Product Development Specialists
Need a new device, or a re-design?
Our team of 35 professionals design products for the real world, integrating the latest in sensor tech, power and wireless connectivity.
- Experienced: 25+ years designing, developing and engineering 'manufacture-ready' products for clients in many markets.
- Proven: Innovators come to us for technically-challenging product designs. We have transformed 1000+ ideas into working products, and we help coordinate the manufacturing setup stage.
- Cost Effective: We apply our expertise to your design, de-risking, prototyping and optimizing manufacturing costs so your product is designed to meet requirements – the first time.
Trusted to Design, Develop, and Engineer Manufacture-Ready Products by the World’s Most Innovative Brands
Why Companies Choose Design 1st
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Richard Mineo CEO, Swabbot Solutions LLC 
Design 1st Exceeds Expectations in Responsiveness
Read Case StudyDesign 1st took our Cobot from initial concept through final product testing, handling electrical, mechanical, software, and manufacturing needs all in one team. They efficiently developed our tank access system, finalized our swabbing robot, and created a benchtop version, keeping us updated and responding quickly to every change request.
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George Tsintzouras Director of Product, Christie Digital 
Immediately understood what was needed
Read Case StudyWhen we wanted to transition our older generation projector models to a more modern look and feel, Design 1st was a valuable asset. Given the depth of their design and engineering experience, Design 1st immediately understood what was needed. They worked with our internal engineering team through the process to provide us with compatible solutions to meet our needs.
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Stephen Rayment VP Engineering, Ericsson 
Our trusted engineering partner for six years
Read Case StudyDesign 1st has been our trusted industrial design and mechanical engineering partner for over six years and they have proven themselves to be valuable, competent and committed to our success. They add value because they understand the tradeoffs between user value and cost, the need to balance both the business and product objectives, along with excellent knowledge of materials and manufacturing / tooling options.
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Mike Tettenborn VP Engineering, Caframo 
Right balance of art and engineering
Read Case StudyWe selected Design 1st because their designers and engineers demonstrated the right creativity and technical understanding. With their CAD and modelling tools they were able to address the numerous design challenges encountered with this type of product. The end result was an easy-to-install, powerful marine hatch fan – unlike any on the market.
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Kurt Francis Co-Founder, CTO, Molecule 
Deepest bench of technical talent
Read Case StudyI did a lot of due diligence on product development companies and Design 1st had the deepest bench for technical capability. They worked on such a broad range of products with successful commercialization. Design 1st’s early efforts in prototype development helped us move from a powder substrate into a commercial product for testing.
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John Lupton Director of Engineering, GeoSight 
Got up and running fast
Read Case StudyThe whole design was my idea and I had patents on them. The team’s main work was to solve the functionality issue of a piece of my design. On top of that, they helped identify one of our manufacturers.
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Didi Horn CTO, SkyX 
Exceeded Our Expectations
Read Case StudyThe Design 1st team exceeded our expectations and helped us deliver an exceptional product to the market. As a startup, we were working within a budget but expected the highest quality product. Design 1st identified the risks up front, had the vast network of partners to find the right components, and customized it to meet our unique needs.
End-to-End Product Development Services
Our skilled team works collaboratively across eight specialized areas of expertise. From start to finish, we find the right solutions to transform your initial idea into a reliable and useful product.
1. Product Design Strategy
Research your category and lay solid project plans.
Our cost-effective up-front analysis and user value testing provide a clearer picture of your competition, price/cost options, patent strategy, customer-valued features, market specific requirements, and more.
2. Industrial Design
Transform your vision into a useful engaging product.
Whether in the same room or collaborating from a distance with our state-of-the-art conferencing tools, we work closely with you and your team to brainstorm, develop concepts, and iteratively refine these ideas into a business-oriented product solution.
3. Mechanical Engineering
Engineer products that perform on every level.
Our engineering team has the analysis tools and technical expertise to help you reduce risk and solve tough problems. Tricky assembly; sophisticated materials selection; novel manufacturing processes; complex stress, thermal, or vibration concerns – whatever your technical hurdles, we can help.
4. Electronics Engineering
Add intelligence and connectivity to your product.
From industrial instruments and medical devices to Internet-connected consumer products and everything between, we have the electronics design experience to reliably navigate power, high speed circuitry, battery power and radios to deliver our piece of the market-ready product.
5. Embedded Software Design
Seamless integration of electronics into new products.
