Problem Solving Skills for Every Ergonomic Designer

You’ve got a product idea that could use a little help from a professional designer. Specifically, someone who can integrate a great visual design with functional ergonomics. As the search for a designer begins it’s important to identify the problem solving process your products design will go through. How does this designer work? What are the design goals for each of their products? These are important questions to ask if you want to see a final product that can sell in this tough economy amid the bevy of competition. Outlined below are six steps that every professional ergonomic designer should go through when problem solving projects.

Step One – Define the Problem: Without asking the question, “what am I trying to solve with this product?” you’ll never create a product that people actually want to purchase. If you or the designer can’t decide why the product is important or what problem the product will solve, why would the customer?

Step Two – Research: Spending time on researching similar products on the market is the only way to insure your product is providing solutions to problems that no other design is solving. The problems with other products don’t need to be grandiose but simple ergonomic flaws, visual design flaws, etc that you and the designer feel are attributes that your product could do better.

Step Three – Problem Solving: Once you’ve pinpointed the specifics on what needs to be fixed and whether or not the competition gets it right or wrong, it’s time to decide how you will fix this problem. Whatever the answer is, it should follow a logical path that uses reasoning and deductive process to conclude with a functional answer or answers.

Step Four – Avoid Bad Design Pitfalls: If you’ve hired a top notch designer, this shouldn’t be a problem but there a few areas that should be avoided at all costs. The most important on this list is simple ergonomic flaws or oversights that can make your product miserable for the user.

Step Five – Create Good Design Features: This could come as a result of cogent problem solving and attention to detail seasoned with a little common sense. As much as poor ergonomics can hurt a product, good and great ergonomics can greatly improve product and elevate it to a much higher level than its competition.

Step Six – Analysis: Has the goal been achieved? Too often, designers and manufacturers will forget to ask this most crucial question. It’s misleading to label as the last step because it should be the central question behind every step in the design process.

It begins with a problem but should end with a product that provides solutions. Using this list as a template for insuring your products are well received by consumers and is a great first step in increasing profits. It cannot be stressed enough how important the integration and prioritization of ergonomics should be on your products. Choosing an Ergonomic Designer that uses this model of thinking to guide the work process will help to bring a new level of quality and authority to your product within its market.

Author Bio:

Dressler’s past work as an Ergonomic Designer has included projects with Boeing, DuPont, Noel Mayo Assoc., and Britax Health Tecna. His specialties include; conceptualization, drafting, rendering, technical consulting, safety coordination, and more. For more information about Bryan Dressler and how he is using SolidWorks software to help clients meet their Ergonomic Design needs visit call 206-855-9638 or visit our website http://ergonomicdesigner.com

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