of a product. It consists of the buttons users click on, the text a user reads, the images, sliders, text entry fields, and other items the user interacts with. The “UX” is a user’s experience of the product or service, which is determined by how they interact with it. User experience is determined by how easy or difficult it is to interact with the product or service and how it makes a user feel about themselves. Our designers apply insights from our research process to UX and UI to ensure that a product is a perfect blend of form and function.
Industrial Design Firm process

Technology Roadmap

The technology roadmap development creates our framework for our technologies. The road mapping is conducted in three phases: preliminary activities, the development of the roadmap, and the follow-up activities phase. In the preliminary activities stage, we satisfy essential design requirements, assign leadership, and define the scope and boundaries under the initial vision. In the second phase, the development of the roadmap, we identify the critical system requirements, the major technology areas, the technology drivers and their targets, and the alternatives. In the final phase, we allow our roadmap to be critiqued and improved before implementation. This unique process assures that we focus on cost-advantageous technologies that deliver remarkable results.

Intellectual Property Support

Patenting new device technology is critical in creating lasting value for 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.

Execution​​

Psycho-Aesthetics™ is our human-centered methodology and compass that allows us to target the right combination of functionality and aspiration.

Execution Capabilities

Design and Development

Emerging Technology Integration

Business Model Design

Experimental Prototyping

Qualitative Resonance Testing

Pilot Design and Testing

Rollout Support

Our designers have created designs that have enhanced the lives of millions of people around the world. At the same time, our products have created new opportunities for thousands of companies. To achieve a successful industrial design project, companies need to work with design agencies that have experience in consulting, advertising, and mechanical design. The right agency can help to optimize the use of the budget and come up with a design that will be effective in the target market. With a wide range of projects that companies undertake, it is essential to work with an agency that understands the client’s needs and can deliver designs that meet those needs.
Industrial Design Firm Discus product image

Discus Dental

Advanced dental composite syringe to enhance usability for dental assistance and outperform the competition.

Commercial Products​​

Over our long history, we’ve designed and consulted some of the most well-known industrial products around the world. From some of the largest carmakers in the world to the largest semiconductor companies in the world, our work is broad and deep. In most cases, our work is confidential. We work in the background to help companies reimagine industries, products, and the processes around them. Industrial products are often incredibly demanding: low tolerances, high precision, and longevity. New materials are constantly being created. We take our job seriously to design products that meet these demanding needs while using the latest technologies to drive down costs and increase productivity.

Medical Devices​​

Medical products allow us to use emotional resonance to save lives and help people at their most vulnerable. Because of their importance in caregiving, many stakeholders’ needs are usually considered in the designs. These stakeholders can be nurses, patients, and even the government, which may need to be considered in designing medical products. Each stakeholder potentially has various requirements that range from regulatory to budgetary. We’ve worked in these complex stakeholder environments to engineer mobile ventilators that help people breathe and designed DNA sequencers to help technicians work with doctors to diagnose genetic diseases.
Industrial Design Firm process

Open Innovation​​

Some product categories go beyond or blend traditional market categories. The problem they seek to solve has no solution yet. In some cases, the solution has not yet found a designer to solve it. Our designers thrive in environments of uncertainty and bold ideas. The best design can come from the hardest problem – a problem where just testing solutions are at the forefront of technology or industry. Our cross-collaborative environment of the best designers, engineers, and innovators is perfectly suited for generating and confronting bold ideas that solve problems by finding the best solutions.
Digital​​
As more people use their devices to interact with friends, family, and companies, emotionally connected digital experiences are more important than ever. These connections are formed by using our P/A framework to solve deep and important needs for users worldwide. Not only do emotionally connected digital experiences increase important business factors like CLV and decrease CAC, they drive important human results. We’ve developed digital tools to help solve the student debt crises. We’ve created user interfaces for medical, consumer, and industrial devices that increase efficiency and lower the risks of life-threatening errors. In each case, we’ve combined our cross-functional expertise with the latest technologies to deliver engaging and relevant digital experiences.
Industrial Design Firm Cue product image

Cue

Truly wireless headphones with hybrid driver technology for uncompromised sound.

