studio den den

WHAT DOES AN ARCHITECT DO?

The word architect derives from the Greek arkitekton, which means chief builder.

If you are thinking of hiring an architect, you may have wondered, “What does an architect do exactly?”

The National Council of Registration Boards defines an architect as a licensed professional trained in the art and science of building design and construction. An architect plans, designs and oversees the complex task of constructing a building. The word architect derives from the Greek arkitekton, which means chief builder or director of works. It is important to understand that a designer or draftsperson is unlicensed. They may know a lot about designing buildings but it is illegal for them to provide architectural services. Hiring a designer or draftsperson to design your house is equivalent to having a paralegal to represent you in court or an intern to perform your surgery. You must pass the Registration Exams to be an architect just like you have to pass the Bar Exam to be a lawyer or the Medical Boards to be a doctor.

Professional organizations such as your city or country’s local architectural institutions are great sources to find licensed architects. Word of mouth is also a common way to look for an architect. Ask family, friends and/or professional colleagues for referrals. Websites like Houzz are good places to search for a licensed architect because you can narrow the search results by style or geographic location. Web searches using key words can also yield results, for example “modern vacation house.”

Over the past 20 years, big product design consultancies have been on the rise and have produced some really amazing, impact work. Large product design companies like IDEO and Frog and Continuum charge clients on an hourly or project basis for assistance with developing a concept into a physical product. It is an extremely common practice for major, brand-name product companies to hire these kinds of consultancies to shape their products and business models. They help deliver better products through a world-class user experience that’s been carefully thought out. For a price.

When it comes to first-time hardware entrepreneurs building their first product, design consultancies should be avoided like the plague. Here’s why:

Reason 1: Know Your Users

Startups building hardware should think of themselves less as builders of hardware and more as curators of users. This a very common methodology in the web startup space and it holds true (maybe even more so) for hardware teams. Your company survives infancy only if your users love your product. Know your users. By hiring an outside firm to design your user experience, you’re missing out on those key early user conversations.

Reason 2: Know Your Product

Every tiny decision you make to a product in the early design stages will usually have drastic effects down the road. This so-called “long shadow” effect can cause significant problems with things like manufacturing and technical support if it’s not intimately understood. As founders, you should be responsible for understanding as much as possible about your product so you can predict side effects and learn from your experience. Offloading this process to experts means you won’t be able to learn from it with your next product, even though it may save you one or two headaches early on. Know your product better than anyone else on the planet.

Reason 3: Cold Hard Cash

Hiring a design firm is plain old expensive. Hourly rates are typically between $150 and $500 depending on what kind of work is being done. It’s not uncommon for functional prototypes to cost $500K for a full development cycle. Even if you’re fresh off an oversubscribed Series A this is a lot of cash for the service being provided. Would cutting-edge web startups would be successful if they hired a multi-million dollar software engineering consulting company to build their first product?

Reason 4: Be Nimble

Without question, the primary reason two people in a garage can eventually overtake billion dollar behemoths is agility. Startups are able to maneuver around just about anything if they focus on the things that really matter. Timing is critical and anything that gets in the way of warp speed will likely hurt you in the long run. Involving another group of people, politics, profit margins and delays can easily destroy your ability to be nimble.

The allure of having experts design your product is strong. But own your product and your business will grow more reliability with you in control.

If you’re developing your first product, the process to take a prototype and transform it into a commercially viable product may seem overwhelming. Should you find a contract manufacturer or use several independent manufacturers? Should you work with local vendors or consider overseas? How finished should your prototype be before you start talking to a manufacturer? The questions and possible scenarios seem endless. We listed a few of our top tips here:

1. Seek the Help You Need

If you’re working on your first product, you probably aren’t too familiar with the process of taking a prototype and turning it into a manufacturable product. As a best practice, don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know yet and seek the help and advice you need through complementary team members as well as outsourced help to take your idea and turn it into a reality.

Every company will need a different balance of in-house vs outsourced expertise so consider what’s best for your company’s unique needs.

A good place to start here is to consider three questions:

What is your core competency and in which areas do seek to become an expert?

What are areas you are familar with but not an expert in and how will you outsource those needs and/or skills?

What are the major bottlenecks and obstacles that might prevent you from creating a successful product?

By answering these questions you can begin to uncover the team you need to position yourself for success.

2. Design for Assembly, Not Just for Manufacturability

The process to make all of your components work together may not be as simple as you expect. The process is never as simple as designing some schematics or 3D models and sending them to a factory for production and assembly.

So consider early on how your product’s individual components will be manufactured, where they will be manufactured, and then how they will be assembled. And make sure to leave room in your production schedule to allow for delays and time to work out the kinks so the final product meets your expectations.

3. Consider Manufacturing Closer to Home

It cannot be denied that cost optimization is important and when it comes to low manufacturing costs, China is the leader.But what are perhaps some other optimization factors to consider? What about time to market, efficient communication, and scale?

So when deciding whether to choose a manufacturer overseas or in the US consider the following variables:

Scale — how many units will you ship?

