Slide
Designing
distinction,
Defining tomorrow
Slide
Designing
distinction,
Defining tomorrow

Designing Innovative Products and Experiences

What we do

Multi award-winning and one of the leading product design companies in the UK, 4D Products specialise in providing high quality Product Design and Development Services.

We can bring our highly effective blend of creativity & technical skills to your Development Project.

Supporting the whole Product Development Process, from Research & Conceptual Design to Manufacture Readiness, we are an ISO 9001:2015 accredited Product Design Consultancy.

Why choose 4D Products?

As your product design partner, we’ll work with you to channel the capabilities of design to develop outcomes that are more sustainable and built for commercial success, for everyone involved.

Our innovative product designers have the necessary skills and expertise turn your ideas into reality and succeed on the market, helping you to grow and enhance your brand’s awareness and reputation. With a design studio based in the North West region of Cheshire, we’re perfectly positioned to support small businesses and big brands alike.

product-design-process
4D are ISO 9001 Quality Assured

We are ISO 9001:2015 quality assured for the supply of mechanical product design services.

All The Intellectual Property Is Owned By You!

100% of the Intellectual Property created by us is owned by you.

Our Clients Win International Design Awards

Products we have designed have won awards for our clients.

50+ Yrs Of Product Development Expertise

Our experienced product design team are here to help get your product to market, fast.

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Services

A product design company like no other. From research through to manufacture, we are committed to delivering an outstanding product development experience for our clients.

Product Design Consultancy

Providing a wide range of product design services. Our focus is on delivering a great return on investment. We will tailor our services to match your exact requirements.

Custom Enclosure Design

Your new product needs to stand out from the crowd. A high quality Custom Enclosure Design will differentiate you from your competition.

Medical And Laboratory Devices

4D Products work with market leading diagnostics companies, biotech startups, and University spin-outs, supplying the product design on a wide range of new laboratory and medical devices.

Mechanical Design Services

We don’t just draw pretty pictures. Our technical Mechanical Design experts will engineer your new product, ready for manufacture.

Conceptual Design

Our creative Product Designers will turn the spark of an idea into an innovative Conceptual Design. Grow your business, starting with the right concept.

3D CAD Design Services

Our highly skilled 3D CAD designers will use SolidWorks to bring your new product to market fast. 

Case Studies

We've been getting creative.

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Retractable Barrier System – Skipper

Vulcan Espresso Machine – Fracino

Fuel Monitoring System Handle Accessory – Fueltek

Fuel Monitoring System – Fueltek

Smart Kitchen Scale

Smart Kitchen Scale – Nutrioscale

POC VR Controller Adapter – Rezzil

Testimonials

The fast turnaround and success of this project has now moved on to Invertek working with 4D on three new projects

Glyn Jones, Technical Director, Invertek

Working with 4D Products has been a pleasure from the outset. They were exceptional when it came to understanding our needs and getting to know our market. From design right through to manufacture, their commitment to delivering something outstanding never wavered, changed or flagged.

Paul Scurrell, Timecode Buddy’s founder and Director

Another great professional grade product for the expanding Sabre range

Chameleon Studios

We see 4D as a credible partner, we recognise them as one of our major stakeholders and wouldn't hesitate in using them again

Stuart Wallace - MD, iControl Distribution

We are delighted with the end result and have had very positive feedback from our customers.

Howard Rose - MD, Mast Group

4D meshed seamlessly with our in house development engineers to deliver the project on time and within budget

Dr Chris Sutcliffe - R&D; Director, MTT

I would recommend 4D to any company and look forward to working with them on other product development projects.

MD - Biotecnix Ltd

Latest News

Tips, tricks and industry news.

