We all love our gadgets. From the latest in wearable technology, to the newest smart home innovations, all great product experiences have a couple of things in common: great design and exceptional engineering.
How do you design and engineer the next great consumer electronics product? Consumers certainly recognize a good product experience, but developing innovative hardware is no easy task – it takes time and resources to develop something extraordinary and original.
Many new technologies make it easier to iterate and explore product features during the development process. From 3D printers to off-the-shelf electronics kits, quick fabrication and development platforms are helping visionaries explore ideas faster. However, while new technologies are certainly closing the gap on conceptual timelines, there is no substitute for experience.
As this year’s presenter for GeekWire’s Hardware/Gadget of the Year, Igor Institute helps companies of all shapes and sizes engineer great product experiences. From Fortune 500 companies to startups and single product companies, Igor’s engineering experience helps organizations successfully bring their products to market.
“We believe that the best products are created through a collaboration between design, engineering, and business. Supporting our clients and partners through every step of the process is our main goal”, says Aren Kaser, CEO and Co-Founder of Igor Institute.
Creating new, innovative products that are manufacturable and marketable is difficult. A multitude of tasks need to line up exactly right to be successful, and even the most experienced organizations need help at times.
“Most companies that start developing a new product don’t see it through to a successful launch,” says Kaser. “I believe that is because there’s plenty of bad advice out there, and varying opinions on how to bring new products to market. Unless you’ve done it many times before, you simply don’t know what you don’t know.”
And Kaser should know. This past year, Igor Institute had three products publically debut during CES, including the Lyft AMP, the Chronos Smart Disc, and the Sqord Booster; a busy year for a 15 person engineering team headquartered in Pioneer Square. Kaser points to several things that help Igor successfully create products that make it to market: engineering experience, collaboration, and a laser focus on client success.
When people think of innovation in Seattle, they think software, which makes sense because Seattle is full of amazing software companies. However, in recent years there has been an upward trend in hardware products being developed in this region. In addition to new technologies that make developing prototypes and physical products easier, companies rooted in software are starting to develop their own hardware products. Whether through acquisition, building up internal hardware teams, or simply hiring experts like Igor, established companies and startups alike are jumping all-in on hardware.
“For software companies to realize the full potential of their product ecosystem they often see a need to develop hardware to provide the desired customer experience,” says Sean Murphy, Co-Founder and VP of Engineering for Igor Institute.
Murphy, based in Igor’s San Francisco office, sees a lot of similarities between San Francisco and Seattle in relation to hardware. “Seattle has always been a strong design, engineering, and manufacturing city,” says Murphy, “The Puget Sound has been proudly producing Boeing airplanes for over 100 years. It’s great to see hardware product development continue to thrive in the region.”
