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Russian instrumentation: we turned your design on the fingers




Or how to understand that it’s time to throw out your design, and how to make a new one


- It is necessary to do as it should, but how not to do it is not necessary!
The phrase from the Internet

This article is about industrial design in instrumentation: why you can not do without it; what to do and who to look for, if you still decide "for industrial design"; how to understand what exactly you need; who and how much will do this work for you and what to do to get what you need, and not the designer or anyone else. Everything is based on real development examples, but how could it be otherwise.

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There are many definitions of what industrial design is, but if simplified - to everyday life:

Industrial design is a project work with the appearance, ergonomic properties and layout of the product for:

  • increase its aesthetic value;
  • maximum satisfaction of consumer needs;
  • product sales growth;
  • justification for its high cost
  • or just gaining an advantage over competitors.

My colleagues in my shop throw tomatoes at me from such an interpretation, but the tasks that our company sets for our company fit exactly this definition. Therefore, I will try to be as practical and specific as possible.

Disclaimer : Everything described below applies only to instrumentation. True, in the broadest sense. The specifics of working with electronics is that the case (shell) itself is rarely functional: its main task is to give the device a finished look, create added value for the customer, protect the “filling” or give it additional properties that are unrealizable without the case.

So, let's start: you are ashamed of the design of your device, it looks much worse than competitors and / or people wonder why your product is so expensive and looks like ... in general, it does not look as expensive as it costs! There is a feeling that it is necessary to somehow solve all this - vague doubts torment you that further will only get worse.

Let's get out of this abyss step by step.

How to realize what needs to be changed and how to describe the task


Motivation: why manufacturers change the design of devices


Let's start with motivation. Why right now you have a question about design?
About three years ago, I interviewed several dozen clients and got to the real reasons. All answers to the question about design changes can be divided into two parts. So, usually you need to improve the design of your product:

  1. because his appearance is ashamed;
  2. because competitors.



Thoughts aloud: it would seem that there should be more answers about competitors than about “shame”, but no. This is probably due to our market, which is ultimately tied to the state and the maintenance of the “pipe”.

Because I am ashamed


In what cases is one ashamed of one's product?

The thing is that we have long been accustomed to products that are visually and ergonomically licked - this is an “iPhone” in your pocket, a “Mercedes” under the window, and thousands of real goods that surround you right now. Both “iPhones” and “Mercedeses” change their appearance every year and are made even better - to buy them, and not something else. So the role of industrial designers in production is clear.

And in the Russian Federation, a large number of devices are mainly produced, which were developed 10-20 years ago, when it was important to quickly jump onto the market and gain a place for themselves in a simple, mainly functional and low price.


Payment terminal

At that time, you or the founding fathers of your company were unlikely to think about design development. And they didn’t think further either - but why, if there are more understandable methods of dealing with competitors, even market ones, though not even market ones.

And here comes the reason for justifying the overpriced device. Imagine that your client (let it be such an average company / institution) design was not important - they have been buying the device for 20 years, and good luck. But the general director of this office has both an iPhone and a Mercedes. And now - tink! - he was no longer happy with the fact that he pays a lot of money for the product, and he looks like a VAZ-2107 box with cartridges.

It is clear that this happened against the backdrop of comparing his creation with its foreign counterparts. Yes, imported devices are more expensive than domestic ones, but to use them (and even look at them) is often much more pleasant than products (you won’t call them in any other way) made in Russia.

Once we “modernized” a client a device design for municipal hospitals.
The sales manager of this device wrote to us that now their merchants are not ashamed to show the updated design of the device in any clinic - it does not matter whether there is imported equipment there or not, you don’t need to blush for your own.

Because competitors


This motivation will be stronger - everyone has competition, just for some reason few people take it seriously. Oddly enough, I still hear very often: “We have only one competitor, the NGO ZaborPribor from N-ska. And they are not competitors to us! ”


“We have a unique product, it has no competitors!” - from a conversation with the customer.

And when you start asking, it turns out that the customer’s market is seriously ruined: the Chinese are from below, America and Europe from above, it is impossible to export , because you need to redo it a lot, and the alterations will affect not only the product itself, but also his support and service ...

To the heap, you also learn that although buyers take the device, they complain about ergonomic characteristics. “But it's a trifle, then we'll finish it!” - the manufacturer cheerfully dismisses.

... But in fact, the market has already unfolded, and even the most loyal customer of this manufacturer (conditional Chloroprom, dreams come true) buys not only its product, but is already testing the devices of both direct and indirect competitors.

I already wrote about competitiveness (here - formlab.ru/konkurent), but now I'm talking about something else - if you understand that competitors are better than you in design, then you are already late. And much.

If you see that competitors' products are better than yours in design, then you are already late.

But there is good news: you are at least one step ahead of other manufacturers - those who have not reached an understanding of this problem. Here is a list of areas in which you (the developers of electronics and devices) usually start working to make the product more competitive (starting with the simplest and most obvious):

  1. Cost reduction
  2. Price drop
  3. Functionality Extension
  4. Marketing and advertising
  5. Appearance and ergonomic properties ← You are here now
  6. Work with user needs and experience
  7. Full Product Lifecycle Planning

So, briefly: if you honestly answered your question why you need a new design so much, then it will be simpler and more understandable. If not, you can continue to monitor sales reports and periodically cry over them.

Now you understand perfectly why you need to change the design. This is already a success.

Getting to the specifics. Next step by step:

  1. how to clearly understand what you want from the new design of the device;
  2. how to formulate the problem;
  3. how to find the right artist for her and
  4. how to get in the end it is not clear what, but the desired result (cost reduction / increased sales / tears of joy on the faces of users / access to the external market / world around the world, etc.)

Step 1. Analysis of the product, its sales and production


Collection of information


Now let's look at your product itself - we need to collect more information about it.

Better to start with the main thing: what kind of user needs does it cover? Moreover, mind you, I’m talking about the user's needs, and not the product’s functionality!

For clarity, a person has a need for cool air. He can realize it:
  • turning on the air conditioner (air cooling function);
  • waving at himself with a newspaper (local acceleration of air is involved for faster evaporation of sweat);
  • going outside where it’s cooler, or opening the window (change the temperature of the air around you).

Understanding the need will allow us to focus on how to implement it precisely with our product, without being distracted by side tasks (“And let's make a radio!” - “Why?” - “Well, first of all, we can do this, anyway we’ll remake the board and, secondly, you’re standing in the shower and singing! ”It was approximately the same in this project:


This is a flowing water heater with a built-in radio - bingo! Details: formlab.ru/stream_pro

Next, describe the main user groups and usage scenarios of your each group of devices . About the groups I wrote here (formlab.ru/konkurent).

And what about sales? (Grow, stagnate, fall ...)

Who buys your product?(User-specialist, his head, procurement department, general director through a tender with special conditions / bath?)

Does he (the buyer) coincide with the user? (For example, a surveyor uses a level, but a supplyman buys it. These are different groups, and you need to work with them differently. But if a grandmother purchases a tonometer in a pharmacy, then the buyer and the user are the same).

How many appliances are you selling now? (Here already, without prompts).

How much do you plan to produce / sell? (If more than now, then perhaps it is worth thinking about changing the technology for manufacturing the hull and thus lowering the price). And by the way, let me remind you that the answer “Well, you need to start a little, and then we'll see,” is bad. I wrote about the reasons on HabrĂ© here .
There are housing production technologies that are advantageous for small runs, and there are technologies for large ones. Suppose for one case it makes no sense to order a mold and cast it under pressure, it is easier to make it milling. But for a circulation of 1 million it makes no sense to mill - you need to use casting.

