1. How do I know you will be able to design my idea?

This question can be asked with two preambles;

(A) I make a particular widget, if you haven’t designed this particular widget before, how do I know…

(B) My idea is very important, and I don’t know exactly how design happens or if I can trust you so how do I know…

Lets take point (B) first. If we sold bikes, you could decide if you wanted to buy one by seeing it and trying it out. We know it is much harder with design, as we ask prospective client’s to purchase an intangible: A promise; that we will help make their idea a success.
This conundrum is why we work so hard at keeping existing client relationships. It does come down to belief and trust in our processes, our experience, our awards and testimonials and ultimately our record. For which we are happy to stand on.

Now, back to point (A).
Our team have worked on a huge number of projects, and within a large variety of market categories, so there is a good chance we have designed something very similar to your particular widget. Nevertheless, even if we haven’t, our process and experience is geared towards learning, integrating and cross-fertilising a world of ideas to your project. In addition the most successful projects are those in which clients bring their own specific industry together with our broader innovation and technology expertise. Project teams with this synergy can and do generate spectacular outcomes.

2. What differentiates you from other design services?

Many design firms focus on the ‘front-end’ of the design process, and leave others to resolve the details. This approach risks compromising the original design intent and can leave the client with production headaches and downstream costs.

At the other end of the process, companies that supply particular manufacturing technologies also compete when they add design to their capabilities list. Whilst these companies know their process very well, they find it difficult to offer independent advice, or innovations which combine multiple technologies.

Our point of difference is our combination of enthusiasm, experience, independence and accountability. On behalf of our clients, and only in our client’s interests, we take responsibility for developing ideas into market-ready solutions (be it products, brands, packaging, or built-environments etc). To ensure our best chance of return business and progressing from an ad-hoc service supplier to a design-partner, we also need to do our best enabling the product to become a commercial success. We do this by our disciplined balance of design and engineering people, our processes and our tailored-approach to our clients’ needs.

3. Can design really improve my business?

YES! There is overwhelming evidence that show that businesses who use design are more likely to:

• Make greater profits than like businesses that do not
• Sell their product/service at a premium (and not just on price)
• Introduce more new products, more quickly

These major studies containing this evidence have been commissioned by governments in Australia1, UK2, Ireland, Denmark and Ireland amongst many others. In the studies, small and large businesses were directly surveyed; from those that do not use design at all, to those that use design strategically.

Their findings universally show that using design superficially or occasionally is better than not at all, and that using it functionally and strategically is better again.

Design is effective for business as it can provide:
- Unique and protectable differences to your competitors
- More desirable products that create emotional connections with people/consumers
- Means of introducing applied innovation and a creative problem-solving process to products and organisations

Some of the biggest barriers to using design are attitudinal. Stubbornly outdated perceptions still exist in many parts of business that design is exclusive; expensive; difficult to manage; only concerned with the aesthetic and unimportant. These are all things that CobaltNiche isn’t.

Governments globally are recognising the need for good design to be a part of a successful economy. This does trickle down to the smallest individual businesses. Many national and regional governments now have programmes to actively encourage and we encourage all decision makers in business to have an open mind to good design.

NOTES
1: Design Victoria Report ‘Five Years On’ (2008)
http://www.designvic.com/~/media/PDF/FiveYearsOn.ashx

2: Cox Review of Creativity in Business in the UK (2006).
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/coxreview_index.htm

4. What does CobaltNiche mean?

The short answer is it’s a union of two names joined when Cobalt Design bought the Niche Design Group business in 2002. The longer story goes back to 1995 when co-founders Steve and Jack, were planning the company. They wanted a name that avoided being obvious (like Design-Tech Group), or being egotistically self-named (as in Magree and Martinuzzo Design). The challenge was finding a name that was strongly visual and distinctive, but also something that everyone could imagine in their own way. Once they defined the question the answer was simple: a colour. Being both real and abstract, colours are fundamental to design and the world around us. And what better colour than cobalt, an intense blue-violet like that of a clear, unlimited sky.

Oh and just for the linguistic record, and apologies to our American friends, but we pronounce it; ‘CObolt-NEEsh’.

5. What are your innovation and creativity techniques?

Long before innovation became a business-wide buzz word, it was a standard tool for designers.

Innovation and creativity are so ingrained within CobaltNiche, that our byline is ‘innovation in 3D’.

