Thank you to OxLEP for shortlisting OPD for their Innovator of the Year award 2024. We look forward to celebrating at OxLEP Business Marketplace and Celebration on 3rd October. Read our entry below.

How to spot an innovative product design consultancy

We believe product design consultancies should strive for innovation in everything they do. Whether that be in their versatility and adaptability; focus on delivery; or providing inspiring workplace. In light of this, we thought it would be helpful to share the ways in which OPD strives for and delivers innovation as a list for things to look out for.

Versatility and adaptability can be seen throughout the vast variety of products designed by our team. We can design almost any physical product for almost any sector, pulling technique and methodology from previous experience and adapting them to the needs of the customer, their client and the market. Our team has designed a huge volume of incredible products helping launch 100s of new products to industrial, medical and consumer markets with commercial success.

Inspiring innovation through quality

We are ISO 9001 accredited proving our dedication to consistency and quality, providing us with guidance for continual improvement and opportunities for learning from client projects and evolution of processes for the better.

Inspirational environment for innovation

The OPD workplace also contributes to our innovative output. Our inspiring studio and workshop at Cherry Barns, Harwell with high vaulted ceilings, rich history and state of the art equipment provides a perfect environment for creative product development. The structure for development of individuals through empowerment, upskilling and mentorship ensures the team always start from a great place, earning OPD a Great Place to Work® certification too.

Delivering innovation through mission, approach and frameworks

Innovation flows throughout OPD, from the high-level mission right through to the practical application of our approach and management of projects.

• Our mission, “Making things better, by making better things” has been a long standing focus and remains a motivator across the business internally and in the work we put out into the world.
• Our approach “New Product Science™” provides a holistic and evidence based practice of theory testing and experimentation, often resulting in new discoveries and outcomes. This not only enhances the reliability and effectiveness of our products but also results in unexpected innovative solutions.
• Our project management style we developed combines the benefits of 4 known product design methodologies (design thinking, lean product development, agile product development, and systems engineering) whilst mitigating their weaknesses, creating a versatile and effective approach. This hybrid methodology empowers our team to create innovative, user-centric products that stand out in today's competitive market.

Innovation through ambition

How we tackle our work aside, a core motivation for OPD is to deliver, whether that be in helping start-ups and university spin-outs off the ground or clicking-into a large multi-national design team like a final puzzle piece to solve a specific problem. One way we have innovated in our internal processes to better deliver for the medical sector was the development of a blood collection device and processes associated to attain ISO 13485 certification. We did this with funding provided by Innovate UK’s Collaboration grant. Our readiness, approved framework and ability to impart knowledge of ISO 13485 with clients sets us apart from other small sized consultancies and allows us to help medical start-ups and spin-outs achieve success quicker.

We believe OPD has not only innovated through our product design and processes but continues to do so as an innovation engine for others.