Prototype Design – How to Make a Product Prototype

Over 30,000 new products are released in the United States every year. For individuals who design new products for a living, prototypes are an invaluable tool. With the prototype, a person can flush out the details of their design before taking it to market or seeking out investors.

If you are relatively new to the world of prototype design, whether you are developing the latest tech gadget or gifts with laser cutting, you need to educate yourself about this process. Making an effective prototype design will be much easier by following the great tips in this article.

Start With a Virtual Prototype

The first thing most product designers do when trying to visualize their ideas is to create a sketch of them. Having a crude sketch allows you to see how your product will look and to get a feel for what elements work and which ones don’t.

Once you have a sketch in hand, you need to use graphic design software to create a virtual model of the prototype.

Luckily, there are tons of programs on the market that allow you to bring your prototype ideas to life. If you are uncomfortable doing this work on your work, hiring professionals is a good idea.

These professionals will use the graphic design principles to ensure the prototype design is accurate. Having a virtual prototype allows you to adjust certain aspects of your design before investing in any further development.

Get Consumers Involved In the Prototype Design Process

If you are designing a new product that will be released to the masses, then you have to make sure it is up to par. Instead of guessing about the elements that consumers want to be included in the design, you need to work hand in hand with your customers to figure this out.

Sending out a poll and the virtual prototype design you have to loyal customers can provide you with lots of feedback.

Including a questionnaire is crucial when trying to figure out what aspects of the design consumers enjoy and which ones they don’t like. Having this information allows you to optimize your digital prototype design before moving on to the next step.

The time invested in sending out these messages to loyal customers is worth it because it will help you bring a product to market that people actually want.

Test Your Physical Prototype

After you construct a physical prototype for your new product, be sure to put it through the paces. If you are going to be showing this prototype to a group of potential investors, it has to work flawlessly.

Before you go in to meet with potential investors, take the time to develop a script regarding what you want to cover. With a well-designed prototype and some organization, you should have no problem landing potential investors to help bring your new product to market.

As you can see, designing a prototype is a difficult process. With some hard work and the help of seasoned professionals, you should have no problem achieving your prototype design goals.