Selecting an Industrial Design Firm!
By Joe Schappler, from Helix Design, Inc. helixdesign.net

You've just left the planning meeting with the assignment to find a design firm for the new approved project. What should be a straightforward task often isn't - selecting one firm from the sea of possibilities can become a time-consuming, confusing and mentally draining experience. Before picking up the phone, and contacting firms blindly, or conducting web searches to narrow your list, begin first by identifying your needs and gathering some basic information.

Why is it you need a design firm? Is the project's objective to increase market share, increase profitability or alter a corporate image with updated branding? Have you updated the technology and you need a new enclosure to put it in? Are you receiving customer complaints and need to address ergonomic issues? Do you have technology that needs a new look? Identifying what the end objective is will have a major impact on the cost, the timeline and the success of the project.

What level of service will be needed? Do you have in-house engineering capabilities and you need the addition of design resources to complement and fill the gaps? Or are you looking for a complete turnkey capability from concept through implementation into production? How important is your timeline? You will need to look at design firms that meet your needs. Some firms have many resources in-house, which allow them to control more of the effort during development. Others have a niche expertise and outsource specifics, such as prototypes. This allows them to specifically match the task with a network of resources. Do you have a preference?

Reviewing design firms can be done in many ways. Conducting searches from one of the many resource web sites allows you to search for firms by location, specialty and size. A firm's web site should give you a flavor about the company, as well as list their services. Telephone interviews can be a productive way of then narrowing the field. At this point, select the 3-4 firms to interview in person. If possible, go to their facility, so you can better experience the atmosphere, see product samples, and meet key staff members. Design is a creative business, and you need to experience that in their environment.

Usually, this is when one solicits proposals, after having established interest in two or three firms. Resist this temptation, as this is where the selection process can become very confusing. Receiving multiple proposals without baseline information will lead to an apples to oranges comparison. The information you provide for the proposal will determine what you get back for comparison. With each finalist, you need to discuss in detail the expectations, objectives, timelines and budgets. The priorities must be stated. Is it the cost of design services, level of quality or timelines? Pick any two out of the above and communicate it to the prospective firms. Although all three are always a consideration, they cannot have equal footing in the project.

Let's attempt to understand what the proposal means in terms of firm selection. The proposal should be a confirmation tool of previous discussions, outlining in more detail the approach, costs and timelines. The key message here is that the proposal should not be a surprise, but a summary document. It should address your key issues and propose a plan for meeting the project objectives. It should serve as a guideline for development, and is rarely an absolute. In very little time, usually one to two meetings, the prospective design firm is trying to identify with you, understand your priorities and gather the information necessary to submit a proposal. Is appearance the priority? Ergonomics? Cost Reduction? Defining the effort to put into each of these is subjective, and the outcome will be dependent on the effort.
In the past 12 years, I've never written a proposal that surprised the customer at how little design services cost. It is possible that you may not have a known budget at this time, but it probably is known what you don't want to spend. There have been times when the budget was not the primary issue, and a time/materials arrangement is acceptable. In the latter, it is essential that the strategy to meet the objectives is understood and agreed upon.

For projects where the development costs are part of the selection criteria, let's explore the need to define budgets. Budgets serve as guidelines that can assist the design firm in knowing how much emphasis to place on certain development tasks. To meet your expectations and resolve the project's objectives, this effort needs to be on target. This is development, and rarely is it possible to accurately pinpoint the actual design costs for each step in the process. Putting an overall budget in place will provide the design firm the opportunity to calibrate how much effort to put into the different development steps, and still meet your project expectations. It also removes a point of confusion when receiving multiple proposals. Without the blind bidding war, you can review the value proposition submitted from each prospective firm, and feel confident in your decision.

If time to market is the key driver for the project, you need to understand how the prospective design firms can get you there. Will time be saved by going to an all-inclusive firm with several in-house resources? Does their approach to development include brainstorming and other techniques that assist the creative development? Do they have any prototype capabilities that can be used for risk reduction, concurrent with design development?

You've delivered the expectations, the budget, target timelines and the overall project objectives to the prospective design firms, and have requested a proposal from each. Once you receive the proposals, your task is to now review the value offered for the services. Does the proposal address the project's objectives? Does the process proposed work with your internal process? It is important that this is understood to be a collaborative effort to be successful and will require good communication between you and the design firm.

This process should not take months. It should happen very quickly, as the time will be much better spent in development and getting your product to market than in going through a tedious, confusing selection process. By doing a small amount of upfront homework, you will be rewarded by a pleasant, timely process with a successful outcome.

email Joe Schappler your thoughts.