[ Services · Industrial design ]
Industrial design
for hardware products.
From first sketch to manufacturing-ready CAD.
Our industrial designers give your product its form, its ergonomics and its colors, materials and finishes (CMF), then draw every visible part in 3D CAD for the process that will make it. You get two or three design directions, one concept with renders you can show, then Class A surfaces and DFM detail a factory can quote from.
Since 2017: 150+ projects, 50+ products shipped, and renders behind campaigns that raised $20M+.
What are you building?
Two answers, and the page below becomes your plan.
You have
Your plan, below: a device with electronics, from an idea. Four phases, about 41 weeks of work from brief to tested prototype.Read it ↓
[ Your plan ]
Your plan for
a device with electronics.
For a device with electronics, industrial design draws the shape around the board and the battery from the first week. It also takes longer: a product with electronics, a battery and certification needs more time than a simple one.
A home product is seen every day, in a room it has to belong to: its form, its proportions and its colors, materials and finishes decide whether it does. The times and budgets below are written for a molded consumer product, the case of KORU.
A vehicle or a large product is sized around the people who use it, and its concept is drawn against the architecture that carries them, as on the eXalt SOLO.
A simple accessory takes less than the times below, which are written for a molded consumer product: with few parts and no board inside, the work is its form, its finish and parts shaped for the mold.
You start from an idea, so the plan runs from the brief. Many founders start with the brief and the concept, then use the renders to raise the money for development and prototypes.
You start from a sketch. Many projects do, and the plan still runs from the brief: your sketch is where the research begins.
You start from a prototype: the work is the product around it, a form people want, ready for the factory.
[ TIME AND COST ]
How long does it take,
and what does it cost?
Industrial design for a molded consumer product takes about 3 weeks for the brief and about 6 weeks for the concept, at $250 to $1,000 and $3,200 to $10,000 as orders of magnitude. Class A surfacing, DFM and the looks-like model then continue inside development and prototyping, about 16 weeks each, alongside engineering.
Orders of magnitude, not a quote: you get a fixed price once the brief is written.
A water bottle and a jet ski are not the same project. From one product to another, the effort can range from one to fifty times.
Production molds are paid to the factory, separately.
Small batches and the launch come after the tested prototype, and are quoted per project.
The seven steps from idea to launch, each one timed and priced, in our guide ↗
What moves the budget, for a device with electronics
The guide does not place a device with electronics on this line: it moves with its parts, its board and battery, and its certification.
The guide does not place a home product on this line: it moves with the three things below.
A jet ski is the guide's example of the top of the range.
A water bottle is the guide's example of the bottom of the range.
- Number of parts
Each part is designed, drawn, prototyped and later tooled.Depends on your product.Depends on your product.Depends on your product: every part counts.Few, by definition.
- Electronics and a battery
A board, firmware and heat to manage add a discipline to every step.Yours has them.Only if it has a board or a battery.If it has a motor and a battery.None inside.
- Certification
FCC, CE or UL testing adds preparation, samples and lab time.With a battery, a motor or a radio, sold in the United States and in Europe: FCC and CE testing.Only with a battery, a motor or a radio.With a battery, a motor or a radio.None to plan without a battery, a motor or a radio.
[ WHAT YOU GET ]
What do you get
at each phase?
At each phase of industrial design you get a deliverable: a written brief, two or three design directions, one concept with its CMF and renders, Class A surfaces with DFM detail, then a looks-like model with STEP files and native CAD. Each phase ends with a decision point where you approve the direction before the next one starts.
The times are the ones we see on a molded consumer product. Development and prototyping are shared with mechanical engineering, so the industrial design runs inside them rather than after them.
The drawing follows one product, KORU ONE, through the six phases: the volume it must hold, the sketch, the directions, the concept and its finish, the production surfaces, the parts that leave for the factory. Beside each phase, what it means for a device with electronics.
01/What must fit inside
Traced from our CATIA model of KORU ONE. The parting line and the draft show the principle, not KORU's tool.
Phase 1 · About 3 weeks
Product brief
The users, the functions, the target price and the standards, written as numbers a designer can draw to.
A good brief turns wishes into numbers. For the Photonix solar mower, body measurements from the 1st percentile woman to the 99th percentile man set a handle that adjusts from 32.9 to 44.4 inches, before the first sketch.
For a device with electronicsA brief turns wishes into numbers a designer and an engineer can work to, and for a device with electronics it names the markets early. A product with a battery, a motor or a radio sold in the United States and in Europe needs FCC and CE testing, and knowing it now shapes the electronics from the first sketch.
