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Design 1st 2025 Year in Review

  • Last updated :
  • January 15, 2026
  • 2026-03-10 7:16 am

Design 1st enters its 30th year off the back of its strongest year on record, with 103 products across 16 industries and 41 new clients from North America to Australia.

In 2025, Design 1st delivered 103 products across 16 industries for clients ranging from early-stage startups to established OEMs on six continents. The project mix reflected the full scope of what we do: consumer electronics, industrial equipment, medical devices, health and wellness, cleantech, robotics, and more.

The year brought products from concept to factory floor. SwabBot, a cobot for pharmaceutical tank cleaning, moved into production. Groove Thing went from a garage idea and a successful Kickstarter campaign to volume manufacturing. BlueKit, an IoT education platform, shipped after two years of development. And in the lab, we’re still pushing boundaries with a medical device that uses wireless power to charge an implant inside the human body.

Design 1st 2025 Company Highlights:

  • 103 products across 16 industries, meaning whatever you’re building, we’ve probably solved a similar problem before
  • 134 prototypes shipped out the door, not stuck in CAD
  • 41 new clients trusted us with their products this year
  • 34 in-house staff covering industrial design, mechanical, electronics, firmware, and manufacturing support
  • 4.8 stars on Clutch from clients who’ve been through it with us
  • 3 design awards

Infographics: Design project and company accomplishments in 2025

Trends and Takeaways from 2025

Three patterns showed up across 103 hardware projects this year:

  • Integration wins. AI wearables, connected medical devices, and IoT platforms dominated the mix. These products need firmware, electronics, and mechanical working together from day one, not stitched together at the end.
  • Manufacturing-first thinking. SwabBot, Groove Thing, and BlueKit all made it to production because factory floor realities shaped the design early, not after the prototype worked.
  • Cross-industry problem solving. Sensor tech from mining ends up in medical devices. Power management from cleantech solves wearables challenges. Sixteen industries worth of experience means faster solutions.

Planning a 2026 product launch? Integrate your disciplines early, design for manufacturing before you’re married to your prototype, and find a partner who’s solved similar hardware problems before.

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