Breaking Down Design Assist: The Design-Centric Manufacturing Model

Here at Shield, we build things… but what does that mean? It can be easy to think about design as only being the way a product looks, turns out that’s just the beginning. To us design means thinking about every aspect of the creative process. Sure the product needs to look good. But functionality, shipping and lasting power as well as many other aspects need to be given just as much attention to pull a project together.

In order to attain this level of design, we don’t build in a vacuum. We could take only our ideas and create a single product line, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, we collaborate with the best in the business to fabricate products that keep their needs in mind. To us, product is the baseline. The support, expertise, convenience, and lasting power we provide is what makes us that much better. At Shield, we’ve given that process a name: Design Assist.

What is Good Design?

Shield’s definition of good design includes two qualities that are equally important; functionality and aesthetics. In this business it can be easy to believe that concessions need to be made in order to have a well thought out product. That doesn’t have to be the case, our solution just includes a few more steps.

By looking at the products we design in a layered system, function drives the design, but aesthetics give it that cherry on top. There’s lots of bad design everywhere, we’re here to make sure that’s not you.

Design Assist

We’ve given our process a fancy name but really it’s just people working with people to get cool sh*t done. What does Design Assist truly mean? We’re here to break it down.

The main focus of Design Assist is putting collaboration at the heart of a project. When we take on your design, we don’t just take the idea and then run away until it’s done. Instead, we want your input every step of the way. Getting into projects early allows us to understand your pain points and take a proactive approach to problem solving while taking the guesswork out of your hands. We’re not just pushing for product outcomes. We’re pushing for a relationship.

Breaking It Down

You may think the system sounds cool, but also wonder why we needed to create it in the first place. Fair question. We’ve been in the healthcare design industry for over a decade now, so we’ve seen some stuff. Design Assist was created as an answer to all of the problems not only we have faced throughout the creative process but our clients have faced as well.

Healthcare as an industry must be incredibly patient and caregiver focused, so the environment we provide these individuals must match that ideology. As shown in our last blog post, many designers are now taking notes from behavioral health experts to move their facilities to a comfort focused space. 

In order to meet these goals, designers are given strict requirements from the facilities as well as aesthetic wants that can sometimes be difficult to square away with the necessary functionality of the products. With Design Assist, these problems can be solved from the very beginning in order to have the smoothest production timeline. By working hand-in-hand with our clients from the start, it leaves any guesswork out of the equation and allows us to tailor our designs to every client's individual needs. It’s a process that makes everything easier for everyone involved, because that’s the way we like it.

The Steps

IDEATE

Anything great that has ever been created started as an idea, so that’s all we need to begin... seriously. Bring us your hopes and dreams and we'll logic things out. Our goal is to get into projects as soon as the ideas start turning, so we can better understand the scope and pain points that clients are wanting to avoid. Within our beginning sessions we sit down with clients to explore design possibilities, functionality needs and aesthetic desires. 

By the end of ideation we seek to have a complete grasp on the vision for the project as well as understand how we can realistically bring your products to life.

ITERATE

Ideas are great but getting specific is where the real magic takes place. Within the iteration phase we take initial brainstorming sessions and our in-house design team creates detailed sketches and prototypes to get a handle on how the final product will perform. Characterized by a dynamic back-and-forth communication process, your feedback is essential to the success of a project.

Through a series of revisions, we refine initial design proposals to ensure that the product we create will be in line with your facilities functionality and aesthetic needs. Through this phase we are able to adapt and evolve with our clients.

DECIDE

The final phase of Design Assist, the decision step works to allow clients a choice after all creative elements have concluded. Within this phase we review the refined designs and prototypes with the client allowing them to see if continuing with our products would be the best option for their facility. 

With the previous two phases supporting our design process, we hope that clients see our commitment to creating quality products as well as communication. Though we always hope clients will want to take our designs to the finish line, it is ultimately up to them to decide what works best for their spaces.

Where's The Proof?

Now that we’ve broken down the Design Assist process, you may be wondering how this all plays out. While everything sounds great, where’s the proof that this process actually yields better results? Don’t worry, we’ve come with the evidence.

Monolith Nightstand

A collaboration with CannonDesign, originally our team was looking at an Italian-designed nightstand that wasn’t the size we wanted and would take forever to arrive. After being sent a quick sketch from our client, we took the idea and refined some details, creating the nightstand they wanted at a larger size and lower cost than the off-the-shelf product we had originally been considering.

By taking the time to work through the clients preferences, we were able to create a completely unique product that more aptly suited their needs.The final design isn’t just “kind of” what they wanted, it’s exactly what they had imagined.

BJC Healthcare PPE Cabinets

After initially considering a millwork solution for their PPE storage cabinets, BJC decided to play with the idea of using solid surface instead. By working together, we created a base design that would stand as the foundation of the product and then went through various levels of testing in creating the final design.

Ultimately, Shield and BJC created a final product that allowed for seamless storage of PPE products but also gave the healthcare facility the look they were hoping for. Picking something off the shelf would have been simple, but taking the time to go through Design Assist allowed BJC the end result that brought their beginning vision to life.

At Shield, our idea of Design is the core of our company and being founded by a designer, those roots run deep. We know good design means good business, but we can’t get there alone. Our engineers, project managers, designers and fabricators all work together to bring your products to life but not without bringing you along every step of the way. Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and we like it that way.

Do you have a design project that you think would be well-suited for acrylic solid surface?

 Contact Shield to learn more about our custom design services or visit our products page for more information.