Rugged Product Design
Military / Law Enforcement / First Responder
At Radiant, we believe it's an honor to create devices for those in uniform. Our mission is to help them perform their best work in challenging environments, whether that's saving lives or protecting people and assets.
Our Unique Benefits
Decades of product development experience have given us valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t work. We understand that no two projects are alike, and we've discovered unique benefits that provide high-value results for you.
Adaptive Approach
Successful projects are rarely straightforward, which is why we have implemented an adaptive approach to product development, ensuring that we remain agile and responsive to change or new information. We pride ourselves on being flexible and adaptable to your needs, providing a development process that can adjust to important data and feedback gathered beyond the initial project brief. This adaptability proves invaluable in identifying unforeseen risks that might otherwise jeopardize your budgets and schedules.
Implied Engineering
Our high-value method of CAD implementation. There is often a gap between “design” CAD and “engineering” CAD. Some projects don’t require a full-blown mechanical engineering effort but still need design solutions that are manufacturing-optimized. We offer the flexibility to assess whether our implied engineering level of CAD design aligns with the specific needs of your project or particular phases within the development process. Additionally, we are equipped to implement engineering CAD and Design for Manufacturability (DFM) levels of CAD as needed.
Featured Projects
Delivering solutions for projects with unique challenges.
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Our expertise centers around rugged devices and providing protection in the face of challenging environments. Those who wear uniforms are dedicated to the mission of protecting and saving lives, whether it involves people or valuable assets. The tools they rely on must excel in functionality, embrace innovation, and convey a sense of confidence in their ability to get the job done effectively.
With a primary focus on user-centric design, our industrial design process not only understands the need and importance of designing for the user but also ensures that these solutions result in business success through meaningful ROI.
Our adaptive process allows for necessary proof-of-concept modeling and discussions to take place, with the goal of either eliminating unnecessary elements or confirming required functionality meeting rugged product design specifications. We guide your product's transition into manufacturing, optimizing the process to ensure design integrity is maintained.
ENGINEERING
Our designers combine Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering to create manufacturing-optimized designs. Applying scientific principles and mathematical concepts to design solutions helps validate market readiness through collaborative team brainstorming efforts. This process allows for creative thinking while addressing technical constraints.
Efficient workflow with engineering teams and relationships with global suppliers provide seamless continuity in DFM and component sourcing. Our team follows an iterative process - solving complex design and engineering challenges by repeating each step as many times as needed to provide a confident, seamless product solution.
PRODUCT VISUALIZATION
Visually appealing representations of products makes it easier for people to make informed decisions and appreciate the design, features, and functionality of a product. This critical tool is an important communication effort between designers, manufacturers, and business stakeholders. Evaluation efforts often rely solely on product imagery in 2D or 3D, for internal design and development purposes.
DESIGN STRATEGY & RESEARCH
Studying people and habits in their environment (ethnographic research) provides unbiased insights that serve as a valuable starting point in development and maximizing returns on our invested research. We think this form of user research stands out as one of the most effective methods for uncovering innovation in any industry. When designing devices, especially protective equipment intended for extreme conditions or harsh environments, it becomes imperative to comprehend all the variables that users will subject the device to, pushing it to its limits. The research component provides empirical data and insights that guide and validate design decisions. The synergy between the two ensures that design solutions are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also effective, user-focused, and aligned with broader business objectives.
To understand the preferences and psychology of a brand’s audience, research helps to identify focused data points. Strong design strategy and research implementation will typically provide a smoother and quicker development process.
PROTOTYPING
One of the most critical phases in the product development process, prototypes provide tangible objects to evaluate and test. Whether it’s an appearance prototype, functional prototype, or proof-of-concept model, your product solution must be evaluated at various levels, including extreme temperatures and other environmental conditions that push to failure, before moving forward with full-scale production. The earlier prototypes can be built and tested for rugged product design use cases, typically to MIL-STD methods i.e. 810 g/h. The quicker decisions are made to validate processes like appearance, functionality, assembly, and servicing for field-ready rugged products, the sooner these innovative products can be brought to market to protect lives and valuable assets.
The adaptive process we implement for product development will occasionally require unforeseen prototyping efforts - typically smaller proof-of-concept models that are built to confirm a specific function, ergonomic balance, or visual validation.
MANUFACTURING SUPPORT
Whether we’re collaborating with your manufacturing resources or ours, we provide insight into many potential risks that may arise - supply chain interruptions, EOL components, manufacturing delays due to scope creep, and schedule slips. Through our contract partners, we can help identify new opportunities to ensure a smooth manufacturing process such as first article part inspections, internal or external testing and reporting, pilot runs, and initial production units. An efficient and effective production strategy for your product is critical.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
A strong and positive brand perception that is differentiated from competitors is a core building block for product development. The brand is the soul of a company. We provide support building and managing your brand, to give product solutions a unique and recognizable presence in the marketplace. Powerful branding is built on the aesthetic features of rugged product design elements as well as its messaging and emotional appeal.
Feedback provided by user research provides a better targeted and financially successful brand. This leads to increased demand and a competitive advantage. A deep understanding of customer’s needs and wants will ultimately lead to a brand that provides a strong emotional connection.
FAQ’s
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Radiant was established in September 2022. Its founders, Chris and Justin, share a 13-year professional journey from their tenure at product development firm, Juggernaut Design/Defense. Our collective design expertise spans a wide spectrum of industries - Military/Defense, scientific and laboratory equipment, point-of-sale, and consumer products.
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We can help support many phases of product development, from initial strategy through to manufacturing handoff. Or we can support you where you need us most, focusing on smaller, select phases of engagement. In most scenarios, our minimum engagement typically starts at $10,000. Let's discuss your project or idea so that we can provide a more accurate cost proposal.
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The principles of design remain consistent, whether one is working on rugged devices such as tactical radios or audio kits mounted in Polaris RZR SXS vehicles. At a minimum, design involves understanding the problem, propose solutions, test, and iterate. Repeat as needed. Developing rugged gear for the battlefield use involves heightened stakes, and the invaluable insights we've learned translate into designing gear for civilian use i.e highly usable unintended devices used in point of sale. These field-acquired insights significantly influence our approach to consumer product design requiring similar constraints i.e. ingress protection against water and dust and added safety to users with less demanding situations seen in the battlefield.
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With so much hype recently about AI, it's important to remember AI is just a tool. It can be an excellent industrial design tool for specific tasks but not so great for others. We will utilize AI in our design process as a supporting role. We contend that AI lacks certain aspects of humanity, particularly empathy, which we consider essential for a user-centered approach to problem-solving and design. AI and machine learning will continue to develop exponentially. We are always evaluating to see how the latest tools, including AI, can help us bring you value in the design process.
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Yes. We understand the hurdles and complexities that come with launching a new startup or building a brand — it's no small feat. Recognizing the various challenges for small business clients, we can discuss different pricing models, or we, as partners, are prepared to contribute our design services as a form of capital tailored to the specific needs of the venture. Our creative and technical skills can guide you through the entire design process, supporting your business model and preparing you with a market-ready product. Our involvement just doesn't stop there, we provide ongoing support to evolve your product or brand. Overseeing quality control, continued user testing efforts, and consistently evaluating cost-effective updates as necessary. An application of good design principles doesn't solve new business challenges. We integrate project management, market research, and business strategy to ensure not only the successful execution of projects but also strategic alignment with market trends and long-term business goals.
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This varies. Our standard payment terms are net 15 days. We offer flexibility to our long-standing clients and established relationships, allowing for a net payment period of 30 days or more.
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Whether starting on the journey with a single product offering or managing a multigenerational brand, a successful business must effectively communicate its identity and recognition while establishing an underlying trust within its customer base. We firmly believe that without a clearly defined identity, the lack of consistency and a competitive edge can pose significant challenges for any company seeking success.