Competencies

We combine long-term experience with sector specific know-how to deliver the best product and interface experiences.

Industrial Design
Our strength lies in making visions become reality.

We develop inspiring ideas and translate them into tangible products that emotionally touch the costumers and perfectly match the client’s brand. In doing so, we guarantee in the initial conceptual phase that our industrial designs can be realized and support you throughout the entire value chain, from the vision to the product launch.

With years of expertise in product development and in different sectors such as Health Care, Automotive & Mobility, Building Technologies or Household we design individual project plans and define the guidelines for your development process.

Since the consumer and product worlds are currently undergoing an enormous transition: Innovative and brand-shaping industrial design is becoming increasingly important as smart products are connected to each other, the “disappearance” of things is reducing products to the essentials and complex systems withdraw behind the scenes. Sharing the vision that the user is the most essential partner for a successful product development, our designers work in interdisciplinary teams creating holistic user experiences that address the costumers’ needs perfectly.
Industrial Design
User Interface Design
We develop high-quality visual interface designs and differentiating user experiences.

Display technologies that enable our interaction with interfaces have made a massive leap forward in recent years and are playing an increasingly important role in our everyday lives. At designaffairs we understand the growing expectations that our clients face with regards to high-quality visual interface designs and differentiating user experiences. Because every screen becomes the ambassador of our clients’ brands.

We specialize in developing sustainable UI strategies and in integrating these into extended, intelligent and networked product worlds, resulting in products that appeal to people, brands and technologies.

Working closely with our usability specialists they define the visual appearance and style of the user interface in line with the concept and usability development. As our services are networked in interdisciplinary teams, we can understand our clients’ corporate strategies and brand values as well as target group requirements and, as such, develop interaction experiences that take each of these aspects into account.
User Interface Design
Design Research
We explore innovation capabilities and offer new perspectives.

We design successful products and interfaces based on validated and well-founded knowledge. Our research experts provide support from the product definition to the pre-series and help answering all relevant questions in advance concerning the design of holistic product and interface experiences.

With the help of our customized research and constantly integration of users into the developing process we are able to achieve early insights which allow us to make timely and cost-efficient modifications. In doing this our experts not only reduce the financial risk of a flop at the product launch, but also guarantee the successful establishment of sophisticated products on the market.

For us, research is an integral element throughout all phases of the project. Our specialists create individual research packages perfectly tailored to the particular enquiry. With the help of our proprietary tools, such as HUX or testaffairs, we make user experience measurable and integrate the user optimally into the process. That’s how we provide innovations and real added value.
Design Research
Interaction Innovation
We help you to define your tailored interaction vision.

We help our clients to anticipate future user needs and to transfer technological innovations to everyday use. We work with our clients to identify and test new opportunities and risks for future products, services and holistic service eco-systems. As such, we set new standards in the development of engaging interaction experiences that will shape the future.

We focus on the maker culture and can do mentality in our labs. Co-creation workshops help to outline the right idea landscapes in the early phases of the design process. The prototypic implementation of ideas in varying stages of maturity enables us to experience new and complex content quickly and holistically, to evaluate and develop an in-depth understanding of the material involved.

Regardless of whether we are dealing with affective computing, augmented reality, contextual intelligence, humanization, interactive spaces, the internet of things, tangible interfaces, virtual reality or wearables – we look forward to open and responsible-minded discussions. Together, we explore and shape part of the future digital culture with new interface solutions and multi-sensory, emotional interaction experiences.
Interaction Innovation
Brand Strategy
We specialise in harmonizing brands and people, developing products that inspire.

The core task for an efficient brand management for us is the creation of brand experiences: Products have to appeal to consumers on multi-sensory levels and keep the promises made by the brand. We specialise in harmonizing brands and people, developing products that trigger enthusiasm and desire.

A holistic product experience is the decisive driving factor for brand preferences and as such, for the corporate success. We help our customers to develop and create products and services strategically. Our holistic, systematic perspectives enable us to take all influencing factors into consideration here.

The high speed and dynamics, the complexity and interconnectivity that result from the post digital era demand that developments are constantly monitored and possible consequences for one’s own business sector anticipated and foreseen so that we can maintain the capability to act and respond. Therefore, when we develop strategies, we adopt an analytical approach and implement scientifically-based tools such as insights research. Our objective: a holistic, high quality product and brand experience.
Brand Strategy
Material Technology
The majority of innovations are based upon new materials or manufacturing processes.

Material technology is a driving factor for innovation. The majority of product and design innovations are based upon new materials or manufacturing processes. The optimum in terms of design and manufacturing quality for reasonable production costs can only be realized through the perfect interaction between the designer and the material engineer.

Our material engineers explore options for design using the manifold alternatives and advise on the substitution of materials already used in the production process. Therefore, we document design-relevant materials from various categories in our material library. The clear focus on product design makes our “material dock” unique worldwide and serves as an important source of inspiration and innovation – be it in Munich, Shanghai or Shunde.

The physical material samples are supplemented by our specifically-developed material database: materialaffairs includes all relevant information about our samples, such as characteristics, manufacturer contact or processing options. materialaffairs enables you to search for suitable materials filtered by the required characteristics and view the corresponding material samples and example applications.
Material Technology
Usability Engineering
We create your perfectly coherent and individually designed usability package.

If you want to be successful on the market you must match your products to the target group requirements and behavioral patterns. After all, Usability Engineering is more than just good usability according to official DIN standards: At designaffairs we not only focus on the user, we include him actively in the conceptualization.

We help our clients to develop the best solutions and interface concepts for them and their customers. A perfectly coherent and individually designed usability package is developed taking account of the project situation and the client requirements. As such, the risk of later, expensive changes to the project can be minimized by ironing out concept iterations at an early stage.

With a strong focus on the User Centered Design Process, we apply all of the important usability methods as a toolbox for our day-to-day work. Interviews, site visits, ideation workshops or interactive prototypes help us as well as so-called “Guerilla Usability Methods”. Our motivation: We do not rest at good desktop usability – we develop holistic user and customer experiences!
Usability Engineering
Project Management
We adapt our project management individually to your requirements and organization.

In contact with designaffairs, you will notice that the entire organization is set up for project business. With over 200 annual projects, stretching across all industries, automatisms are imperative when it comes to structuring projects for successful and sustainable business. And yet, you will sense the individual treatment we reserve for each client, because we specialize in adapting our methods to your project and the requirements of your organization.

The International Competence Baseline 3.0 of the IPMA (International Project Management Association) and its German subsidiary, the GPM (Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement), form the foundations of our project philosophy. Overall more than 30 designaffairs employees have been trained as project managers, many of whom are certified by the GPM.

Our project managers know how to dovetail with your organization and when agile approaches can be combined with the classic waterfall models. In most cases they are designers and engineers themselves. As such, they can give their team the space to develop ideas, be creative and work on exciting concepts.
Project Management
Mechanical Engineering
We make tangible products from good inventions.

How can we ensure that our product concepts achieve ready-for-market-status? We include mechanical engineers in the development process right from the outset. We don’t just provide cost analyses. The focus is upon the feasibility and implementation quality. Our objective is to realize product innovations successfully on the market whilst taking account of our clients’ production options. We make tangible products from good inventions.

A holistic product experience is the result of the interplay between material, quality perception and function. With our strong competence in these areas, we are highly aware of different materiality, structure and stage of completion, so that the brand is also experienced at a product level.

We are all talking about the Internet of Things in this digital era. Products are changing, becoming increasingly complex and extensive. Within your framework, we identify ways of reacting flexibly to the market and consumer requirements. We work with you on the launch of new industry standards or manufacturing processes and turn your products into brand ambassadors.

Mechanical Engineering
Color & Material Design
Our specialists know what is possible and what the trends are.

The color and material quality are usually the first product characteristics that we perceive and assess. As such, the Color & Material Design is a factor in product design that should not be underestimated. Our specialists know what is possible and what the trends are. They examine which colors and materials conform with the brand.

In order to maximize the potential of Color & Material Design, our experts evaluate the effect colors have, which materials can be used to improve the product’s “look & feel” and how to increase the perceived quality. A product’s statement and perception of value can be heavily influenced just by color and materials.

Be it colors, materials, finishing or textures: Our designers know the current trends. Always up-to-date and networked in industry, we can tell you exactly which developments are of relevance. Not only do we conduct our own research and trend surveys, but we also have access to the most important global database and as such to the latest global developments.
Color & Material Design