DEVICES

As well as the ubiquitous mobile phone in your pocket, ‘devices’ include pathology & scientific instruments, medical devices, healthcare equipment and most handheld electronic products. Cobalt applies our design-research, industrial design and mechanical engineering expertise to create devices that integrate user requirements and human-to-device interaction.

• Common factors include; technology made relevant to people; precise performance; portability or compact size; regulatory frameworks.
• Devices are a core technology driven by electronics and software; encased within a physical form. User-centred design aligns these distinct elements.
• Our dedicated quality system is closely aligned with ISO 9001 and 13485, and provides a flexible yet practical approach, tailored to fit the unique requirements of each project. We employ a customer focused, process-based approach, to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, reduce risk and successfully deliver every project.
• We integrate our services with those of our client’s in-house tech teams (or specialist electronics development partners) to deliver seamless product development.

EQUIPMENT

To us, ‘equipment’ means any B2B product or ‘business-to-public’ system. From a trades tool, to a surgical instrument; from an airport scanner to stadium seating; ‘equipment’ spans a huge range of product categories. But two common traits across all equipment products; (a) purchasers are well informed and pragmatic, meaning (b) the equipment simply must perform; day-in and day-out.

For equipment projects Cobalt places an even greater focus on planning, definition and quality-system processes from user-insight research through to design reviews and tool-release stages.

• Meticulous definition of product requirements to establish clear performance objectives.
• In-depth analysis of user scenarios and anthropometry to suit prolonged/occupational usage.
• Iterative prototyping, in-house mechanical testing, metrology and simulated analysis to validate performance as early as possible.
• Our resources are amongst Australia’s strongest collection of digital sketching, rapid prototyping, and advanced 3D CAD modelling systems available.

CONSUMER

This is where design gets personal. Consumer products come in all shapes and types, but they all must combine function with an emotional connection. To succeed, people need to feel a consumer product will suit them; whether through expressing their style, their need, or their budget.

Through our user-centred approach we translate user insights into product features that either delight, or in the case of utility products, reduce the drudgery of use.

• Understanding the users’ needs and context, as well as the competitive and retailer/channels environments.
• Designs driven by both functional requirements and the emotional expression of the product.
• Rapid prototyping to gather real user feedback for iterative development/refinement.
• Accelerated and concurrent development to launch as early as possible.
• Extending an integrated design process through additional services such as pre-marketing or training animations and videos, retail packaging design, marketing support (instructions, POS).

TRANSPORT

Cobalt applies our design and engineering skills to custom automotive and mass transit projects. These range from trams, trains and buses; to mining trucks, emergency vehicles and automotive accessories.

Vehicles face uniquely challenging conditions such as vibration, environmental/dust/UV, and operational/vandal damage. They are both workplace and service. Primarily providing a service, they are also a workplace where the driver’s needs rightly needs special attention.

And like all designs, the form of a vehicle is a large and powerful canvas to express the vehicles intent to all that see it.

• Exterior design (styling) from concept renderings to A-class surface modelling.
• Interior design, including layout, configuration/access, anthropometrics, sight lines and control panel design.
• Mass transit design geared to; improved passenger satisfaction levels, dwell times, vandal resistance and refurbishment/installation logistics.
• Scale models, animated turntables, and VR for internal spaces to communicate early designs to stakeholders.
• Livery design, styling studies, facelifting.
• Australian Standards and Design Rules compliance checking.

SERVICE

The distinction between product and service continues to blur. Whether it is purely process-based, digital, partially physical elements or some combination of these, service design (or experience design) share the same fundamentals which underpin product design. Read more about our service design here.


Cobalt’s approach to service design is based on our deep new product development experience refined over 24 years and 1200+ projects. For service design we apply our core new product development principles:

• Understanding user needs and the real problem to solve.
• Developing creative solutions through iteration and prototyping.
• Meticulous technical detailing and documentation to ensure the most efficient implementation and adoption.