STAY SMART AND THINK DESIGN FIRST

RYAN HALL is the DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION for RADIUS. For over 15 years, Ryan has contributed to the fabric of Radius and currently focuses on key capabilities growth, brand authenticity, market targeting, innovation best practices, and strategic client relationships.

First impressions count. What does the product look like? How does it feel in my hand or in my pocket? Do I want that on my wall or taking up space in my house? Is this a product I want to wear on my body? Is it easy to use or do I have to learn a new set of hand swipes/signals or voice commands to get it to work? How does it make me feel?

These are just some of the questions and perspectives you need to consider when thinking about product design. Consumer expectation is at an all-time high, even the best idea isn’t going to count for much if it is delivered in sub-par packaging. Therefore, we put a huge emphasis on the importance of how your product will be used and misused. This knowledge is not something that can be determined from spreadsheets or a PowerPoint slide presentation. To get to the heart of the matter and find out if your product is being held back or supported by its design, we bring in our experts in human factors, user interface, user experience, and industrial design.

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Human Factors. User Interface, User Experience, and Industrial Design experts collaborate to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your product design, ensuring it meets standards for market viability.

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Real Analysis for Real Design

You have an idea and thanks to thorough analysis and review, you know that there is a need for this product in the market. Now you need to think of your consumer and start asking the tricky questions – the questions that might cause you to rethink your idea or send you back to the earlier stages of product planning.

Do you know:

  • What your customers want?
  • That your customers are ready for change?
  • What your customers currently like and dislike about your product or others in the same space?
  • How, where, why, and when your customers are or aren’t using your product?
  • What is coming up next with technological and material advances?
  • If your customers care about a feature-rich application or simply want it to do the basics?
  • How your product makes your customers feel?
  • If your customers are proud to use your product and be seen using it?

Vital questions. Questions that you can’t afford to not know the answers to. Like we said, these are the tough questions, but when you can answer them confidently and honestly, you can use these answers to guide and shape your product design.

This is what we do at Radius. Our experts in human factors, industrial design, and user experience find the answers to these questions for you. We use our deep layers of knowledge in content strategy, usability testing, story-boarding, visualization, concept ideation, and more to ensure you truly are giving your customers what they desire.

Smart Connected Design

Smart-connected devices elevate the quality of life for its many users, enabling them to be more aware and take control of their personal, professional, and healthy lifestyles.

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Think back to the calculator watch – clunky design and borderline “cool” for its day. Now think of the range of smart watches available to us – feature rich and the cutting edge of contemporary design. These watches can be whatever your or I need them to be. For an active person, the smart watch is a step counter, a calorie counter, a heart rate monitor, a GPS mapping device, a training companion, and a motivator. For a worldwide traveler, the smart watch is a booking agent, a universal time keeper, a currency exchange calculator, a calendar and scheduler, and a boredom killer.

The smart watch truly lives up to its moniker. It is smart. It can help make our waking and sleeping time better. Whether it’s allowing us to stay constantly connected, tracking our health, or allowing us to work and communicate wherever we are. These watches give us freedom and intelligence in one slickly designed package.

This isn’t an accident. That watch that you wear and bring into your material world and that your friends ask about is a result of real analysis, deep understanding about the Internet of Things, and defining what it is that we desire.

There is a reason why that 80’s calculator watch isn’t around anymore. Did it really solve a need that you or I had? Did it look good? Did it make our lives infinitely easier with minimal hassle? Or what is just a “feature”?

This is what we need to make sure we’re doing when we develop, design, and realize your ideas. We need to make sure that we’re working on the next smart watch and not the calculator watch. And this is why we have our experts in design, technology, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, human factors, and usability and functional testing working for you to get you to where you need to be.

Those questions we want you to be able to answer? If we can answer these, then we’re not doing our best for you. You can hold us accountable and make sure that we are getting the answers you need to deliver the best designed product possible. (There won’t be any calculator watches coming out of the Radius Digital Prototype Lab…)

Effective product design requires a team of professionals who are experts in Human FactorsUser Interface and User ExperienceIndustrial Design, and Conceptual Engineering. You cannot expect great design without the entire summation and collaboration of these parts. We believe strongly in the connection between design and success. Radius is your only choice when it comes to a powerhouse design and innovation consulting firm.

Discovery. Design.
Brought together for true innovation.

Have a new project you’re interested in discussing with us?

Contact us today learn more about our approach and how we can help drive improved customer brand engagement while accelerating your products to market.