Design, drawable.
In context: Stage 06 · Design
Where a chosen direction turns into shapes, drawings and visuals you can build, cost and put in front of a buyer.
Design takes the brief from Define and makes it tangible. Two sub-stages: work the concepts (brainstorm, sketch, brand, mechanical and electronic directions) and turn the winner into product designs (3D CAD, drafting, visuals, packaging, funding and competitor checks). The point is a direction worth engineering.
What the Design stage is
Design is the stage where a decision on paper becomes something you can draw, cost and argue about. You open up concept directions, screen them against the brief, then take the winner and work it into 3D CAD, drawings, marketing visuals and packaging. The job is to turn intent into a concrete, buildable design without committing to expensive engineering before the direction is sound.
For the £149 proofing box, this is where Dan and Anna Hartley’s Stockport idea stopped being a description and started being shapes. I worked several concept directions for the double-wall ceramic tub, the knob and the wood band, then pulled the chosen one into CAD and packaging so they could see, hold and cost the thing before a single engineering drawing was detailed. There is no app: the product had to read as physical from the first sketch.
What’s in this stage
Design runs in two sub-stages: explore the concepts, then turn the chosen one into product designs. Work them roughly in order, narrowing from many directions to one buildable design.
How it fits the bigger picture
Design builds on the brief and specification set in Stage 05 Define, taking a clear problem and turning it into a buildable design with the visuals and costing to back it. It leads into Stage 07 Engineer: a well-screened, well-drawn design arrives at engineering with its direction settled, so the detailed work has something solid to resolve rather than a vague idea to second-guess.
What it can do
It converts a chosen direction into something concrete: a 3D model, drawings, visuals and packaging that can be costed and shown to a buyer. Done well, it ends with one design worth engineering, a record of why the rivals were beaten, and a view of how it might be funded.
What it can’t do
It can’t detail or validate the design to production tolerances; that is Stage 07 Engineer’s job. And it can’t fix a weak brief from Define. If the problem and spec are vague, the design will be too.
See the full 10-stage process →
Try it yourself
Take your own product and spend an hour turning your best sketch into a single annotated drawing: key dimensions, the one feature that matters most, and how it differs from the nearest rival on the shelf. That one page will tell you fast whether the direction is real.
Or run the guided version. The Free Sprint covers the early stages; deeper design tools sit in the paid ladder. Start the Free Sprint →
— Start here → Concept brainstorming