Never remain the same! Helping you advance with great product design! packaging design! brand design! interior design!
About
Farshid Sarmast is a New Zealand based multidisciplinary design studio specializing in and providing product, packaging, interior, and brand design services. We are based in New Zealand but available to collaborate with clients from other countries.
Our experience in offering creative design solutions to various clients from different sectors helps us to look at new design challenges from a unique point of view which leads us to create innovative ideas. If you are based in New Zealand (looking for an NZ design studio) or are from any other country and want to convert your ideas into new eye-catching products, have recognized niche markets and want to answer, need to compete with your competitors with brilliant product, packaging or branding ideas, or want to improve your home or workspace, we will be glad to share our enthusiasm with you. Contact us to get a response in a short time.
Services
Product design
Product design simply consists of innovating and creating physical objects for mass production. However, this definition also refers to the functionalities and invisible (emotional, sensual, cultural, ...) attributes products should possess. In other words, an industrial (product) designer despite a mechanical engineer, not only considers the functionality of the product but tries to help users to have a good experience using the product. Industrial (product) design is an analytical process and relies on an exploratory and creative approach to improve the quality of life of the end-users and their interaction with the environment. It is about problem-solving, visualizing the needs of the user, and bringing a solution. Product designers also work with other professionals such as engineers and marketers. They take into consideration also the production cost, the manufacturing processes and the regulations. Product design has many fields of application: medical devices, tableware, jewellery, sports and leisure, home appliances, furniture, etc. From a single part to a complex device composed of multiple parts, from a small plastic part to home appliances or medical devices, and from giving a new and more appealing look to a new product to innovating completely new products we can help you thanks to our long experience in the design and development of various products for a range of clients.
Packaging design
Packaging design deals with designing the structure and graphic of a product’s packaging. It also includes selecting material, production methods, sealing or locking types, etc. that are used on wrapping, a box, a can, a bottle, or any kind of container. Packaging design is where form, structure, materials, colour, imagery, typography, and regulatory information merge using design elements to make a product suitable for marketing. It primarily works as a vehicle that assists to contain, protect, transport, dispense, store, identify, and distinguish a product from the manufacturing site to customer's hands, and ultimately, the product packaging helps to meet marketing purposes by distinctively communicating a consumer product's personality or function, allowing users to have a memorable experience and get a good impression of the product, and generating a sale. Packaging is a practical tool, yet a sensual experience that engages customers through sight, touch and smell, and even sound and taste. All of these help customers understand what the enclosed product is for, how it should be used, and probably most importantly, decide if they should buy the product or not. Good packaging design encourages customers to buy goods, bad packaging discourages. Our knowledge and experience in designing packaging for various products using a range of packaging materials will add value to your products.
Interior design
Interior design includes all the activities to enhance the interior of a building, including residential, commercial, retail, office, etc. to achieve a more comfortable and easier and nicer to use environment for the people using the space. An interior designer performs such activities, using a set of artistic, technical and scientific knowledge. Interior design is not done in the mind of the designer or on the paper but is a collaboration between the designer, client, suppliers and all the traders involved in the construction and implementation of the interior design tasks. We create affordable, beautiful, functional and easy-to-use residential, commercial and office interior designs that make life and work more pleasant and enjoyable for humans. We believe that it is not spending a huge amount of money that makes a space comfortable and cosy, but making a wise selection of the elements, objects, accessories, and furniture to be used in the space, and creating a harmonious balance between them. This is our expertise that we offer you.
Brand design
Brand design and development is one of the most critical marketing activities in any organisation. It can also be applied to individuals. Brand design and development encompass creating long-term strategies and employing visual tools such as name, colours, logo, stationeries, and the other elements related to the brand. These practices aim to create a distinctive identity to differentiate from the other brands in the market and generate a long-lasting identity in customers minds. A well-designed brand gives the company (or person) a distinctive position in the market among the competition. It makes clients loyal, attracts new clients, and creates reputation, credit and recognition. Either you want to launch a new product or enter new markets with new promotion strategies or need to rethink all your marketing collaterals or advertising approaches and/or position or reinforce the position of your brand in the market, it is worth relying on us as your design partner.
Process
We have an almost similar process for product, packaging, and brand design projects which consists of the following steps:
1. You contact us: Our collaboration starts when you contact us for the first time and continues as we reply to you shortly. During the discussion, we would like to hear about you, your business objectives, your current products, your values, your future plans and anything else that you think will affect the new design.
We will ask you the below questions both verbally and through a questionnaire (if you haven’t already told us):
• Product details: features, benefits, your manufacturing limitations and or facilities, etc. The what, where and whys.
• Audience profile: Define your potential product end-users: primary, secondary and fringe. Who is the audience for your product: male, female, age group, income…?
• Your likes and dislikes of other similar (or even different) product designs.
• Who are your competitors?
• What is the history of the product? Has it been manufactured or sold before?
• Do you have any idea about how you want the product, packaging, logo, etc. look like? What are your colour preferences?
• What are your brand values and elements?
These and many other questions that we will ask will help us to understand your needs better and suggest design ideas that could support your goals. To design package for your products, we need a real product sample in hand, to measure dimensions. We will ask you for this when the agreement gets signed.
2. Design brief and quotation: At this stage, we will give you a written design brief (driven from the initial discussions) to confirm and an agreement form to sign off, including design costs, timeframe, tasks, terms and conditions, etc.
3. Research: The design process starts after receiving the confirmed brief and signed agreement. At this stage, with your help, we will try to gather information about the market, competition, previous successful and unsuccessful cases, and anything else that may help in the product, packaging, and/or brand and marketing collaterals design, through store tours, online research, interviewing customers, etc. We also may observe or talk to some potential users to know about their problems with the existing similar products and what they may expect from a new product.
4. Idea generation: At this phase, the design concepts (including product or packaging sketches or rapid prototypes, colours, logo, taglines, slogans, etc., according to the design brief) are created around the design requirements and research outcome.
This is the creative phase where the design ideas are created, and 2 to 3 concepts are developed for your review. All the valuable information gathered and the direction you have given in the previous stages are used in this phase. The outcome of this stage includes the consideration of how product, packaging or branding materials will look like.
5. Evaluation: This phase is about presenting to you, up to 3 initially selected design ideas for getting feedback and choosing the final design to complete. We may show you artwork, mockups, 3d renderings, drawings, rough physical (handmade or 3D printed) models, and any other visual materials to help you realize how the selected design concepts will look like and work. Then, we will together select one design idea to finalize. Chances are we decide to combine features of one or more design concepts, or even to redo the idea generation process to come up with more new design ideas.
6. Design refinement: This phase is about completing and refining the final design selected in the previous stage, considering client’s hints and requests.
7. Delivery and further support: Final delivery of the selected design idea including artwork, 3D models, renderings, manufacturing drawings, prototypes, etc. based on the type of the design project. At this step, the design idea selected in the previous phase will be completed. Detailed manufacturing drawings or final artwork will be created, and suitable materials and production methods will be suggested. We can also support you technically when working with suppliers and or toolmakers when needed.
For interior design projects, we follow a different process as displayed below:
