Fig Industrial Design Inc.

Explore

The exploration phase of a project is full of possibility, and where the seeds are. It begins with an exploration of the products context, where it is used, who uses it, who would make it, and how it would be purchased. Throughout this phase, ideas begin to form and the number of possibilities grows. Activities include:

Research

• user and environment research, including establishing ergonomic requirements,
• competitive analysis - who are the major players in the specific industry and what are their strengths,
• innovation analysis – what are the key innovations directly and indirectly related to this category,
• manufacturing review - who will be involved in the manufacture of the object, and what are their specific competencies,
• environmental review – what are the environmental and sustainability issues surrounding the program,
• purchasing research, understanding the way in which the product is to be distributed, selected and purchased,
• development of rough mechanical requirements,

Ideas

• brainstorm possibilities based on what is being collected, learned and imagined, in the research phase,
• translate the outcome of the brainstorm into ideas and concepts - in written, manual drawing and physical model forms,
• analyze and distill the ideas for review and discussion with the client,

Deliverables in this phase can include: written reports of findings, and ideas in manual sketch and model form.