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INSIDE ITERATE: Creating Innovative Concepts with Rhydian Dobbin

This “INSIDE ITERATE” thought comes from a conversation with Design Engineer Rhydian Dobbin and provides a window into how we develop concept designs and how in order to create outside-the-box concepts you, in fact, have to step away from the product itself.

Concept development can encompass a broad array of activities from market research to early technical validation. Nonetheless, from “where do you start?” at the beginning to “how do you know which direction to take” at the end, this phase can be perceived as a somewhat intangible. This stage of development is often thought of simply as the ideas stage, but as Rhydian explains, there’s a lot that can be considered and learnt within concept development about what is possible within a given design. There are numerous ways in the concept phase to both push the boundaries and explore the feasibility of an idea. This allows you to analyse options for a product and reach smart decisions through a blend of both blue sky thinking and technical consideration.

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Finalists at Monmouthshire Business Awards

This month, ITERATE were finalists in two categories at the Monmouthshire Business Awards (MBAs): ‘Excellence in Technology Innovation’ and ‘Innovation in Business’. The MBAs recognise business excellence across the county; culminating with a Gala Dinner at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.

A total of thirty businesses making the shortlists ranged from a rural village store, a vineyard on the slopes of the Black Mountains and a registered childcare provider to large established hotels, a transportation company and a property maintenance enterprise – reflecting the diversity and variety of firms within Monmouthshire’s business community.   Read more

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How Wearable Tech Could Influence Medical Services

‘Wearables’ have exploded over the last 10 years with many companies realising success by integrating off-the-shelf technologies in to their service or product range. These have tended to focus on monitoring personal health and wellbeing; however, wearable technologies could solve many of the problems that currently existing within the public health sector. Read more

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So, you didn’t think you were creative?

As a leading product design agency, we work closely with clients to solve their problems. Our clients are often experts within their field but lack the ability to view existing challenges from an alternative perspective. This isn’t because they lack creativity, but simply because we all get stuck in a rut from time to time, with the repetitive nature of everyday work-life keeping a tight hold on us and our ideas. Read more

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Collaboration: the Key to Innovation

Collaboration in the workplace is not just about employees working together as a team. Collaboration between company founders is also an important part of today’s business environment, and it can involve two or more companies reaching out and coming together to make something that is stronger and better than ever before. Collaboration is generally seen as two companies working together, but in the case of Intel-Microsoft-Cisco, three companies have successfully come together to make their mark in the tech sector. Read more

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Our Top 5 Product Designers

Product design takes a rare set of skills: The balance of artistic insight with pragmatism, and a deft hand which blends form and function seamlessly together while conveying an overarching sense of meaning.

While the 20th century was truly the renaissance of product design, yielding numerous skilled designers, the following five famous product designers are our personal favourites for the way they have consistently embodied all of the aforementioned qualities whilst also displaying a striking capacity for innovation.

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ITERATE Awarded Welsh Government Contract

ITERATE is one of a small number of consultancies who have been awarded a contract to work alongside the Welsh Government’s network of Innovation Specialists to help businesses become more innovative.

The Welsh Government’s SMART Innovation initiative provides an integrated programme of support to businesses in Wales and is designed to deliver on the priorities in both the Innovation Wales strategy and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme, which emphasises the importance of specialisation and clustering. Read more

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New Members of Sustainable Development Charter

As product designers, we are constantly aware of our surroundings and our responsibility to the environment. When we create new designs at ITERATE, we actively employ techniques to ensure that our products can be disassembled by avoiding use of glues and other permanent joining methods. In cases where we use plastic, we design-in identification symbols, allowing the material to be recycled after its life-in-service. As well as aiming to reduce the number of parts and subsequently material required to build a product. Read more

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What You Need to Know About Intellectual Property

There are a number of ways you can legally protect your designs – this is known as Intellectual Property (IP). Filing an application to register a design, copyright, trade mark or patent can be an expensive process, which is why it is useful to understand the various forms of protection available and whether it is suitable for your business. Read more

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Understanding the Benefits of Good Design

Good design does not just consider the aesthetics of a product, it considers every element of a product from its initial inception and manufacture, throughout its lifetime and right up to the point at which it is disposed or recycled. As Dieter Rams once said “good design is as little design as possible: less, but better; because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity”. The following examples highlight some of the benefits of good design practices. Read more

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