Cost — how does the cheaper cost to manufacture overseas compare with the cost of hotels, flights, and time?

Communication — what is the value of more efficient and streamlined communication in the US vs China where the language and customs may be unfamiliar and thus the risk of miscommunication greater?

Material needs — where can you find the best quality materials for your product?

Time to market — how quickly do you want to take your product to market? (domestic manufacturing is faster than overseas)

4. Consult Your Manufacturer Early On

Perhaps the greatest lesson learned throughout the production process thus far is the importance of consulting manufacturers early on. To discover your unique path to take a prototype and turn it into a manufacturable product is a complex and iterative process. But If you treat the process as exploratory, seek the help and advice you need, and leave time in the development schedule for delays and design changes, you’ll position yourself for success

Here at Studio Den Den we not only design spaces, but specialize in creating products that elevate both our home and overall quality of life. Following are our top three rules for building your own Hardware Start-up…

#1 Growth of Hardware Startups is Hard to Fathom

The best example of this is when we look at the layout and organization of hardware tradeshows around the US. Years ago, small companies were relegated to the outskirts of the convention center at CES (America’s leading hardware tradeshow) next to giant $10M+ booths from behemoth companies. This made it really hard to create the random collisions of like-minded startup folks. In 2013, CES created Eureka Park, a dedicated space in the Venetian designed for hardware startups (which were starting to become popular). As the hardware startup community has exploded, Eureka Park has become a pillar of the show over the past few years.

#2 Commoditization is a Brutal Enemy

 Consumer hardware startups need to understand that commoditization of their hardware is not a possibility, it is an inevitability. As copycats are born, margin structures get compressed and customer acquisition costs increase. Few things protect against this besides a strong brand and retail/channel dominance.

#3 Chasing Trends Doesn’t Pay Off

Every year reporters and industry pundits preach about the latest trends. In 2008, the market was dominated by HD DVDs and WiMax. In 2010, 3D TVs and netbooks we’re going to conquer the world. 2012 was full of 4K TVs. Then the drones came in 2016, and so on and so on.

Great companies don’t chase trends, they build products that resonate with customers

Here at Studio Den Den we not only design spaces, but specialize in creating products that elevate both our home and overall quality of life. Following are some of the most common questions about our multi-disciplinary work…

How are architecture and product design related?

Studio Den Den has an integrated approach to design that draws on the expertise of many specialists, from engineering to interiors, and industrial design is an important part of this. Products can be designed in response to a particular project, where new solutions are required to meet demanding specifications – in some cases these solutions have developed beyond the project into commercially available products. Our industrial designer also works independently, whether commissioned directly by manufacturers or developing self-initiated products that emerge from internal research and development.

Is architecture is about achieving building performance and product design about product performance? How would you compare both performance requirements?

The design process is a continuous process of refinement, which harmonizes performance and aesthetics. It is a little like a potter at a wheel, shaping the pot as they go. Obviously, that pot has got to look good, but it has to perform a function – and whether it is a building or a product, it has to ‘do more with less’.

How would you describe your products from architecture projects?

Good product design comes from extensive research and observation – asking questions and understanding the issues driving a brief. In this sense, our approach to products is like architecture in miniature. Our work involves a great deal of experimentation – this experimentation is particularly valuable in testing new materials, techniques and sharing knowledge within the wider practice. Because we have a dedicated industrial design team, we are able to develop entirely bespoke solutions for our clients, where every detail is tailored exactly to their needs.

What goals do you have?

While there are many new opportunities to explore, in terms of new projects and commissions, one of our primary aims is to deepen our collaborations within the studio. Studio Den Den is a fully integrated practice, our team works closely with artists, engineers, materials researchers and many other disciplines. This gives us a great deal of flexibility and unrivaled depth of resources – for example, we can work with our sustainability engineers and materials researchers to develop furniture with a low environmental impact; or we can consult experienced airport architects to create a new airline seat or the interior of a private jet. In the future, we plan to strengthen these collaborations, to grow and apply the team’s expertise and to continue to innovate.

How would you describe the underlying philosophy of Studio Den Den’s product designs?

Holistic – and comprehensive. The thinking behind a design is not restricted to how it will perform or look, we analyze how a product will be specified, manufactured, transported, installed and managed. Just as architects are concerned with every stage of the process, from the initial concepts to seeing a building through to completion on site, so too are product designers – we work throughout the cycle of design, making models and prototypes, visiting the workshops where our products are made, looking at how they are used to see if we can develop a concept further.

Does product design allow more inventive creativity?

Good design is always a challenge. Architecture inspires products – and products are an intrinsic part of architecture. The smallest details of daily life, from the shape of a door handle to the ergonomic qualities of a desk lamp, are often taken for granted, but it is with these small elements that we have the most direct contact.

What inspires you?

We enjoy observing how people interact with objects and the spaces around them, and seeing what needs a particular product or piece of furniture can meet – how we can improve people’s lives, even in the smallest details.