Consumer Products​​

RKS has deep experience in solving complex consumer product challenges. RKS founder Ravi Sawhney began his career on the team responsible for the Macintosh graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI later paved the way for Windows and all other operating systems that required users to navigate visually instead of with code. Later, RKS was the design lead for the breakout children’s toy Teddy Ruxbin. Since then, RKS has led the design of hundreds of consumer products, many well known in their industries. RKS designed Gamevice, which allows mobile gamers to turn their devices into ergonomic controllers. FloWater, which is leading the reduction of plastic bottles in workplaces, gyms, and competitive sports worldwide. Our team draws upon this experience as we create entirely new products and product categories.

FAQ's

Industrial design is a field that involves the design and development of a wide range of products used in everyday life. It is concerned with the creation of products that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional, efficient, and user-friendly.

Industrial design encompasses a broad range of industries, including furniture design, product design, automotive design, packaging design, and many more. The ultimate goal of industrial design is to improve the overall user experience by creating products that are both attractive and functional.

Industrial designers work closely with engineers, manufacturers, and marketers to create products that meet the needs of the user while also being economically viable to produce. They typically use a range of tools, including sketches, computer-aided design (CAD) software, 3D modeling, and prototyping to develop and test their designs.

An industrial design firm is a professional service organization that specializes in providing design and product development services to clients in various industries. These firms offer a range of design services, including research and analysis, conceptualization, prototyping, testing, and production support, to help clients bring their products to market. Industrial design firms work with a variety of clients, including manufacturers, startups, and established companies, to help them create innovative and competitive products. The design process is typically a collaborative effort between the industrial design firm and the client, involving input and feedback from multiple stakeholders, including engineers, marketers, and manufacturers. An industrial design firm is an invaluable resource for companies seeking to create products that meet the needs of their customers and stand out in their market. By combining expertise in design and product development with a deep understanding of industry trends and customer preferences, an industrial design firm can help clients achieve their goals and create products that succeed in the marketplace.

Our core design process is Psycho-Aesthetics, a human-centered design-thinking methodology created by RKS Founder Ravi Sawhney. Psycho-Aesthetics has seven main phases: Research, Synthesis, Key Attractors, Hero’s Journey, Design, Execution, and Moments of Truth.
One of the best ways to become a product designer is by designing products! Formal education can help you build a portfolio of products, which is critical in attaining a position at a design firm or on a design team. If you don’t have a formal design education, then you should create some side projects that show your design ability. If you already have a portfolio you can apply to a designer role at a design firm like RKS: RKS Careers

There are three main types of industrial design: experience design, interface design, and industrial design. Experience design usually encompasses the second type of design because it refers to the holistic experience of a product. Interface design, also known as user interface design, is often for digital products and refers to the way users interact with digital elements on a screen. In the world of XR, interface design can also refer to pseudo-real elements. Industrial design is a type of product design referring to physical products which may or may not be used for industrial purposes.

Product design often happens in conjunction with product engineering. Product design is the process of defining the requirements of a new product and then turning those requirements into a visual, tactile, or digital product. Product engineering is determining what and how technologies can be used to fulfill the design requirements. Often there are many iterations of a product at various stages of completion to allow key stakeholders to make decisions. There can be multiple phases of design, including an ideation phase, a sketch phase, a CAD phase, and multiple prototyping phases. Product engineering should happen in conjunction with design to ensure that decisions can be manufactured while maintaining a viable price point for market acceptance. Product engineering is the process of combining or creating technologies and materials to implement the designs.
Packaging is usually customized for each product. There are varying degrees of this customization. In some cases, the customization is simply the branding, fonts, colors, and choice of label. In other cases, the packaging is designed from the ground up, from the actual industrial design to the engineering and material selection. Determining the extent of the customization is often determined by multiple factors:  budget, marketing needs, product type, and regulations. Many products require packaging to comply with relevant regulations. In such cases, the packaging must be tamper-evident, hermetically sealed, or child-proof. Therefore, finding the right packaging for your product is often a combination of research and design.

Industrial Design Project Spotlight

Industrial Design Firm Intel product image
Intel
Creating a new business unit to position Intel into a service provider and not just a chip manufacturer.
Industrial Design Firm FreshRealm product image
FreshRealm

A zero waste solution that provides healthy meals right to your doorstep.

Industrial Design Firm FloWater product image
FloWater
A more premium, refreshing, and sustainable alternative to disposable water bottles.

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