How much do you put in the cost of a new generation of device?
Very rarely anyone immediately thinks about the cost price, and the answer to this question can immediately remove a bunch of others, from developers, and even help determine the production technology of the future building. Examples of production prices have already been given here and here .
For example, you think you are ready to cast aluminum cases. But it turns out that it is 10 times more expensive than if your case was made of plastic. The cost of production is greater than expected, the sale price naturally grows - once! - and it turns out that no one will buy a device for that kind of money, everyone will run away to competitors.

All the answers to these questions need to be written somewhere / remember well: they will help you fully formulate the task of the new, “normal” design.
- Make a normal design for our device.
99% of requests to our bureau look exactly like that.

STEP 2. Formulating the task that design must solve


Industrial design is not about pictures. After all, an industrial designer is such a designer-designer-marketing-dude-dude who has a lot of tools to solve the problem. But first he needs to formulate it.

And in order to formulate it, you need to determine for yourself the priority properties of the future product, which are already important for your business task (recall - sales, competitors, and that’s all).

In other words - what is the best way to let you sell a product? Cost reduction? Modern look? “Dear” look? Ease of assembly? There are dozens of such questions ... For clarity, a few typical examples, which also began with the request "Make us a normal design."

Cheaper - Axi


This is a common desktop medical device. After we found out what exactly the customer needed, we formulated priorities: to reduce production costs, optimize production, and improve appearance.

Result : the cost of production of the case decreased by 4 times, and the design allowed managers to sell the device, spending much less time persuading the buyer.

Was / it became:


Monitoring system, a detailed story about the project here: formlab.ru/aksi

“Customers Want More Beautiful” - Ultrasonic Flaw Detector


And here, too - the device is expensive, the buyer, in fact, is one (federal state contractor), but he has already begun to look for a foreign analogue as an object for procurement, so he began to hesitate: although “our” price is less, but not much. And finally, someone comes up with the question of why “our” device costs so much, but doesn’t look like “a lot”. And the buyer feels a little, well, let's say, deceived.

Therefore, the device needs a modern case design. If it works out, then in addition it must be made easier and more technologically advanced in production. And that means cheaper.

We managed to close all the tasks:


Flaw detector unit, formlab.ru/luch

Industrial design has very different tasks, but I’m actually talking about “what you call a yacht, it’ll float”, -you yourself need to decide what is more important and what is not so significant .

Task description


... Solve and roll it all up in the terms of reference. There is no point in discussing the need for TK, so let's just make the process a little easier: here is the form (formlab.ru/questionnaire) of the questionnaire, which is filled after the first discussion of the problem with the client. He outlines the basic elements and requirements, the "red flags", if you will, the future development.

As a result, in TK you should describe:
  • the essence of a new project or a change in the old one ( We want our bradometer to look no worse than that of Italian manufacturers / The case should be easier, make the design so ... well, let's say aggressive );
  • what is “at the entrance” ( Electronic components selected / Nothing, just an idea );
  • restrictions for developers ( Board dimensions cannot be changed / can / is not recommended, but in extreme cases it is possible ).

It's time to move on to who exactly will design the new product, how and where to find this “someone” and how to minimize the risks when choosing.

STEP 3. Search and selection of a contractor. Criterias of choice


Types of contractors, how much they cost, where to look and their features


Today, people are often engaged in industrial design of cases, far from design. They were just lucky to be in the company engaged in "iron" projects. For example, the bosses say to the electronics engineer: “And at the same time, make the case somehow.” Well, he does. Somehow.

Here is an attempt to classify contractors for the development of buildings - let’s divide them, for example, by the nature of their relationship with the project customer :

  • work directly in the company of the customer. This is usually the developers of electronics (if not the head of the company);
  • third-party people or organizations (outsourcers) - a person "under the contract" ( freelancer / team ( design studios and design bureaus ).

Let's start with those who develop the design of the case on their own.

Electronics Developers: "Do it yourself!" - “Could not do it myself!”