For a home product, the brief says what the object must be in the room as much as what it must do. KORU had the opposite brief from most tech products: look like a design object on a shelf, not an appliance. That set its materials before the shape: a white body on cork, or a black body on wood.
A product people push, ride or sit in has to fit a range of bodies, so the brief writes that range as numbers, as the Photonix brief did for its handle.
For a simple accessory, the numbers are few and they decide a lot: its size, its weight, the price it sells at. The brief writes them down. "Light enough to carry up the stairs" becomes a weight; "affordable" becomes a retail price, and from it a cost per unit the factory has to meet.
You getA written brief with measurable targets.
Phase 2 · Concept
Research and sketches
Moodboards, then exploration sketches of silhouette, proportion and stance.
We sketch wide before we choose. KORU started from a seven-page study of material routes and four moodboards; Orphey from exploration sheets of yokes, arches and cups.
For a device with electronicsFor a device with electronics, the shape has to hold the board and the battery. On Orphey, ten electrodes are hidden in the arch and the ear cups so the object reads as a luxury product, not clinical equipment, refined from V1 to V9 on a head form.
For a product that lives in a room, the concept decides how it sits there. KORU went forward as a soft cylinder on a light base, designed to read as a plant pot rather than an appliance.
On a large product the concept is drawn around the people who use it: the eXalt SOLO's cockpit was set for a 1.50 m and a 1.90 m pilot, then checked in virtual reality, and twelve livery schemes were tried on its side view.
With few parts, the form and its finish carry the product: CMF sets how it feels at first touch and part of what it costs.
From your sketch. Your sketch is one of the directions on the table, checked against the brief like the others.
From your prototype. Your prototype sets what goes inside, and the directions are drawn around it.
You getMoodboards and sketch boards.
Phase 2 · Concept
Design directions
Two or three directions, modeled in 3D and compared side by side.
Each direction is modeled in 3D and checked against the brief and against what goes inside. On KORU, Orphey and the eXalt SOLO we drew three pre-concepts, and one went forward.
You getTwo or three design directions, modeled and rendered.
Phase 2 · About 6 weeks in all
Concept, CMF and renders
One concept with its colors, materials and finishes, and renders you can show.
The chosen direction is refined, then given its CMF. On KORU, base width, shell dynamics and height were studied in turn up to the final design; Orphey went through seven trim and color trials before its white and black colorways. The renders are good enough to show investors or early buyers.
You getOne concept, its CMF, photorealistic renders.
Phase 3 · About 16 weeks, with engineering
Class A surfaces and DFM
The concept becomes production parts: Class A surfaces, parting lines, draft angles, even walls.
The concept is split into parts. Class A surfacing rebuilds their visible surfaces to production quality, with curvature continuity (G2 or better) so reflections run unbroken over edges and blends. Design for manufacturing (DFM) shapes each part for the process that will make it: a draft angle is the slight taper that lets a molded part leave its mold, a parting line is where the two halves of the mold meet. The eXalt SOLO's outer surfaces were built as Class A masterlines; KORU's casing was developed for injection molding, with its parting lines, assembly points and fastenings defined.
For a device with electronicsElectronics and firmware run alongside development: the circuit board has to fit the space the enclosure gives it. Photonix's architecture study placed the main components before the body was drawn around them.
A home product is seen every day under real light, so its visible surfaces are built to Class A quality and its materials are chosen to sit in a room: KORU's base comes in cork or solid wood.
A large product is engineered to be assembled: the eXalt SOLO, sold as a kit, was engineered so a builder assembles it in 40 hours without special tools. Across a range, one design language lets the models share parts: Glow Saunas keep the same frame, door and benches from 1300 to 2500 mm wide.
A shape that 3D prints well can be impossible to injection mold, so for a simple accessory the draft, the parting line and even walls go in now, where they cost less than at any later step.
Proof of concept, when the product needs it. Only when the product depends on something not done in that form before: a new mechanism, a sensor in an unusual place, heat in a small volume. If it uses known technology in a new shape, you go straight to development.Only when the product depends on something not done in that form before: a new mechanism, a sensor in an unusual place, heat in a small volume. If it uses known technology in a new shape, you go straight to development.If your prototype shows the principle working, there is nothing left for a proof of concept to answer: you go straight to development.
You getClass A surface model, parts with parting lines and draft, CMF specification.
Phase 4 · About 16 weeks, with engineering
Looks-like model and handover
A looks-like prototype with the final shape and finish, then the files your engineers or a factory build from.
The looks-like model puts the design in your hands for photos, investors and user tests. Photonix went through a painted full-size shell, then a working prototype closed under its clear hood and tested on real grass. At handover you receive STEP files and native CAD, the CMF specification and the renders.
