making design work for you
strategic design
Simply put we design strategically to turn your ideas and innovations into profits.
Delivering market leading designs for our clients is only one part of the story.
Good design is so much more than simply creating objects of desire for your customers.
Efficient component design and material selection suitable for the manufacturing process, leads to lower processing costs and material savings. Fewer components and fixings leads to quicker assembly times. Quicker assembly times and less material improve bottom line profitability.
From concept ideas to production detailing we design by this philosophy. Our ideas and creativity are underpinned by broad industry experience of manufacturing processes and methods both in the UK and over seas.
idea generation & innovation
We work with you to inject ideas, innovation and experience into your business to help tackle new or difficult design projects, deal with extra workload or give a fresh perspective to your products. Whether it's NPD or value engineering existing ranges, we have the experience to help manage and deliver your project.
Our approach is incredibly flexible; we will work on a specific project or can be retained in your team for as long as you need.
Often through our work we will generate Intellectual Property that needs protection. We offer help and advice for registering designs or assistance with patent applications through our network of contacts.
design support
From prototype to production we can provide design engineering for detailed component part and assembly development. This can be complimented with samples, mock ups and advice on suppliers and manufacturers for new parts or components. We have experience of a vast range of manufacturing processes in plastics, metals, polymers, ceramics, glass and timber.
We have access to all the major methods of digital prototyping processes and can help with samples and prototypes for testing and evaluation of ideas and designs.
We also develop product graphics and artworks and can design packaging solutions where required.
In addition we can create technical specification guides and instruction manuals for clients drawn from the master 3D cad data.
product design work
fitness equipment
The client was looking for a new design strategy for its product range to reduce cost, strengthen the brand and increase sales through product desirability and innovation. These key drivers were to be applied across all core products with a strategic aim of consolidating the brand across the portfolio including graphics and packaging.
Resulting increases in sales together with lower manufacturing costs have directly attributed to greater profitability.
Some of the products designed include, Olympic weights, studio barbells, plyo blocks, dumbbells, functional training rigs, kettlebells, medicine balls, training sand bags.
wimbledon umpire chair comms box
A rare opportunity to design, engineer and supply a retro fit enclosure solution for the All England club's umpire chairs.
As well as providing an elevated viewpoint for the umpire, the lower part of the chairs plays a key role in delivering the broadcast sound we hear on our TV’s.
Cables from the many microphones placed around the courts converge at the bases of the chairs and it is here that sound signals are managed to outside broadcast companies.
As sound recording and processing equipment has advanced a new solution for housing, protecting and managing the electronic equipment and cabling at the bottom of the chair was needed.
Easy access would be needed to the rear patch panel and any item inside the enclosure, so a novel way was needed of mounting and protecting the internal equipment.
Air cooling ventilation together with demanding water and dust protection was also needed and this required some innovative thinking in order to achieve 3rd party type approval.
as well as designing the enclosure, a chair retro-fit mounting chassis also needed to be designed to allow quick fitting and de-mounting from the chair.
Aesthetically, the unit needed to be "there, but not there", so the form literally followed the function with retro styling ques for the exterior of the box taken from mid-20th century automotive and electrical plant and equipment design.
The construction was designed for steel and aluminium CNC sheet metal manufacture for speed and to keep the weight down. We produced prototypes and arranged BS type testing before managing the production of all 20 units ready for the Wimbledon July championships
fibre optic joint
Designed as part of a benchmark proving system, this unit was designed to allow jointing and manifolding of 96 fibre optic cables for use in street footway boxes.
individual fibre circuits are managed on individual splice trays that managed store fibre to a minimum bend radius of 30mm. Excess fibre is coiled and stored on each tray to allow enough 'slack' fibre for jointing at an adjacently positioned splicing machine.
Due to the application environment where the unit could spend its life submerged in shallow fouled water, the enclosure had to be designed to meet stringent IP standards to allow for years of trouble-free service.
A compression moulded base with 'knock-out' cable entry ports was decided upon with cable entries sealed using thermo adhesive heat shrink sleeves. Individual fibres are managed internally using bend limiting tube where they break out from the backplane to the individual circuit splice management trays. These are injection moulded and have been designed for production from a simple 2-part tool, removing the need for slides or movers to keep costs low.
The enclosure dome has been designed to be roto moulded.
handheld luminometer
Designed as the world’s first small intelligent hygiene monitor for use in food factories, restaurants and food preparation areas, SystemSure detects very low levels of contamination instantly. It measures ATP, a molecule present in all living organisms - detecting and quantifying contamination.
SystemSure is simple to use, giving on-the-spot Pass/Fail readings by comparing against pre-set thresholds. Production staff can thus carry out tests without the need of a qualified microbiologist - offering cost as well as time savings.
API pump
Working in conjunction with the client’s engineers and marketing team, the existing pump design was analysed, and a process was implemented whereby the appearance of the product stood out from the crowd.
New materials and production processes were implemented for certain key components, simplifying production and reducing cost.
Sales increased 162% in the 12 months after launch. The project substantially improved the product’s style and elevated the company’s brand. The final design also benefitted from fewer parts and lower production costs.
working for you...
Owner and founder, Simon has over 25 years industry design experience and has developed products, commissions and designs for many international companies and clients including The All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon, Wynn Casinos & Resorts, BT, Pirelli Cables, John Lewis, Jordan Fitness, Celsis, Yellow Technologies, Wilks, The Garden Trellis Co, Girdlestone, Silent Gliss and The Bradley Collection.
design for profit
Our designs achieve measurable results. We can improve your bottom line through increased sales as a result of consumer desirability and product innovation. Smart choices of manufacturing methods together with simplification of tooling and assembly reduces manufacturing cost and capital expenditure. Couple this with increased sales and profits rise.
We are used to designing for various manufacturing processes. Some of these include injection moulding, vacuum forming, rotational moulding, blow moulding, compression moulding and rubber vulcanising, die casting, sandcasting, metal fabrication and welding, sheet metal development, aluminium and plastics extrusion, laser cutting, CNC machining, wood machining and construction.
That experience is now available to companies and individuals across many sectors.
flexible and cost effective
Whether it's NPD or value engineering existing ranges, we have the experience to help manage and deliver your project. Our approach is incredibly flexible; we will work on a specific project or can be retained in your team on a consultancy for as long as you need. There are a variety of financial models that can be applied to best suit your budget and needs.
intellectual property
Often through our work we will generate Intellectual Property that needs protection. We offer help and advice for registering designs or assistance with patent applications through our network of IP contacts.
support
Backed by a network of suppliers and manufacturers covering a vast range of capabilities, if required we can help to realise your project by managing the design into production process. So, if you have an idea you want to develop...
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