Design 1st Becomes One of Ottawa's 2012 Fastest Growing Companies

Innovative Product Design Promotes Client Success, Contributing to a Better Business Environment in Ottawa


OTTAWA, May 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Design 1st Inc. has been ranked Ottawa's 10th Fastest Growing Company by the Ottawa Business Journal. The company specializes in outsourced physical product design and engineering service for companies exploring new innovative product ideas. The Design 1st team brings technical and artistic talent to clients wanting to differentiate their products in their market. Serving clients in both Canada and the USA, this award highlights the 80% year over year growth Design 1st has experienced in revenue and head count over the past three years.  

"We are pleased to be recognized as one of Ottawa's Fastest Growing Companies. In the last few years we have experienced a tremendous increase in client projects, fueling growth in both our revenue and headcount.  In addition, the success of our clients is helping build a better business environment in Ottawa and across Canada," commented Ian Kayser, Director of Operations at Design 1st.

Design 1st provides innovative design services to inventors, entrepreneurs, start-up ventures and multinationals in a wide range of markets. Their expert team works alongside clients, turning a napkin sketch idea into an engaging and useful product solution that meets market, business and manufacturing requirements.  With 25 years' experience, the team excels  at more technically challenging products for both indoor product and extreme outdoor environments, taking into account; heat, stress, motion, safety and materials. Their technical engineering skills configures a product and combines with the designers' artistic talents to help clients select and refine the product form with colors, textures and finishes that get users engaged and excited about using the new product.

Like many processes, the product's design starts with an idea! The engineers and artists set objectives, develop concepts, design the details, make prototypes and evaluate the solution to see how well it meets the target requirements.  New products are developed using the latest 3D CAD Pro-Engineer and SolidWorks software platforms. Components are selected starting with keys, displays, LED's, connectors, hinges and other external functions.  The design team provides a definition of the high level user interface requirements for how the product will operate and creates product images of the potential solutions. On the engineering side the design team defines electronic circuitry board requirements, designs the physical housing structure and engineers the details for each of the many physical parts required in a new product. Bottom line, people react positively to products that are straightforward and easy to use and great design also considers ease of installation, maintenance, assembly and fabrication.

Design 1st has a strong track record of success across a wide spectrum of product industries including medical, commercial, outdoor, wireless and retail markets. Their services range from the development of custom product enclosures and structures including custom mechanisms and unique product packaging.  Design 1st advises clients on Intellectual Property protection and how to brand, market and package the new product to differentiate it from the competition.The team also supports pre-sales creating marketing images, renders and animations that quickly convey the product features and benefits. Client requests range from time-critical one-off demonstration prototypes to mass produced products that require revision control and design transfer into global manufacturing teams. 
Watch the Design 1st in action installing Porsche 911: http://youtu.be/BdjCQIsJ-0A

About Design 1st

Based in Ottawa, Canada, Design 1st is a team of specialists in Physical Product Design and Engineering, helping companies bring innovation to their markets. This expert team understands how to make a product look great and operate the way a user expects it to. Design 1st has 25 years of product development experience and knowledge garnered from the launch of hundreds of successful products – making them the ideal partner for corporations and start-ups to outsource their technically challenging new product ideas. Equipped with the latest CAD design tools, in-house machining, finishing and part prototyping facilities, Design 1st can create finished models, first parts and assemblies in days. Recent projects include BelAir Networks WiFi Radio, Christie Cinema Projectors, GoldenEar Technology Triton speakers, We-Vibe™ Human Care Products, Stanley HealthCare Patient RFID Monitoring and Northvu Systems HD Digital Antenna. For more information, visit www.design1st.com.

The Design 1st Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=12867

A file accompanying this release is available at:
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