Entrepreneur with a Concept, Looking for Guidance

Going from your product concept to selling in the market, we offer product development, manufacture and business operations setup services.

Our Clients’ Products Have Been Featured In:

Move Your Product Idea to Manufacturing

Using our proven step-by-step process, we work with you to create the product, packaging, and materials you need to confidently pursue your business goals, knowing you have access to engineering, design and commercialization support at all times.
Starting with your product concept and primary customer needs, we work with you to identify the target user and explore visual concepts of potential solutions through sketching. Once a direction is chosen, the team creates appealing 3D CAD product models to bring your product vision to life.
Before a new product design gets too far along we can help you figure out the target market, distribution network, and selling price and create presentation materials so you can easily explain the new product to potential investors and buyers.
We quickly develop prototypes that showcase your product features and prove feasibility. We take the essence of your product vision and create a physical prototype so you can begin testing with users, displaying at trade shows, and presenting to investors and internal stakeholders as soon as possible.
Add intelligence and connectivity to your product. Our experienced electronics and embedded systems engineers can add cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, RFID, GPS and other types of secure wireless control and connectivity to your product.
Our expert design engineering team finds creative solutions to technical challenges, allowing your product to meet marketing, regulatory and user’s requirements with reasonable manufacturing cost and quality expectations. The outcome is peace of mind knowing that your product will be designed, built, and shipped successfully.
A well thought through design can deliver an enjoyable, easy to use product that brings your brand and vision to life. As you move from product concept options to a chosen design, our team builds physical prototypes that replicate the product experience to test and ensure a rewarding user experience.
Choosing the right packaging design that follows your brand and customer values while meeting business needs is critical to get right. We work with you to finalize the design and create packaging prototypes that resemble the final package and help you select a manufacturer.
Did you know 70% of a product’s manufacturing cost gets locked in during the design phase? To mitigate this risk, we provide manufacturing set-up and support from the onset of your product design to ensure a smooth transition to volume production.

4.7

What Start-Ups and Fast Growth Companies Say About Working With Design 1st

Matthew Lemay

VP of Service, Nuraleve

Gave us ideas that exceeded our expectations

Caleb Peterson

Product Development Engineer, Liberty Pumps

We needed pros

We knew IoT couldn’t be ignored, and we wanted to get ahead of the competition with a modern, mobile solution. We may have been able to get something working on our own, but IoT is evolving so fast we would have been obsolete before we reached the market. We needed pros.

Cam Renkas

President, Adaptaspace

Our long-term manufacturing support partner

Design 1st took us from concept right through to volume production using their in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, and electronic design expertise. They followed our objective of using as many off-the-shelf (OTS) parts as possible, keeping our costs low, and helping us set up a custom global supply chain to meet our sales volume. Design 1st continues to be our manufacturing support partner.

Grant Hall

Tablo TV, CEO

A great partner since the beginning

We’re extremely happy with the team’s responsiveness and the finished product, which is shipping to customers and getting rave reviews. Design 1st has been a great partner from the very beginning – assisting us with turning ideas into product renderings for our investment rounds, and then working with our requirements and budget to turn Tablo into a reality.

John Lupton

COO, GeoSight

Helped keep our project on schedule

If it weren’t for Design 1st, the project would’ve been more delayed. Prior to our engagement, the project dragged for two years. Once Design 1st came on board, we had weekly meetings to make sure the project was on schedule. Their team was on task. They also pushed us for information to ensure their team met benchmarks.

Portfolio of Projects

Across every industry, our team excels at developing technically complex projects

Case Studies

Learn how companies, like yours, have gotten their product to market faster with Design1st

Helpful Resources

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 successfull physical product does

Top 5 Manufacturing Reasons Hardware Companies Fail

By understanding each of these major reasons that hardware companies fail and do not make it to market, you can avoid the common pitfalls and drive your product towards success

The Top Three Design Mistakes Hardware Startups Make

Poorly designed and engineered products can sink not only product launches but also careers … and companies. Learn the three of the biggest hardware product design mistakes—and how to avoid them.

Finalizing Your Design Concept and Reducing Manufacturing Risk

The knowledge and expertise to Successfully guide you through Product Development from Concept to Manufacturing. Designed and Done Right – the 1st time.