We have developed a set of our own ideation techniques to ensure innovation is built into every project we undertake. The techniques are based on proven Lateral Thinking and Six Thinking Hats principals, modified to suit physical design and engineering applications.

All of these tools involve focused thinking within short time-frames. Many are used informally within development projects whilst others are done as prescribed tasks within strategy or innovation projects. One example of these tools is KickStart, an ideas session we do early in projects to harvest current knowledge, and establish directions for development. This quickly gets us working in the right direction.

6. Do you work with small and start-up businesses?

Yes, as long as a company is interested in a quality outcome and has the necessary resources we are happy to work together. As a small company ourselves, we believe we are flexible and sufficiently cost-effective to work with both large and small organisations.

For us a clients’ size is less important than its determination to be a leader in its field, and for it have:

• Capable people
• A unique technology
• Knowledge of their needs/market, whilst being realistic about timing, budget and the risks involved in the product development process
• High ambitions for the product and being receptive to our input
• Plans for on-going development across a range or family of projects

7. Do you do pro-bono work?

Pro-bono design is a welcome, but relatively new trend open to designers. By pro-bono we mean working on projects for the public good using our professional design expertise.

When you look hard enough, most designers and those that work at CobaltNiche are no exception, chose their career to improve the world around us and make a difference. Pro-bono work is an avenue for us to do this much more directly.

One pro-bono project CobaltNiche is supporting is designers with soul (DWS). DWS was founded by one of our senior designers, Lorrin Windahl. The aim of DWS is to deliver product design services to those who really need them. Currently the focus on work is in Africa where DWS plan to work collaboratively with under served groups and communities to develop sustainable, culturally sensitive design solutions to improve the quality of their lives. One of the projects Lorrin developed is a portable clay stove that helps to reduce the amount of smoke produced when cooking with solid biomass fuels.

With some validity design has been a party to many of the problems associated with our world. Through initiatives like pro-bono work and sustainability design (both environment and social) designers can also contribute to some of the solutions.

8. Is Australian design even in the same league as what is happening in Italy or Scandanvia?

When most people think of Australia many things come to mind; great beaches, friendly people, good at sports are just some. But as far as design goes, we’ve been flying under the radar for some time.

Much has been said about Australian design; approachable; fresh; informal; non-traditional; pragmatic; global and manufacturable are just some. We are not tied down by the artisan traditions of Europe or geared-up to the scale and hype of the US. Given our small domestic market and physical distance to many world markets we have a history of working smart just to stay competitive. Now that the e-world is smaller, and products are developed and sold globally, we think Australian design is just as relevant, connected and professional as anything done in the other great design centres of Italy, Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, France, America…

9. How much does the average project cost?

This is an easy answer, once someone can define what an average project is!
Ignoring the line that we don’t design average products, every project we do is different; different product, different client, different market environment. Whilst this is challenging from an operational perspective, it makes costing almost impossible.
Accordingly we break-up projects into smaller-sized bits. This staged approach is more manageable in terms of objectives, outcomes and budgets from both our side and our clients’.
One thing we do know from years of experience, is that we are neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. Compared to firms with similar resource levels (team depth, service-spread, CAD systems) we are about the same as other Australian groups; a little more expensive than Asian based firms and significantly less expensive than US and EU (European) design groups.
We know it’s only reasonable to want to know the price of something up-front. So before we are contracted (within our detailed proposals) we are happy to provide an estimate of the whole project and a defined budget for the first stage(s).

10. Who are your team?

Our people are our best and most unique resource. Their friendly faces are listed in this website (click the RESOURCES tab), but for some lesser known facts….

Average age: 30 years 5 months

Country of origins: Our team is predominately from Australia, but given the multicultural nature of design (and of Melbourne) languages spoken include:

• English
• Spanish
• Mandarin
• Swiss-German
• French
• Vietnamese
• German
• Italian

Discipline proportions:

• Design 47%
• Engineering 41%
• Other 12%

Gender proportions: 

• Female 30%
• Male 70%

11. Who is your ideal client?

The common belief is that you need a highly talented designer to create great design. We disagree. We believe great design can only occur when there is a well resourced design group AND a progressive client/organisation.
Looking past the obvious candidates (major design-led, technology-based corporates) our answer is any company or organisation with a determination to be a leader in its field, and possessing:
- core in-house technology, and very capable people
- unique technology (intellectual property) that is ready for commercialisation
- knowledge of their needs/market and be demanding with what they want, whilst being realistic about timing, budget and the risks involved in the product development process
- high ambitions for the product and be open to our recommendation on how to achieve them
- plans for on-going development across a range or family of projects.

