Design 1st

Design 1st is a product development company that designs and engineers physical and connected hardware products and prepares them for manufacture. Industrial designers, mechanical engineers and electronics engineers work together in-house, and the firm reports 27 years in business and more than 1,000 hardware projects.

Services

• Industrial design: product concepts balancing appearance, materials, features and cost, plus colour, label and logo work.
• Mechanical and electronics engineering: including battery and power design, gesture and touch interfaces, and IoT connectivity.
• App and cloud software: software for connected devices, with testing and debugging.
• Prototyping and testing: models and prototypes, lab testing and coordination of third-party tests.
• Supply chain and manufacturing: sourcing and qualifying suppliers, buying and inspecting parts, and moving into volume production.
• Go-to-market research: market research, competitor analysis and use-case studies.

Who it works with

Clients range from startups to large brands. One case study describes a redesigned, lower-cost weatherproof drone garage for Sky-X, built from a customised shipping container.

Key facts

• Experience: 27 years in business
• Track record: More than 1,000 hardware projects
• Team: In-house industrial, mechanical and electronics engineers