For a device with electronicsA looks-like prototype has the final shape, colors and finish, and nothing inside. A works-like prototype has the real electronics and battery in the real volume, even if it does not look finished. Most products need both. A part that rubs or a board that runs hot costs a revision here, not a mold.
The looks-like model puts the design in your hands for photos, investors and user tests, and the renders carry it to market, as they carried KORU's Indiegogo campaign.
A large product is tested where it will be used. Photonix's chassis was cut on a CNC to test durability and weight distribution, then its working prototypes were tested in the field for efficiency, traction and blade performance.
The looks-like model has the final shape, colors and finish: the model people hold, photograph and judge before any mold is cut.
From your prototype. You already have a prototype, so the next build depends on what it proves. Which prototype do you need first? →
You getLooks-like prototype, STEP and native CAD, CMF specification, renders.
[ Closest to yours ]
Which of our projects
is closest to yours?
For a device with electronics, the closest of our industrial design case studies are Orphey and Photonix. Each shows what we did and where the product went.
For a device with electronics
EEG luxury headphones
Orphey
Ten electrodes and their electronics inside a shape that reads as a luxury product, not clinical equipment.
A validated proof of concept in white and black.
Read the case study →
Solar-powered mower
Photonix
The main components placed before the body was drawn around them, then a working prototype under a clear hood.
Field tested on real grass, renders made for its crowdfunding launch.
Read the case study →Air purifier and self-watering planter
KORU ONE
Designed to read as a plant pot rather than an appliance, in five colorways on a cork or solid wood base.
Funded at over 1000% of its goal on Indiegogo, raising $110,000+, then sold for four years in five colorways.
Read the case study →Premium home sauna range
Glow Saunas
One design language across a range of home saunas: the same frame, door and benches from 1300 to 2500 mm wide.
3D models the manufacturers worked from directly.
Read the case study →Light sport aircraft
eXalt SOLO
Three concepts sketched against the architecture, Class A masterlines, a cockpit for a 1.50 m and a 1.90 m pilot.
About US$1.2M in government funding secured.
Read the case study →Solar-powered mower
Photonix
A handle sized from the 1st percentile woman to the 99th percentile man, taken to a painted prototype on real grass.
Field tested on real grass, renders made for its crowdfunding launch.
Read the case study →None of our published case studies is a simple accessory. These two show what one needs most: the form and its finish, and parts shaped for the mold.
EEG luxury headphones
Orphey
Seven trim and color trials on one shape before its white and black colorways.
A validated proof of concept in white and black.
Read the case study →Air purifier and self-watering planter
KORU ONE
A casing developed for injection molding, with its parting lines, assembly points and fastenings defined.
Funded at over 1000% of its goal on Indiegogo, raising $110,000+, then sold for four years in five colorways.
Read the case study →Questions to read first
- Who owns the design, and will you sign an NDA?
- What is the difference between industrial design and mechanical engineering?
- How long does industrial design take?
- How much does industrial design cost?
Already have a prototype, or not sure which one to build next? Find your next prototype in six questions.
[ THE SHORT ANSWER ]
What is
industrial design?
Industrial design gives a physical product its form, its proportions, its ergonomics and its colors, materials and finishes, and shapes every visible part for the process that will make it. It starts from the brief and works alongside mechanical engineering until the parts are ready for a factory.
At ONMOTIO it runs from the first sketch to the files a factory quotes from. We sketch wide, narrow to two or three directions and check each one against the brief: does the battery fit, can it be molded, does it feel right in the hand or in the room. The chosen concept is drawn in 3D CAD, surfaced to Class A quality and detailed for manufacturing, with draft angles, parting lines and even walls built in.
Our industrial designers and mechanical engineers work in one team, on the same model. The shape is checked against what goes inside from the first week, and the engineering serves the design: the form a product was imagined with is kept, and made to work, hold up and go through the factory.
Since 2017 that work adds up to 150+ projects and 50+ products shipped, with our renders behind campaigns that raised $20M+. The steps around it, from the brief to the launch, are laid out in our guide, how to develop a physical product.
[ THE RIGHT STEP ]
When is industrial design
the right next step?
Industrial design is the right next step when your product has no form yet, or works but does not yet look like what it should sell for, whether you start from an idea, a sketch, a working prototype or engineering CAD. When something else has to be settled first, start there: the plan above picks up from it.
Start with industrial design when
- You have an idea, a sketch or a brief, and the product has no form yet.Your case
- You have a working prototype and need the product around it: a form people want, ready for the factory.
- Your range needs one design language across several models.
