It takes more than technical knowledge or skill to bring a product to market. It takes collaboration—between clients, designers, engineers, and manufacturers. With Cobalt as your guide, you’ll know the right product gets made—and the product gets made right.
From the initial idea all the way through design and testing, we ask questions, uncover insights, and develop the product from the user’s perspective.
Through prototyping, documentation, and design for manufacturing, we ensure the product gets made safely, economically, and to the user’s expectations.
When you need a product that moves your business ahead, Cobalt is here with Opportunity PrototypingSM—a simple, yet powerful process that offers decision-makers the confidence that their solution will delight their users and surpass their business objectives.
Opportunity PrototypingSM identifies each client’s business objectives, and then leads us to the best possible solution to achieve those goals. With the requirements clearly defined, we design and engineer the product to ensure it’s compliant, feasible, and ready for manufacturing.
It’s not enough for an engineer to simply “draw it up.” There are too many variables, considerations, and potential pitfalls. That’s why the Cobalt team takes a multi-disciplinary approach—and performs modeling and analysis throughout the design and engineering stages of any project.
Through up-front, predictive modeling and simulations, we can optimize not only the product, but also the design and manufacturing processes. And then, during prototyping, we analyze again to confirm the projections and adjust as needed.
“Cobalt delivers value at every point in the design and engineering process. They’re committed not only to giving us a quality solution, but also to creating something that impacts our business in a positive way.”
– Tom O’Brien,
Eclipse Aesthetics
It’s one thing to build one product. It’s quite another thing to build 10,000 of them. And no matter how beautiful a prototype may be, it’s still just that—a one-off.
When you work with Cobalt, you get the benefit of our experience and knowledge in industrial design and manufacturing, so we can anticipate and avoid many of the issues traditional firms can encounter.
It’s never a straight line from design to engineering to manufacturing. Throughout the process — from the initial design to the final engineering documents — we take steps to test and validate every feature and detail of every product.
From performance testing and UX prototyping to product life testing and beyond, we do what it takes to ensure that your product will work exactly as intended.
Unlike independent consultants or other third parties, Cobalt and Indigo have not only a working knowledge of the rules and processes for compliance, but also the experience and relationships to navigate the complexities of product regulation.
An engineering document is a contract. There can be 100,000 individual product features in a single document. For each of those features, there might be specs for materials, color, finish, tolerance, and more. Each one has to be managed, and every one has to be right. It’s tedious, exacting work — and it’s essential to a successful product.
Only strict attention to detail and careful checks and balances will lead to a clear, accurate document. And then, only utmost control over edits and updates will result in continuity from the inital run to subsequent iterations.
Our clients recognize the advantages of doing things right the first time — as well as the consequences of taking shortcuts.
No two products—or designers, or engineers, or manufacturers—are alike. That’s why Cobalt partners with a select group of experts in several disciplines. From electronics to simulations, you get the right people for your project.
“Our relationship with Cobalt is all about creating value for the customer. By partnering with specialists like AAVA for technical components, Cobalt can stay focused on the end user and the overall development process.”
Through Opportunity Prototyping™, we helped clarify Life Warmer’s vision for the product and reveal its full potential. The result is a revolutionary device that helps save lives.
INFUSING THE VOICE OF THE CONSUMER
The founder of Life Warmer is a doctor and former EMT. He knew warmed blood worked better for transfusions—so he started heating it with the defroster in the ambulance.
After more than 20 years, the doctor—now a paramedic, an RN, and an Emergency Medicine Physician—engaged Cobalt + Indigo to bring his vision to life for troops and first responders.