Product Design & Industrial Design

Product design consultancies create physical products from concept through manufacturing-ready designs for inventors, startups, and companies.

With product development complex and design expertise scarce, services generate revenue of $170,000-$580,000 with 65-80% margins through project fees.

The business requires CAD expertise (SolidWorks, Fusion 360), design portfolio, prototyping capability or relationships, manufacturing knowledge, and consulting skills.

Services include concept development and ideation, CAD modeling and engineering, prototype coordination, design for manufacturing (DFM), material selection and sourcing, and manufacturing partner coordination.

Revenue through project fees $5,000-$100,000+.

Success factors include strong industrial design and CAD skills, understanding manufacturing processes and constraints, prototyping capability or maker space access, building inventor and startup clientele, and creating successful product case studies.

Marketing focuses on inventors, entrepreneurs, Kickstarter creators, and startups.

With product development essential and design expertise limited in 2025, product design offers creative engineering opportunities serving innovation with CAD and manufacturing knowledge as barriers.