12. What are your views on China?

Some people regard China as a threat, others a grand opportunity.
Of course our relationship with China and developing economies is far more complex than can be answered here. But with every threat there is also an opportunity and our view is definitely on this side of the ledger.
The emergence of China as a low-cost (and now also high-quality) manufacturing centre has provided an unprecedented opportunity for companies in the developed world to create an astonishing array of products. A similar situation in India, but within services and software also exists. This Chinese manufacturing muscle and growing national wealth is also building a mature domestic market and emergence of major global Chinese brands (such as Lenovo, Hisense, Chery).
Asia and China are on Australia’s doorstep and CobaltNiche have been active in China for several years; we have a number of MOUs and relationships with suppliers in Shenzen and Shanghai regions. More recently we have established a transfer office and partnership with a Shanghai-based, manufacturing consulting group. This firm is owned and managed by long-term AU and US expatriates with a team of local engineers and procurement specialists.
Like anywhere there are both traps and treasures in China but local knowledge and repeated contact builds more success than risk.
We look forward to the next chapter of a book in progress.

13. How much does it cost to talk to you about my idea and will you keep it confidential?

It won’t cost you anything to talk to us about an idea or project. Until you formally authorise us (that is, sign-off on our written proposal) there is no obligation and no costs.

Our business relies on the highest levels of confidentiality. We have been entrusted by many leading global corporations and military supply organisations to keep their ideas safe.

CobaltNiche’s default operating procedure is to keep secret any information about an idea or a client’s identity unless it is essential to the project. And only then we disclose as little as possible. At all points you remain in control of who knows what about your idea.

We are happy to sign standard confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements (or if you need, we have a standard agreement in our download section) to legally protect the confidentiality of your idea regardless of whether we end up working for you or not.

Click for further information about our confidentiality policy and proposal process.

14. I've invented a great product idea, can you help me?

CobaltNiche’s most successful projects have been with organisations that have an existing track-record and product portfolio and with start-up companies that have a strong management structure and unique technology.

For our own conscience, we will only work with an inventor if they are fully aware of the challenges of developing an idea all the way to the market. Big corporations have teams of specialists and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not more) to develop even simple products. And this is just for product development; marketing and distribution are the really challenging ‘barriers to entry’.

Whilst there are ways of reducing the scope of development without affecting the quality there is a limit to how much we can reduce development budgets. This is the biggest problem we have with individuals; most people simply don’t have the funds or expertise to sustain a product development project, let alone necessary steps like IP protection, tooling and distribution.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There is a way that we can help. We start by asking inventors to think of their idea as a seed; it has tremendous potential but purely on its own it has very little value. Like an idea, a seed needs nurturing and effort to grow into something more tangible and ‘alive’. This is where we really can help by working with an inventor to develop their seed of an idea into a budding seedling. We do this by professionally developing your idea into a solid concept that a well-resourced company will find attractive. This approach is often affordable to an inventor and gives an idea the best opportunity to reaching its commercial potential.

15. Are designers from emerging economies like China or India a threat to CobaltNiche?

Over time there will be some impact from design providers in China and India but not as much as many believe. Ultimately, design, unlike production, is a cultural activity. And every free and industrious society will produce their own designers and share designs mainly from their nearest cultural neighbours.
For example, even though Japanese manufactured products have been commonplace in the US for over 50 years their designers haven’t swamped the American design scene. And furniture designers in Italy are just as much in-demand in spite of the global prolificacy of IKEA. Where cross-cultural design does occur it is usually as a positive catalyst to gain insights especially towards the target market, rather than a price-driven flood.
So yes, within some parts of the design process (like CAD detailing and prototyping which are time/labour intensive activities) there will be a natural flow to developing countries, like China and India as well as others like Malaysia, Thailand, and Eastern Europe. But there will always be a place for quality ‘culturally-aligned’ design and room for us all.

16. Is there any difference between product development, design or engineering?

To many people the terms are interchangeable. But to us there are some important subtleties between them.

The word ‘Design’ is almost as over-used as the word ‘Love’. We all believe in it, and have opinions on what it means, but as words go they both have so much baggage that any real meaning is confused at best.

‘Engineering’ is also used in places far removed from what real engineers do.