After the article on the development stages of the corps was published on HabrĂ© and a link to the development guide, we began to ask the brochures for download: “And who in your company is engaged in the development of cases (in fact, their design)?”. The vast majority of them answered: "I myself."

This is not bad and not good, but just a real picture: at the time of the creation of the device, not a specially trained person is responsible for its appearance, but the developer himself. This probably happens because the design value at the initial stage of development is close to zero, the main thing is to come up with / design a product and faster, faster to start selling.

Of course, there are examples when they bother with design right away, but so do units in instrumentation (in our portfolio of several hundred projects, there is only one of these - the anti-theft antenna. And that for the non-Russian market: formlab.ru/antenna_crystal).

In the meantime, we proceed from the fact that the

first type of industrial designer is a full-time employee of the company. He is an electronics developer or even the head of an entire (usually small) business.

And when such developers come to us at Formlab and show that they have worked out, it immediately becomes clear that the person was not doing what he was able to do, and was not doing his job, but simply swelled "for that guy." Although yes, perhaps he “may be a bit in Solid.”

I am very pleased with such projects, as they clearly demonstrate the difference between a professional approach and an unprofessional one.

Medical device "Gamma-5"


Established developers of electronics sketched a sketch of the case, and now in this form the device was born and realized. And for so many years it came to life, until the moment came "it is impossible to live like that." At the same time, it became clear that the company’s full-time designer could not do much better, and they would have to call designers. “It was-has become”:


Radionuclide Diagnostic Instrument , formlab.ru/gamma_5

Demorobot


The existing version of the case did not allow the domestic remote control to control construction equipment to compete normally with "bourgeois" devices. We need a modern design, but there is no one to do this in the company. Connected us. Bottom line: the product can already be sold on the foreign market.


Construction robot control panel, formlab.ru/kak-pobedit-konkurenta
This project is a great proof of the statement “You can't help but pay attention to industrial design if your competitors pay it.” Especially if you aim at the foreign market. ”

Locator


The product was originally intended for the Chinese market, but here is the peculiarity: the local competitors managed to not only catch up with this device in terms of design, but even surpass it.

Of course, the customer company does not have and never had an industrial designer on staff - the appearance of the device depended on the inspiration that had descended on the main developer (by the way, it was mainly the efforts of this developer that ensured product sales for many years). But the moment came when there was not enough opportunity or inspiration for the design. They called us.


Locator

Neurosensor


The case is designed, performs its tasks, even the device is already sold. But from the point of view of the buyer, it looks somehow frivolous. Something needs to be urgently done, but my own skills for serious study are not enough. We were tasked with making the product visually solid, compact and looking stylish and solid. It turned out like this:


Neurodetector, formlab.ru/calibri

The device, by the way, is also aimed at export, completely and completely.

And these are just a few examples of a situation where there is a developer within the team who can design and bring the case to production.

Only here sales of such a case are viable very limited. Say, if your device is unique in functionality, then those who are strongly in the subject will buy it, even despite the lousy appearance. Just out of curiosity.

But: this usually happens only if the circulation of the device is up to 100 pieces. And if you want to sell more, you have to think about a good design, because your customers can be not only fans, but also those people who are not sure that your device is vital for them (but will not be superfluous), so they are ready to lay out for money for him simply because he is mimic / brutal / "environmentally friendly" and so on.

If you need more examples, then here is the whole portfolio (formlab.ru/portfolio), which contains descriptions of more than a hundred projects (and more than 100 are waiting until they write about them).

Next in line are state designers, freelancers and design offices.

Staff Designer


A full-time designer - everything is clear, a narrow specialist, and even all yours. The advantages are obvious - maximum control and, more importantly, complete immersion in your specifics. The minuses are also understandable: since a full-time designer needs a designer in pairs, you pay for his time even during downtime (while he is waiting for a rework from the designer, for example).