- Your CAD was drawn by engineering, the product works, and it does not yet look like what it should sell for.
Start with another service when
- The product is designed and you need renders or an animation of it.
Rendering & Animation → - The form is set and you need structure, mechanisms, tolerances and FEA.
Mechanical Engineering → - You are still deciding what to build, for whom and at what price.
Product Strategy → - One function has to be proven before anything is designed around it.
Which prototype do you need first? →
[ WHAT IT COVERS ]
What does our industrial
design cover?
Our industrial design services cover sketching and form studies, ergonomics, 3D CAD modeling, Class A surfacing, CMF, DFM for injection molding, product families and design language, and renders with looks-like models. Each skill says what it decides and links to a project where you can see it. The three that weigh most for a device with electronics come first.
033D CAD modeling
Key for yours
The design modeled as volumes and parts around what goes inside, so a battery or a board that does not fit shows up on screen, not in the prototype.
KORU: a purifier and a planter drawn in one section →06DFM and design for injection molding
Key for yours
Design for manufacturing (DFM) shapes each part for the process that will make it: draft angles so it leaves the mold, parting lines placed where they disappear, walls even enough not to warp.
KORU: casing developed for injection molding →08Renders and looks-like models
Key for yours
Photorealistic renders and a looks-like prototype, the appearance model with the final shape and finish, to test with users, convince investors or launch a campaign.
KORU: renders behind a campaign funded at over 1000% of its goal →01Sketching and form studies
Hand and digital sketches that explore silhouette, proportion and stance quickly, before any 3D model exists.
Orphey: exploration sheets, then three pre-concepts →02Ergonomics and human factors
The product fitted to the people who use it: reach, grip, posture and sight lines, across the range of body sizes it must serve.
eXalt SOLO: a cockpit set for a 1.50 m and a 1.90 m pilot →04Class A surfacing
Class A surfacing builds the visible surfaces to production quality, with curvature continuity (G2 or better) so reflections run unbroken over edges and blends. It is what you see on a premium object under real light.
Mango: a Class A profile with its curvature comb checked automatically →05CMF: color, material, finish
CMF, for color, material and finish, is the choice of material, color and surface finish for every visible part, and how they meet. It sets how the product feels at first touch and part of what it costs.
Mango: three colorways, each with its own halo →07Product families and design language
One design language across a range, its visual brand language, so the models share parts and tooling and still read as one brand.
Glow Saunas: one frame and one door across four widths →[ THE WORK ]
Which products
have we designed?
Our industrial design shaped KORU ONE, an air purifier and planter, the eXalt SOLO light aircraft, Orphey EEG headphones, the Glow Saunas range and Mango, our own floating speaker. Each case study shows the sketches, the decisions and where the product went.
Air purifier and self-watering planter
KORU ONE
A purifier and a self-watering planter in one body, designed to read as a plant pot rather than an appliance. Three pre-concepts were presented; the soft cylinder on a light base went forward and was refined to its final design, then drawn for injection molding and rendered for the launch.
Funded at over 1000% of its goal on Indiegogo, raising $110,000+, then sold for four years in five colorways.
Read the case study
EEG luxury headphonesClosest
Orphey
Ten electrodes hidden in the arch and the ear cups so the object reads as a luxury product, not clinical equipment. Refined from V1 to V9 on a head form.
A validated proof of concept in white and black.
Light sport aircraft
eXalt SOLO
Three concepts sketched against the architecture, Class A masterlines, and a cockpit set around a 1.50 m and a 1.90 m pilot, then checked in virtual reality.
About US$1.2M in government funding secured.
Floating 360 degree Bluetooth speaker, our own brand
Mango
A Class A profile with its curvature comb checked automatically, a sealed tub that floats with almost half of it above the water, and three colorways, Mango amber, Coconut cream and Pacific turquoise, each with its own halo.
Brand identity, launch visuals, two hero videos and the launch site mangosound.net.
Premium home sauna range
Glow Saunas
One design language across the range: the same frame, door and benches, only the width changing, from 1300 to 2500 mm.
3D models the manufacturers worked from directly.
[ WHY ONMOTIO ]
Why work with ONMOTIO
on industrial design?
ONMOTIO puts industrial designers and mechanical engineers in one team, designs every part for the factory from the start and builds prototypes in its own workshops. Since 2017: 150+ projects delivered, 50+ products shipped, and a client project named CES Innovation Awards Honoree twice.
Our two co-founders, Izek Therrien and Clément Simon, and Eduardo Leardini, our head of product development, lead every project. About us →
Designers and engineers in one team
Three industrial designers work beside three engineering and prototyping specialists. The shape is checked against what goes inside from the first week, and nobody hands a design over the wall.
