Our Services

At People&Things, we strive to develop innovative, user-centred and sustainable products using our team's expertise and skills in a variety of design disciplines. Our team has extensive product design experience in a wide range of industries, spanning 40 years.

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Ideation/Stage Zero
Launching a product can be complex and expensive, so we developed our system to ensure our concepts fit within the constraints of your business.
Meet
During our initial consultation with clients we hear more about their ideas and how we can help them achieve their goals. This is a free 30min session.
Workshop
This is an in-depth look at the problem you are solving and your initial product ideas. We cover all the knowns and unknowns so we can direct our designers to develop the right concepts for the project.
Design
Based on the workshop, we will present a range of concepts that best align with your vision and our expertise. We use these concepts to inform a roadmap of further development.
Industrial Design
The professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimise the function, value, and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both the user and manufacturer.
Design Refinement
The process of designing and re-designing in a circular loop to generate a range of suitable solutions to problems we may face. Every design is unique and no process is ever the same, so we like to stay flexible with our process.
Styling

Styling is an important part the design process and can sometimes be forgone if budgets are low. The best designs should fit seamlessly into their new category. Good styling will depict how it should be used without a manual or instructions.
3D Renders

Using computer software we can turn our CAD files into beautiful images for visualisation. These images can be useful for concept generation, styling and marketing images.
Design For Manufacture
DFM is the engineering practice of designing products for ease of manufacturing, with main goal to reduce complexity of operations and the overall cost of production.
Prototyping
A physical model of the new product. A prototype is created to test or prove functional or aesthetic aspects of the design.
Low-Fidelity
Low-fidelity prototypes are a great low cost option to finessing macro details to a product. These can big aspects like size, function and ergonomics. These prototypes are usually very rough and constructed from cardboard, foam and fabrics.
Mid-Fidelity
Mid-Fidelity prototypes are a more expensive way to refine a design. They are used when we have worked out the finer, micro details of design. These can include: finishes, materials and tolerance. Mid-fidelity prototypes can be a range of 3D prints or engaging a prototype specialist.
Appearance Models
This is a physical example of a new product concept. Unlike a typical prototype, this model is not required to be functional nor an actual representation of materials. Its function is to look accurate.
Manufacturing
The selection of a manufacturing process directly relates to the needs of the user, the resources of the producer, and the time available to bring the product to market.
Low Production
Low production runs are very possible and we have a range of processes we can recommend. These processes are usually suited to local manufacture and a fast turnaround, but typically yield a higher part price.
Mass Production
Mass production refers to high tooling costs and high volume production of identical parts. Each product is directly manufactured from CAD data. Typically when we go to tooling we work through a process of finessing the tool until it is ready for production.
Sustainable Production
Sustainable production follows some key guidelines; material selection, component manufacturing and packaging. But it is not limited to its entire ecosystem such as a healthy workforce. Designers and Founders have the ability and responsibility to assume the role of champion for sustainable issues.
Packaging Design
Packaging design does not only refer to the box a product comes in but also ensuring safe transit for products, efficient pallet yields and reducing waste.
Local
We have a range of great packaging companies in Sydney we collaborate with. Local companies keep transit costs down and therefor also carbon footprints. Most cardboard is made from recycled materials and comes in a range of stocks and finishes to suit your brand.
Off-Shore
We have been working with our fantastic team of packaging experts off-shore for several years and their quality in unparalleled. They are suitable for mass production, packing and freight into Australia.
Sustainability
Sustainability is far beyond replacing plastic with recycled cardboard. We think about minimising offcuts, freight emissions, producing locally and ensuring finishes are recycling friendly.
Business Strategy
Design is a fundamental business function, as are finance, logistics, operations, marketing, sales, research and development. For a business to be successful all of these functional units must work together.
Manufacture Management

We seek out, negotiate and liase with manufacturers throughout the project, both local and off shore.
Quality Control


We construct detailed quality control assessment criteria, and provide QC reports to manufacturers before launching production.
Financial Modelling

We analyse and provide the data that will help you make crucial decisions for your business. We can also help our clients work out when they break even and what profits could look like.
Supply Chain Analysis

Manufacturing a production run comes with its own set of obstacles and challenges. We can arrange for logistics, supply chains, shipping and packaging all in one place to eliviate supply chain stress.
Recycled Materials
People&Things are specialists in integrating recycled materials into consumer products, whilst maintaining the core functionality of the product.
Manufacture Network

We maintain relationships with manufacturers experienced with utilising recycled materials.
Innovative Design

We have refined our design process to incorporate recycled material design considerations from the beginning of product development
Product Evaluation

We analyse and find opportunities for existing products to integrate post-consumer materials
Sustainability

Sustainability is far beyond replacing plastic with recycled cardboard. We think about minimising offcuts, freight emissions, producing locally and ensuring finishes are recycling friendly.