So holistically we call the act of designing, engineering, prototyping and bringing to production any idea, product, device, package, brand or strategy; ‘Product Development’. In this context ‘design’ is the inclusive steps of seeking divergent alternative solutions and ‘engineering’ is the structured refinement of one design through to an agreed end-point (usually production). Both require creativity, teamwork and the right tools.

As the objectives and risks are quite different we have distinct approaches and specialised team members for design and engineering stages. However we don’t segregate these activities. When in design mode we regularly consider how it will be produced, and during engineering we ask how can we retain and enhance the design intent.

17. Who are your competitors?

CobaltNiche helps businesses and organisations develop ideas into market-ready products. As such, we have a number of competitors ranging from small, ‘principal-based’ designers, to larger, globally-focussed technology and strategy groups. Less directly we also compete with major consulting firms and vertically-integrated specialist companies that can design and also build products.
As we work overseas, in key categories we also compete with similarly specialised groups based in the US, Europe and Asia.
Our most immediate competition, that is firms we most encounter in competitive bids are similarly sized groups with design and engineering strengths.
We welcome worthy competition as we know if we can succeed against quality firms we are in good form ourselves, and when we fail we know we must learn and improve. We have worked hard to be in a position where our process and team is sound and that once we can communicate our approach our strike rate remains very high.

18. Have you ever refused to do a project?

Over our history we’ve undertaken approximately 600 projects. We have probably declined to work on less than a dozen. This doesn’t include approaches where a particular project doesn’t suit our capabilities (in which case we’ll try suggest someone more suitable)
The three reasons we would refuse work include:

• We have a conflict of interest in that we have a current project or on-going relationship with a company and one of their competitors have approached us
• The project involves a product that could be used to deliberately harm people (we once turned down an applicant because his portfolio was mainly the design of handguns, we didn’t think he’d fit our culture)
• The prospective client hasn’t got the business structure, funding or credibility to develop the project, so there is a high risk the job will end in tears for at least one of us

19. How do you contribute to design and manufacturing industries?

In number of ways CobaltNiche is very active in supporting the wider design industry and manufacturing industry groups.

Apart from altruistic reasons we do this for three broad reasons;
(1) to support and help strengthen the professionalism our own industry.
(2) as a means of keeping abreast with the latest thinking, knowledge and initiatives that occur outside our group.
(3) to attract the best and brightest established and new designers.

Some areas of our participation in our industry include:

• Members of government (state and federal) working groups and advisory boards for design and innovation
• Advisory Boards for design universities (RMIT and Swinburne)
• CobaltNiche has consultancy DIA membership in addition to individual memberships
• Members of related industry associations such as the Ausbiotech, Science Industry Association and Australian Industry Group
• Participating in several government trade missions to Europe, the US and Asia
• Regular speaking at industry lectures
• Media promotion of professional design
• AGIdeas Open Studios programme for several years

In addition, CobaltNiche director Steve Martinuzzo has served in several roles within the Design Institute of Australia, including as the president of the DIA Victorian branch and a national DIA director.

20. What do you mean by design strategy?

Design strategy takes in the bigger ‘company-wide’ picture view of a company’s operations and products. Strategic use of design create integrated, company-wide outcomes that far exceed the sum of individually conceived products.

It can be easier define what strategic design isn’t. That is, ‘non-strategic’ design is what happens when there is a very narrow-focus brief, usually as a reaction to an unplanned, external event. A real example of this is when we were asked to urgently design a replacement rubbish-bin for a client, after the moulding-tool for the original model began to develop terminal cracks. Even though this once very successful product was over 20 years old, we only had a few weeks to respond to a brief which restricted us to the same configuration.

Although the result was good, it could have been so much better if the client had thought more strategically. For a start we would have started well before any crisis ensued and we would have defined a brief that considered users’ needs, the product’s configuration and its context within the companies other products/plans. Typically design strategy includes concise, product and design focused analysis of:

• Company’s position (capabilities, manufacturing technologies, distribution)
• Brand (values, composition, redesign)
• Product Audit (performance, position within range, product SWOT)
• Market environment (competitors, market position mapping)
• Society (hot issues such as sustainability, social and economic trends)

Some leading public companies especially in Europe and the USA are promoting designers to directorship boards. As research shows*, companies that embed design thinking and use design strategically outperform those that don’t. Design strategies do not have to expensive or complex but they do require a company to take a hard look at itself and be prepared to change.