Industrial Design

At Pillar, we use Industrial Design to create innovative products that put the user first. Balancing project goals, budgets, and the user’s needs, we strive to create real world solutions that are as functional as they are beautiful. Our process is iterative, exploring many concepts through sketching, 3D CAD modeling, and quick mockups, as we progressively refine down to a single executable design.

Iterative Approach

Our iterative design development process starts big and filters down to a final design, collaborating with our clients as we go. Rooted in sketching, our preliminary concept work combines preliminary user research, project must have features, and aesthetic treatments to provide thoughtful solutions in a visual form. Based on client selections, we refine our designs by applying different lenses to the project, resulting in an appealing and executable design.

User Journey

Our user centered design approach insures we are meeting and exceeding the needs of the user. Mapping the user journey of a product reveals user interface challenges and opportunities for design intervention that drive design decisions and create intuitive and optimized consumer products.

Ergonomic Considerations

We use ergonomic data to make informed decisions when it comes to how users will interact with our designs. This data enables us to design to the human body and has influenced touch points, reduced fatigue associated with repetitive movements, and improved performance attributes and over-all functionality for every product.

Quick Turn Mockups

Cardboard sheets, foam, 3D printing, and disassembled product components are all resources we use to make rough, quick turn mockups that can be used to easily and quickly evaluate ideas during the Industrial Design process. This prototyping process also improves our general understanding of scale, volume and user interface constraints. We strive to test multiple ideas up front to insure we don’t exhaust precious time and money on solutions that fall flat early in the process.

Concept Development

Starting with sketching to quickly assess ideas, we work through various designs until we find a solution that fits each project’s much have requirements and user needs. We find inspiration in other products, environments, and from our own personal experiences that allows us to utilize different technologies, experiences, and forms in new ways.