Brands and clients I’ve worked with over the last 30 years, directly,
as a development partner or as a subcontract design resource for
intermediary clients include-
I’m
an
Industrial
Designer
and
run
Piranha
design
Ltd
which
I
founded
over
20
years.
ago.
I
am
a
professional
Chartered
Engineer
with
a
technical
background,
and
hold
an
Honours
degree
in
Mechanical
Engineering
and
Masters
in
Industrial
Design
Engineering
from
the
Royal
College
of
Art
and
Imperial
college.
Prior
to
Piranha
I
worked
in
the
USA,
and
Australia,
and
then
spent
almost
a
decade
working
within
Product
Design
agencies
in
London.
I
am
the
named
inventor
on
many
worldwide
patents,
and
teach
as
an
Associate
Lecturer
at
Sheffield
Hallam
University
on
the
BA
and
BSc
Product
and
Furniture
design courses.
The studio runs 3d Cad, and is equipped with the latest SLA prototyping.
We’ve been using SOLIDWORKS for 20+years, and trained as instructors at
the Solidworks HQ in Boston USA (including-: certified instructor, certified
professional, and certified tech support).
The studio’s workshop, with Mill, Lathe, Vacuum forming, Vacuum casting,
and Tig fabrication facilities, allow fast prototype iterations on-site. We have
developed a network of strategic manufacturing partners around the world
which enables us to take projects through to mass production quickly and
cost effectively.
Piranha is a UK company,
In 2019 we migrated the majority of our operations, systems and infrastructure
online, to enable seamless remote working.
We have the flexibility to work on-site at companies throughout the UK but work
with clients worldwide.
Our workshop, model making, RP machines and machining/fabrication are located
at our design office near Sheffield.
No, we’re a small well established company
Piranha started back in 1999 and the products we’ve designed
are used by more
than 300 million people worldwide!
We’re intentionally lean (with 1 to 5 designers)
with the agility and flexibility to adapt quickly for new projects and
clients in divergent sectors.
Some news, reviews, comments…
We believe better solutions start with people and a clear and
honest view of their needs. We don’t focus on designing
‘products’. We examine the human at their task, and create
tools to help make things better, easier and more fun.… the
new product is the natural outcome of this process.
What tools do you use?
Who are you?
Who have you worked with?
What are your core values ?
How do you work with clients?
What do you charge?
Where are you located?
Our In-House Rapid Prototyping gives physical and digital
form to our ideas and allows us to rapidly craft products.
This delivers real value for our clients and their customers.
We always bring our tool-kit of skills and experience gained
from previous projects and by applying technologies from
adjacent disciplines can inject fresh thinking to your sector.
What do you do?
Are you a large, well established
company?
We’re a product design studio.
Clients use our design services to create new products.
We turn ideas into real products and market opportunities.
Do you undertake more technical
engineering projects?
Yes, we certainly do.
We have developed our own agile project management system and for flexibility
operate using 3 tiers of engagement to suit differing project scales
.
Tactical Product design
(typically for small projects under £5k)
this is effectively a “freelance” service
Operational Product development
(typically for projects over £10k)
includes Light touch project management- typical when required to interface/co-
ordinate with an existing design department)
Strategic Project development
This has similar design engagement to “operational” but with full Agile Project
management and strategy planning. Suitable for cutting edge developmental
projects with high uncertainties/unknowns, products for new start-up’s or projects for
firms without any in-house design team.
(for more details see Here or phone us for a more in-depth chat)
For Tactical Design with a budget below £5k
£250/day for 2d cad, prep tooling data, visualizations, prototyping
£400/day for general design/engineering
£500/day for advanced 3d Cad
For Strategic commissions we generate a tailored outline project quotation
specific to the project, based on initial discussions with the client. These use
activity specific costs, adjusted for time-scales and risk exposure.
For Operational commissions we use our own Agile project estimating
process which is built into an initial discovery stage that quantifies any
unknowns/uncertainties, to allow the project scope, time-scales and costs to
be firmed up and finalized with the client.
See Here for more details on how we quote and project manage our design
process using agile methodology. .
Steve Middleton
B.eng(hons) M.Des.Eng (RCA) DipIC MIED C.eng