001_Render File_300124_Camera_Camera 4 News
6th March 2024

Innovations in Retractable Barrier Systems

Delve into the technological advancements and design innovations of the retractable barrier system, highlighting the…
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13th February 2024

Hand Anatomy and Ergonomics: Mastering the Balance in Product Design

Discover how understanding the structure of the hand can influence design decisions, ensuring optimal user…
Render - Image 5 - Background-min Concept DesignConsumerElectronic DevicesIndustrialNewsProduct Development
13th February 2024

Designing for the Premium Market: The Art of Crafting High-End Products

What's involved when designing products for the premium market? Find out more here, as we…
Bezzera-caffe-espresso-coffee-shop IndustrialNewsSustainability
13th February 2024

The Evolution of Commercial Espresso Machines

Discover the evolution of espresso machines from early innovations to modern home and commercial uses,…

FAQS

Your Questions Answered

If you can’t see the answer to your question below, please get in touch!

1. Starting Point

Is My Product Worth Developing?

It’s possibly the most important question you must ask yourself. To find the answer to whether you have a product that’s worth developing, you really need to dig deep.

Many first time inventors ask us whether we think they have had a ‘good idea’. Just because something doesn’t exist yet, it doesn’t make it a good idea. A good idea (commercially) is one that can offer benefits or solve problems for a sufficient number of target customers at an acceptable price to justify the cost of bringing the new product to market. In other words, it has the potential to offer a good return on investment.

As an experienced product design company, we have developed research techniques that looks to uncover what customers want in any given product sector. Armed with that knowledge, it is more likely that a successful product can be developed.

Understanding your target market is crucial though! Presenting a high quality visual or prototype to a sample group of your target market is a very powerful way of evaluating the potential of your new idea. We can help you to get to this milestone quickly and cost effectively.

Now here’s a question for you – Do you understand your target market?

Successful businesses understand exactly who their target market is, and what the target market wants or needs. This knowledge is very important. If you have any doubts about this, we would advise you to focus on gaining an in depth knowledge of your target market, what drives their decision making processes when choosing new products? We can help by conducting focused research into your target market and extracting useful insights which can be applied during the development of your new product.

2. Services

What Services Do You Offer?

What will happen during our initial consultation?

Firstly we will sign a non disclosure agreement (NDA), so you know your ideas are protected. We will then discuss your project in sufficient depth to allow us to create a written proposal that details exactly how we can help, what it will cost, and how long it will take.

How do you work with with your clients?

Each design agency will have their own way of working, but we found these approaches have been the best for the clients we have worked with.

Option 1 – Fixed price stages based on an agreed design specification.

Option 2 – Hourly paid.

In order to submit fixed costs, we need to have a well detailed design brief and specification. Some businesses prefer fixed costs, some prefer a more flexible arrangement where the design project can evolve and change direction without the need for re quoting.

Our design team can discuss the best approach for you at your initial consultation.

What are the typical steps in a design project?

As a leading UK product design company, 4D Products supports the product design process from pre design research activity, up to sign off of manufactured products when they are in full production. You don’t need to commit to every service we offer, we are happy to support some or all of this process. During fixed price work, we break the project down into logical stages, with pre agreed deliverables, costs, and timescales.

We follow proven product development systems that can be summarised broadly as a process of;

  • Understanding
  • Designing
  • Engineering for Manufacture
  • Testing
  • Optimising
  • Supporting Manufacture

We have a wide range of skills in house, including user and product research, idea generation, industrial design, 3D CAD, Mechanical engineering, prototyping, supply chain liaison, photorealistic rendering, and product animations.

Are you a good fit for my project?

We have 25+ years experience in a wide range of development projects and industry sectors. During our initial discussions we will either explain why our agency is the best choice to be appointed as your product design partner, or give you honest advice if we feel we aren’t.

3. Costs

How Much Will it Cost to Develop My Product?

Getting a new product from initial idea through to manufactured unit for sale on a retailers shelf requires a variety of skills and an appropriate level of investment. Product Design is one part (an important one!) of the whole process. The cost is usually linked to how complex a product is, as more complexity equals more time to complete.

