Behind the Scenes: BZ Prototyping and Tangible Solutions

Design enhancements are fundamental to developing a quality product. However, last minute corrections are often costly. They cause engineering change orders, delays in product shipment and poorly integrated features which all lead to low customer adoption.

So where is the balance? BZDesign’s motto is, “Build it early and let’s see.”

This is where prototyping comes in. Each project needs early and frequent input in order to evolve and grow into the best possible product for our clients and their markets.

TANGIBLE Solutions

The process of creating a “tangible” model is invaluable from both sides of the coin. From the designer’s perspective, we need to solve issues like scale and proportion. From our customer’s/engineering perspective, they need to understand the reasoning behind each angle, cut and dimension.

In our “tangible” BZDesign design process, we start by pulling together a small team of custom blended designers, and then we set out to co-create the product WITH our clients. In addition to ideation sketches, CAD renderings, and 2D mockups, our team delivers a 3D representation of our design intent for every review update. Due to timing constraints, these vary widely in resolution and scale depending on the project. Models can be made of foam core, air-dry clay, or low-res Makertbot prints. But in this stage, it doesn’t matter what the models are made of; rather, the goal is to efficiently create a 3-dimensional representation of the raw idea.

Rendering a story

We find that every prototype is a captivating story of the design process: models that document the owner’s frustrations, or glorious creations that come from hard-earned (but joyful) blood, sweat and tears. Eventually, however, prototyping always leads to innovation and the perfect solution.

Here is a recent design prototype that we love from a client:

SaniScope Design

Houman’s Story – As a doctor, Houman noticed that stethoscopes are not regularly cleaned and are a major vector in transmitting Hospital Inquired Infections and MRSA. Houman was looking to make a difference in patient care, so we are helping develop a device that ensures patient safety.

swipeable stethoscope cleaner