How do you achieve a premium product impression without compromising your bottom line or dragging out your launch date?
For a long time, I’ve been curating the selection of manufacturing processes so it balances premiumness and feasibility. Recently, I’ve started thinking of manufacturing processes as having either high or low intrinsic premiumness.
Some methods just make your life easier.
Turned metal parts are my go-to move. You get precision and a great surface almost for free. Same with aluminium extrusions, bent sheet metal or wire.
And then there are processes where you can start fighting against windmills to get the premium appearance you originally wanted.
A classic example: You might start with the idea of a beautiful anodized aluminium part (probably inspired by some Apple products...). During implementation it becomes die-cast aluminium because of some reason (probably cost). Suddenly, the anodized finish you wanted is off the table... and you are dealing with filler, spray paint and a part that looks and feels like plastic...
Your “premiumness” can become a really annoying when your design vision conflicts with the intrinsic properties of the material and manufacturing process.
BTW, I am not saying these are bad manufacturing processes.
Injection moulding, die casting or additive manufacturing are great! I am just talking about their properties when it comes to creating a premium product impression.
I think of it like curating a bundle of manufacturing processes. Not every part needs to scream premiumness or use the most expensive manufacturing process. Because in the end, every cent you save on the BOM directly improves your margin, and vice versa.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/p/eit9_ATE