Product Design Services UK

The stages from idea to prototype

1. Brief. What the product does, who uses it, where, roughly how many you hope to sell and the price it must hit. Target cost shapes every later decision.
2. Concepts. Two or three different approaches as sketches or simple 3D forms, so you choose a direction before detail work starts.
3. Detailed CAD. The chosen concept built as a full 3D model, with real wall thicknesses, fixings and bought-in parts.
4. Prototype. Usually 3D printed first, because it is cheap and fast to change. See design for 3D printing.
5. Test and refine. You handle it, use it and show it to people. We update the model from what you learn. Most products go round this loop more than once.
6. Production files. STEP files, technical drawings with tolerances, and a bill of materials for quoting manufacturers.

Design for manufacture and assembly (DFM/DFA)

A product that works as a one-off print can be expensive or impossible to make in volume. DFM means shaping each part around its process: draft angles and even walls for injection moulding, sensible bend radii for sheet metal, cutter-sized internal radii for machining. DFA means fewer parts, fewer fastener types, parts that only fit one way round, and snap fits where screws are not needed.

We cannot promise your unit cost, which depends on volumes, materials and the factory you choose, but we flag features that will push it up and suggest simpler alternatives before you pay for tooling.

Safety marking and regulations: your responsibility

Before a product can be sold, the business placing it on the market (normally you, the brand owner or importer) must make sure it meets the relevant product safety law, carries the right marking and has the supporting technical file and declaration of conformity. In Great Britain that can mean UKCA or CE marking depending on the product type; GOV.UK has confirmed CE marking continues to be recognised in GB for many product types, with separate rules for sectors such as construction products and medical devices.

dijitul media is a design company, not a test house or notified body. We do not certify products or issue declarations. We can design with known requirements in mind, such as access to battery compartments or space for markings, and supply drawings for your technical file, but testing and compliance sign-off should come from an accredited test house or specialist consultant.

Protecting your design

In the UK, the look of a product can be protected by a registered design through the Intellectual Property Office. GOV.UK says a registration lasts 5 years and can be renewed every 5 years up to a maximum of 25 years. There is also automatic unregistered design right for the shape of 3D objects and a shorter supplementary right for appearance, which GOV.UK says lasts 3 years from when the design is made public. How a product works is a patent matter, which is separate.

Disclosure timing matters, so take advice from a patent or design attorney before you publish or crowdfund. Our renders and drawings can form the images you file. We sign NDAs before you share confidential ideas.

What to bring to the first conversation

You do not need drawings to start. Useful things to have ready are: a description of the problem the product solves, sketches or photos of anything similar on the market, the rough size, the conditions it will be used in (outdoors, wet, hot, dropped, handled by children), your target retail price and the quantities you hope to sell in the first year. Knowing the target cost early stops us designing something that works perfectly but cannot sell at the price you need.

Connected products and cost

If your product has an app, a web dashboard or connects to the internet, the software side is a separate piece of work; our sister company builds bespoke software and apps. Product design at dijitul media is £45 an hour + VAT, and each stage can be quoted at a fixed price once the brief is clear. Prototypes, tooling and manufacture are paid to the suppliers you choose. See prices or ask for a quote.

What you get

• Concept sketches or quick 3D concepts for you to choose from
• A parametric 3D CAD model of every part
• STL or 3MF files for 3D printed prototypes
• STEP files and dimensioned drawings for manufacturers
• A bill of materials listing parts, materials and bought-in components
• Rendered images for investors, crowdfunding or retailers

How it works and what it costs

Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.

1. Tell us the brief

   What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.

2. Fixed price

   We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.

3. First designs

   We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.

4. Refine

   We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.

5. Final files

   You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.

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