As every design project we work on is unique, we can only give you a written proposal with costs and timescales once we have discussed your requirements at our initial consultation. The following costs need to be considered before the product is sales ready;

  • Design costs – Development of the idea, into manufacture ready data.
  • Prototype costs – Testing and optimising of the design at key stages.
  • Regulatory Approval and testing costs – Making sure your product is safe and legal.
  • Manufacturing costs – Investing in tooling and an initial production run.
  • Marketing costs – Creating a brand and sales collateral.
  • Intellectual Property Costs – Protecting your unique ideas in the most appropriate ways.

Get in touch today to discuss your written proposal.

4. Funding

Where Can I Get Funding?

Established businesses tend to have funding in place before they contact us.

Start up businesses and private inventors may not, so here are a few options to consider;

Do it in stages – By working with 4D Products you can get started with the first stage or two, and then seek further investment when you have high quality design work to present to investors.

UK Government – The UK Government offers grant funding to certain industries which it sees as important to the growth of the UK economy. Latest information can be found at Innovate UK’s website – Innovate UK

Crowd Funding – There has been an explosion of interest in Crowd Funding in recent years. The essence of the idea is that you create a marketing pitch to your potential customers, and ask them to pre order your product before it has been manufactured. Usually at a discounted price to encourage people to buy. There are now a variety of crowdfunding websites operating, so it is worth doing some research to find out which is the best fit for you. Some of the big names include – Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Seeders.

It is worth noting that many successful campaigns spend considerable amounts of money in digital marketing to achieve their goals, so you need to think through how you will drive traffic to your campaign. A whole industry of crowdfunding agencies has sprung up that specialise in campaign planning, marketing, and support.

Local grants – There are often smaller grants available at local, regional level. It is worth visiting your local authorities website to see if anything is available. Criteria and type of grant are always changing, so you need to check what is current in the area that you or your business is based.

5. Protection

How can I Protect My Idea?

In the commercial world, Intellectual Property (IP) plays a very important role. If you are investing time and money in new product development, you need to protect anything that is unique as it adds value to your business.

IP protection is an industry in its own right, but we have provided a summary of the basics you need to know when considering product development.

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) – A document 2 or more interested parties sign to record that they will not disclose any information discussed. It is good practice to get an NDA with everyone involved in your development project. 4D Products are happy to sign an NDA with our clients. We can provide a template document if you need one.

Patent – Used to protect how a product works.

PCT – The method used to roll your existing patent out from the UK into other regions.

Design Registration – Applied for rights that to protect how your product looks, a more official approach than relying on automatic design rights.

Design Rights – Automatic rights that protect how your product looks.

Copyright – Automatically assigned, used to protect written work and images.

Trademarking – Used to protect brand names and logos.

Patent Attorney – A qualified expert who specialises in the field of Intellectual Property.

For more detailed information, visit the Intellectual Property section of the UK Government website.

A strong brand

If you have a great product with a well crafted brand, that is protection in itself, as consumers will seek out your specific brand, not your competitors. Example – “I’m off to by a new Dyson”

When should an idea be protected?

Sometimes we are approached by clients who already have a patent. This is fine if the patent protects ideas that can be used to create a great product. It can be a problem if the design team envisages a better product or solution that isn’t covered by the existing patent.

With that in mind, we would advise our clients to do some initial design work with us to explore the idea and generate innovative ideas for how the new product can be best designed. The best elements can then be protected and used. As we work under non disclosure agreements, you can be safe in the knowledge your ideas and ours will be kept strictly confidential.

6. Selling

Will You Help Me to Sell My Product?

We might be a multi award-wining product design company, but we can’t do everything. So unfortunately, we don’t offer sales services.

That said, our mission is to design a product together, so well, and that appeals to your target market as much as possible, we deliver a product that is easy to sell.

Talk to the design team today

Don’t be a stranger.

Call the design studio on 01925 607145

Email studio@4dproducts.co.uk, or use the contact form below;