It’s not easy to hire a good designer in the staff: most likely, the candidate will be less professional than a freelancer for the same money. The thing is that in the case of a full-time employee, you are limited by the location of your company: the person will not go to work every day for 300 km. Therefore, he should live nearby, so the choice is very well narrowed.

And another very worthless minus - it will work slowly: the salary is charged regardless of the load, so there is nowhere for it to rush.

Freelancer


A freelancer is also a narrow specialist who (most likely) will not be able to completely solve the task of developing a case. He will need a couple of at least a designer who will turn beautiful pictures into boring, but understandable to the production designers documentation.


Voice-over: “Andrey, put a picture here showing the hard work of the designer!”

What are the pros of a freelancer for you?

First: it focuses on a one-time project / order, that is, on the result. He does not need to be kept on staff and pay him a salary if he does nothing.

The second plus: most likely, a freelancer is more experienced than a full-time designer for the same money - in this case, restrictions on the choice of place of residence are removed. You can choose not those who live closer, but those who have more portfolios and more diverse projects, for example.

The third is to hire a freelancer an order of magnitude (or two!) Is easier and faster than finding a person in the state. This means that you will start the project much faster than with any other type of contractor.

The fourth advantage of a free designer is the speed of work. He will give the result faster than anyone: he is interested in submitting the project as early as possible and getting money for it early.

Minuses- a very conditional control of the remoter, the likelihood of “Thailand of the brain” (he went to the beaches for a month because it is cold) or star disease (the latter is rare, but it happens); a freelancer will definitely not take responsibility for the “material” stages - prototypes, communication with factories, etc.


A freelancer and a factory are incompatible concepts

But he just has to set a task: most likely, he already did something with someone that you want from him.

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Design studio - usually it’s 2-3 people who work together for several years: former colleagues or associate freelancers. Their

biggest plus is a high professional level (if a loner can not cope with something, then the three will somehow figure it out); stability in terms, no “Thailand”, etc.

It is likely that there will be a project in the studio’s portfolio that is close to your industry — that is, designers will not need to chew any little things at all, they will tell you about them.

Of the minuses , studio services will cost much more than a freelancer and, possibly, even a “staffer” (although not always, but here you need to consider specific situations).

The task will have to be formulated as clearly as possible, since the studio already probably has a pool of orders, and you there are just one of many.

Immersion in the specifics of your industry will not be as deep as you would like it to be.
Well, the work experience of a studio of two or three people, of course, will be less than that of a bureau of 20-30.

But the design studio will be able to organize the production of the prototype (in some form).

Design bureau


A design bureau is a full-cycle developer (and in a sense production). There are all the necessary competencies to draw design and documentation, and then produce a prototype and, if necessary, provide / find / organize production - all in one window, from and to.

Of the pros- Almost certainly, the bureau specialists have experience in developing in your field of activity (maybe they even made a design for your competitors). And, most likely, the bureau has already completed dozens of projects designed for the same production technology that you need, which is almost more important than design. All chains are established, the work proceeds on the principle of "sat down and rode" - here are the most predictable terms, understandable quality (not its absence) and a specific amount of work, scheduled in stages. In other words, in the case of the bureau, the risks of other designers, from stardom to a little experience, disappear.

The minuses of the bureau are obvious - studios and freelancers work slower there: a layer of management is wedged between the customer and the executors, communication takes place indirectly, there is no immediate reaction to your edits.

And the cost of bureau services will be more expensive.

Where to look


All contractors, of course, are on the network and are on the "one-two" (drive into the search engine "development of enclosures for devices").
I will simplify the task even more: we made and launched a resource on which we gathered all the companies (and studios, and bureaus, and freelancers) that are engaged in the development of industrial design → zakaz.ist. On the same site you can find lists and contact details of case manufacturers. And even your competitors - electronics developers.

How to compare - a summary of the article on the pangs of choosing a contractor


But it’s much more difficult not to even find contractors, and to choose “your own” from them - as objectively as possible.

