Our In-House Product Development Expertise
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.
Design 1st helped us deliver an exceptional product to market
Didi Horn
Founder & CEO, SkyX
Fully Certified and Award-Winning
Our company and staff are certified with the Professional Engineers of Ontario and with ACIDO certified Industrial Designers of Ontario. We are also affiliated with Carleton University.
From Napkin Sketch to Manufacture-Ready Product: Successful the First Time
Design 1st integrates our knowledge, and expertise, with yours to bring your product idea to life



