The Fundamentals of Product Design teaches students the key principles and processes of product design. Writing a book about product design can be challenging because it is a discipline that touches on so many subject areas. A book that covers all of these subjects in any detail will extend to many volumes. So product design books tend to break the subject down into parts and cover different perspectives. This book aims to provide a little of all of these books in one. By touching on a variety of key areas, it aims to provide pointers to designers as to what to think about and where to go next. In so doing it also aims to provide an integrated and cohesive view of the design process that students of design can sometimes find hard to grasp.

Introduction
How to use this book

Chapter 1: Product ideas
Imagination
Case study: Wayne Hemingway
People's needs
Case study: Matthew White
Chapter summary

Chapter 2: The product brief
Defining needs
Case study: Emmanuel Laffon de Mazieres
Market trends
Case study: Luigi Colani
Product requirements
Case study: Jonathan lye
Chapter summary

Chapter 3: Design solutions
Meeting needs
Case study: Droog
Concept development
Case study: Josef Cadek
Functionality
Case study: d3o
Chapter summary

Chapter 4: Production
Development
Case study: Tom Dixon
Manufacturing
Case study: Assa Ashuach
Operations
Case study: Salter Housewares
Chapter summary

Chapter 5: The marketplace
Preparing to sell
Case study: Sir James Dyson
Marketing
Case study: Vertu
Chapter summary

Conclusion
Further resources
Acknowledgements
Working with ethics