And here a problem arises from the problems: we all do something for the first time and, as a rule, are mistaken. We are mistaken because we don’t know the selection criteria for suitable and inappropriate. If you have never encountered the choice of an industrial design contractor before, then I sketched out an instruction (formlab.ru/blog/vybor), which tells in detail how to make this choice. But briefly, I’ll write here.

To begin with, we all (industrial designers in the broad sense of the term) are the same on the network - we all have about the same number of beautiful pictures on the site, a similar enthusiastic description of how cool and skillful we are - all by standard. Therefore, I propose to go from the opposite, that is, weed out those who are definitely not suitable for you. Screening will be done according to the most important criterion for your project. You now define it, having looked at examples.

For example, it is important for you to get the result of design development in such a way that the project can be immediately thrown to the factory and estimate the cost of production of the building.

Such a requirement will immediately weed out those who are not ready to engineer the housing and coordinate it with the manufacturer.

Or you need a sealed device. For its development, it will definitely require the manufacture of a prototype that, in terms of its physical properties, is fully consistent with the serial product. This requirement will break those who propose to print the case on a 3D printer.

Or you just need to sketch out a design concept, and the rest will be done by your regular designers.

Ok, then you shouldn’t even spend time at the bureau: a freelancer or a studio will be enough for you.
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It’s simpler further - I even once spoke on this topic, here is the video: youtu.be/YbCbrJSfXNE?t=413 .

And here is a table that will help determine what type of contractor will suit you and how much its work will cost:



If you are too lazy to watch a video, then the thesis is so. For example, for you, the ability to control the contractor very tightly means a lot (i.e., you want to steer the designer). Or it’s important for you that the contractor is deeply immersed in your subject as much as possible -
then choose a small studio or freelancer .

If you set a macro goal - not just develop the device, but go to production and start selling, choose a bureau .

If you plan to launch more than 3 projects a year, then it is time for you to form your own design and development department .

The cost in the table, of course, is so generalized, somewhat approximate, but based on the annual assessment of the revenue of all competing colleagues (formlab.ru/market).



STEP 4. Control: how to check if the problem is solved correctly


We go further - the contractor is selected, but how to check whether he is doing everything that is needed and is he doing it right?

Each project is months of work, after which no one needs to receive what is not needed.

Therefore, in cases where we do not understand how to evaluate quality, we simply simplify everything to formal (digital) indicators. In other words, we break down each project into stages, and stages into sub-stages. We describe the result of each stage - what you intend to get, as specifically as possible and in numbers.

Example
Stage - sketching , I need to get 10 different sketches, which are made taking into account the restrictions established by the terms of reference. Design development

phase. The result is a digital model of the case and a package of drawings made according to the standards - ESKD or ANSI. Prerequisite: documentation must be suitable for evaluating production.

The stage of prototyping - I need one (two, three?) Prototype (prototype) of a product from so many details, which works as I described in the statement of work, and which, by such and such properties, corresponds to a serial product.

Well and so on.

Then everything is simple: the problem is solved correctly when the result of the just completed stage of development or production is suitable for moving to the next stage of the project. And if there are problems with this, then the problem is solved incorrectly; call the contractor on the carpet and do with it what you want; begin to pass this level again.

In other words, to check the quality of the result of each stage, always “tie” it with the following. Or generally on your fingers if: the stage can be considered satisfactorily completed if the result is enough to enable you to proceed to the next stage of development. Here are the typical stages:

concept → engineering → prototype → test batch → serial product I

already wrote about the correct development cycle on Habré - Case development guide



Example

The designers took the design to work (the result of the stage is the CD package) → the factory accepted the documentation and is ready to make a prototype (the result - you arrived with the prototype package) → the prototype showed the necessary properties (the result - everything goes according to plan, we already have a device) → you can do a test batch and everything in that vein.

How long does it take which stage


Well, and, of course, the time frame - there’s no need to even explain here. I already wrote a little about the terms here: formlab.ru/srok.

Here is an example of a plan with deadlines:



In reality, the entire development process, from setting the task to the finished prototype, can take from 3 months (the so-called "express projects") to two or more years.

! Caution : know that express projects are always compromise solutions, because acceleration at the start translates into a prolonged start of production. Winning in time - losing in something else. Swam - we know.

What problems happen + frequently asked questions


Something is full of problems, and each project palm off on new things to hide. But somehow I want to systematize them anyway. Here are the main ones:

1. Dates


- everyone (even like that: EVERYTHING) incorrectly evaluates the terms of development of both design and electronics. I do not recall a single project where the real term exceeded the promised less than two times. More - it happens, less - NO .

I gave a link to an article about the deadlines above, but the thesis is this: dozens of companies participate in any project, and everyone has their own approval chains. Coordination is generally the root of evil: deadlines become rubber precisely at these stages (and, as a rule, due to the fault of the customer). If you want even and predictable deadlines, shorten them: hit everything for very small and understandable tasks, demand from the customer a separate responsible person who will promptly respond to all requests for the project.

2. Money


- few people objectively evaluate the costs of both design and further production. Moreover, the second is underestimated much more than the first: after all, if for the design it is enough to pay the amount indicated in the contract, and you will have everything you need for serial production, then the further process will not be limited to simply paying for production. You will also have to pay for the production of forms, and delivery, and packaging, and bribes, and customs, and a bunch of seemingly unobvious bills.

When discussing a project, I always ask the following questions: how many customers plan to sell updated devices, and what is the cost of the project? Rare Chapaev swims to the middlethe customer gives these numbers - usually something like: “We want to sell a million!” And the price bar depends on what you offer! Show me all the options! ” Or: “Let's start a little, then we'll see!” - this is generally my favorite, it clearly shows that the client did not encounter production and does not understand prices / difficulties there at all.

About how to estimate the cost price, I already wrote on Habré here , here and here .

In short - you can’t start "a little bit", and then "how it goes." We must try to predict what will happen to your sales for the second year, to know exactly how much you are ready to spend on the building, and based on this, determine production technologies and how much money to give for the development of industrial design of your product.

3. Competition


- This is generally a sore subject. We (domestic instrument making) are totally unable to compete. This is an inevitable evil from the historically established closedness and inferiority of the local market. Only a few begin to understand that in the case when the usual ways to get ahead like price cuts (or adding functionality to the device) do not work, something else needs to be done. The rest just go with the flow.

On new projects, we are seeing more and more of those leaders and owners of Russian business who are aware of the role of design in the competition. True, so far this only applies to products developed for export, as if you don’t do design at the level of the local players, you either don’t sell it at all, or you somehow sell it, but you are on the same level as the Chinese.

But the trend itself is encouraging. So, not everything is so bad, and the “scoop” is gradually changing. Still slowly, with a loss of time and a lot of missed opportunities, but the market has a chance to accelerate.

The advice here is banal - look at competitors, see how they develop over time, and then you can at least somehow imagine what you will encounter tomorrow. Or imagine that you are already late: the rivals have right now developed and lies in the nightstand a new generation of the device - a reserve for the next year.

4. Where is cheaper?


At home or in China? The question does not have a clear answer - depending on what. For example, we order metal cases for customers in Russia, we organize small-scale production in Belarus, but the casting of thousands of cases is still only in China. We do not hide our contractors, here, if necessary, see: formlab.ru/podr.

You may have other questions, so be aware that we collect answers to them here: formlab.ru/faq.

Conclusion


If you feel problems with current sales or are worried about future ones, but you can’t identify exactly what is eating, then one of the possible reasons for this may simply be the poor / outdated design of your device.

“Who is to blame” is a rhetorical question, and I told what to do: how to understand what needs to be fixed, how to formulate a task and find a suitable executor for this specific task.

As always, I am ready to answer questions and finish the article on the basis of results.

Andrey Vostrikov,anvos
Formlab, hull specialists

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