Embedded software plays a critical role with custom code to integrate all functions of a new product. Our expert team of software developers works with the development team to design and code compact efficient software with a small memory footprint and low power requirements.
6. Prototypes, Evaluation and Testing
Show and validate your design early to reduce your risk.
Prototypes are essential when developing physical products. With our in-house prototype shop and established network of reliable suppliers, we build thousands of prototypes yearly, including demonstration units.
7. Parts Supply and Sourcing Strategy
Finding unique and critical parts and a reliable supplier is challenging.
Ensuring quality during volume production is critical to your product’s success. Obtaining low defect rates for dozens of critical components is challenging. We help you find, assess and specify requirements for key and critical challenging parts in a new product design.
8. Transfer to Manufacturing Support
Transfer to Manufacturing.
We leverage our manufacturing supplier network and find suppliers for challenging new parts required, integrating supplier selection and manufacturing realities into the early stage development process.
Is your product development project stuck?
Design 1st integrates our knowledge and expertise with yours to bring your product idea to life
Video 1:30min – How the Design 1st team works with you.
Portfolio of Product Design Projects
Across every industry, our team excels at developing technically complex projects.
A Product Development Company With the Experience You Need
- Products Developed
- 1,000+
- Years in Business
- 25+
- Design Awards
- 75+
What Kind of Product Development Help Do You Need?
COMPANIES
With a Development Team
Are you looking for specialists to plug-in and work with your team to research, refresh, design, or help cost-reduce a key element of your new product?
COMPANIES OR STARTUPS
Without a Development Team
Does your company or startup need a team of specialists to develop your product concept, source parts, and guide manufacturing setup?
ENTREPRENEUR
Need Help to Develop Your Idea?
Going from your product concept to selling in the market, we offer product development, manufacture and business operations setup services.
Awards & Certifications
Design1st projects have received 75+ awards and we hold 1000+ patents.
Case Studies
Learn how companies, like yours, have gotten their product to market faster with Design1st
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BlueKit - IoT Education Platform
Design 1st took us from concept sketches to functional prototypes in time for our major trade show. What set them apart was how they educated our team on hardware best practices and helped us make informed decisions at every step.
Mike Leblanc, Founder & CEO BlueKit -
SkyX - Drone Recharging Station
We wanted a product that could be replicated for scale and the Design 1st team has enabled us to do just while meeting our budget and strict timelines
Didi Horn, Founder & CEO SkyX -
Armstrong Pumps
Design 1st should be commended for contributing to the overall vision of all lines of Armstrong product. The parabolic whiplash shape is coherent, innovative and embedded in the idea of science versus design.
Neil Halverson Design Strategist -
Prodrive Systems - Dental Drill
Design 1st’s design expertise and manufacturing knowledge allowed us to completely outsource our development.
Richard St-Pierre, CEO ProDrive Systems -
vSculpt - Pelvic Floor Toning
Design 1st got us back on track and transformed our vision into a world-class product to help women
Colette Courtion, Founder & CEO vSculpt by Joylux -
TabloTV - OTA DVR for Cordcutters
Design 1st had the expertise to turn a concept into a unique branded look and marketable product that met our high expectations.
Grant Hall, CEO, TabloTV -
Liberty Pumps - Connected Sump Pump
The end-to-end turnkey solution gave us confidence that the project would succeed.
Caleb Peterson, Product Engineer Liberty Pumps -
NASA - James Webb Space Telescope
Once we made the decision to update the FPGA code, a long sequence of events had to be executed properly and without failures.
Brian MacKay, Chief Engineer -
Lifepod - Caregiver Voice Assistant
With voice-activated products taking the world by storm, I knew I had to limited time to act. Design 1st built me a fully-functioning prototype in record time.
Dennis Foutaine, CEO Transcendent Technologies
Helpful Product Design Resources
The top 5 Manufacturing Reasons Hardware Companies Fail
By understanding each of these major reasons that hardware companies fail, you can avoid the common pitfalls and drive your product towards success
Lab to Marketplace: Harvesting Energy from Water
After six years of intensive research and development to prove-out its emerging technology the next challenge was how to move from an in-field working prototype to production-ready manufacturable product.
The 6 Types of Prototypes Every New Product Must Do
Prototyping helps remove design risks and leads to successful product outcomes. Here are the 6 types of prototypes every successful physical product does.