Designed for the factory from the first part
Draft angles, parting lines and wall thickness are cheap in CAD and expensive in steel, so they go in early, whether the part will be injection molded, machined or cast in small batches.
Prototypes from our own workshops
Besides the studio, we run two workshops of our own where prototypes are built and tested, so the looks-like model reaches your hands without another supplier in the loop.
Renders that sell before the product exists
Our renders and animations are behind campaigns that raised $20M+. The founder of KORU tells us its renders are often mistaken for product photos.
With ONMOTIO we found the perfect Design partner for our project KORU. Clement was leading our project in a very structured, transparent and professional way. Great communication and the result speaks for itself. KORU is a piece of art.
Friedrich EickhoffCEO of Botany Labs, PlantKORU[ Questions ]
Questions founders ask
about industrial design.
Ordered for your plan: the 4 marked first are the closest to a device with electronics, from an idea. Open a question to read its answer; something else? Ask us on a call.
Who owns the design, and will you sign an NDA?For your plan
You do: under our standard contract, the intellectual property is transferred to you once all invoices are paid, and we sign an NDA from the first exchange if you want one. If you plan a patent, speak with a patent attorney before you show the product in public, a crowdfunding page included.
What is the difference between industrial design and mechanical engineering?For your plan
Industrial design decides what the product looks like, how it feels and how its visible parts are made. Mechanical engineering decides how it holds together inside: structure, mechanisms, tolerances, heat. At ONMOTIO both work on the same 3D CAD model, so neither hands the other a surprise. Mechanical engineering →
How long does industrial design take?For your plan
Industrial design for a molded consumer product takes about 3 weeks for the brief and about 6 weeks for the concept. Class A surfacing and DFM continue in development, about 16 weeks alongside engineering, and the looks-like model in prototyping. A simple accessory takes less; a product with many parts, electronics or certification takes more.
How much does industrial design cost?For your plan
Industrial design for a molded consumer product costs, as orders of magnitude, $250 to $1,000 for the brief and $3,200 to $10,000 for the concept. Development runs $5,000 to $25,000 and prototyping $7,500 to $30,000, shared with engineering. The effort can vary fifty times from one product to another, so we give a fixed price once the brief is written.
What does an industrial designer do?
An industrial designer decides the form, proportions, ergonomics and CMF of a physical product and shapes its visible parts for manufacturing. At ONMOTIO that runs from the first sketches to Class A surfaces and DFM detail in 3D CAD, in the same team as the mechanical engineers.
What do I receive at the end?
You receive the files a factory quotes from: Class A surface models, STEP files and native CAD, a CMF specification and a looks-like prototype, at the end of development and prototyping. Before that, the concept phase ends with two or three design directions, one chosen concept, its CMF and photorealistic renders.
What is Class A surfacing?
Class A surfacing is the building of a product's visible surfaces to production quality, with curvature continuity (G2 or better) so reflections run unbroken over edges and blends. It is what makes a molded part look premium under real light, and it is done in 3D CAD before tooling, as on the eXalt SOLO's outer surfaces, built as Class A masterlines.
What is CMF in industrial design?
CMF, for color, material and finish, is the choice of material, color and surface finish for every visible part, and how they meet. It sets how a product feels at first touch and part of what it costs to make. On KORU, it gave five colorways on a base in cork or solid wood. Building a signature CMF system that scales →
What are draft angles and parting lines?
A draft angle is the slight taper that lets a molded part leave its mold, and a parting line is where the two halves of the mold meet, a thin line on the part. Industrial design places both early, in 3D CAD, so they disappear into the form instead of being added late by the factory. Injection molding optimization for startups →
Can you work from our existing prototype, sketches or CAD?
Yes. Many projects start from a sketch, a working prototype or engineering CAD that needs a product around it. We work with your engineers, your factory or both. We use SolidWorks and Fusion 360 by default, and deliver STEP files or the native format your team uses.
What happens if the direction changes during the project?
You can continue, adjust the scope, pause or stop at the end of each phase, without penalty for the phases not yet started. Each phase of industrial design ends with a deliverable and a decision point, a stage gate, where you approve the direction before the next phase begins.
[ NEXT STEP ]
Have a product
to design?
Send us what you have: a sketch, a brief or a prototype. A first call takes thirty minutes and costs nothing. You leave it with a view on feasibility, a rough order of cost and the next steps worth taking.
The services around it
- Mechanical Engineering
- Prototyping
- Rendering & Animation
- Electronics & Firmware
- Product Strategy
- Branding