If you were going to build a new house, you’d want a team of expert architects on your side that could conjure your dreams, lay them into a blueprint, and make them a reality. Of course, there are other things that go into building a house (materials, construction crews, equipment, etc.), but no house – regardless of whether it’s built with the world’s finest materials or the most competent construction crew – can stand if it’s designed with flaws and defects that would send it crashing down as soon as it’s finished. We get it – when most people think of Altair, they think of our technology. But we know that technology tools are only as good as the design and strategy behind them. Without a team of people who can plan short- and long-term paths to success, even the finest tools go to waste. That’s why we have a world-class industrial design team filled with experts that, like master architects, can turn your dreams into a reality.

Industrial design is a vast, complex, and dynamic field that changes daily as consumers and companies gain access to better information at breathtaking speeds. To stay on top of the design and consumer landscapes requires dedication, domain knowledge, and a commitment to designing products that improve the human experience. Doing this is an intensive task, and even the world’s leading organizations with in-house design branches can struggle if their workload gets too heavy. Similarly, new firms and budding startups looking to refine and expand their product offering often benefit from additional manpower and an external team that has experience in multiple industries. Altair’s industrial design team fills both those needs, and we have the know-how, resources, and personnel to assist any firm regardless of their needs or what phase of the design process they’re in. Whether a company has a finished product that needs tweaking or they’ve got a hint of an idea they need help bringing to life, our team is ready and able to succeed. We can take companies from pre-concept to manufacturing – all under one roof. We think that’s the telltale sign of a company that means business when it comes to design.

Altair isn’t a company just dipping its toes into design; we’ve got a full-service team that embodies our core values. We believe good industrial design is the art of making products that feel like a natural extension of ourselves, our environments and spaces, and the world around us. We believe, above all, products must be designed with human beings in mind – that means they must consider people’s wants, needs, limitations, and creativity to be successful and be the first product people have in mind to fulfill those aspects. “Human-centered design” is our industrial design team’s North Star and it guides everything we do.

Though it may sound like a vague buzzword, our team’s human-centered design approach is a time tested, full-bodied, comprehensive strategy that is applied across all phases of development. We work with clients to ensure their products are optimized and poised for market success. We do a multitude of things to make sure we get it right, ranging from conducting extensive user research, competitive analyses, strategic roadmaps all the way through to design for manufacture. Our methods and processes ensure our clients’ products live up to their promise and improve the overall experience for end users.

Human-centered design is a methodology that encompasses many aspects and processes that must be considered for successful product design. These include sustainability, the moments of truth, safety, and risk mitigation, to name a few. Though there's much more to discuss, this introduction is only the start of this industrial design series. In forthcoming articles, we’ll discuss trends, technology, strategy, and more as it relates to the world of industrial design. Altair’s tools are only a part of our story – our services are just as formidable, and we believe our guiding approach can help companies and users alike benefit from better, greener, more efficient products that improve our lives and the planet.

Visit the following links to learn more about our industrial design team and their offerings, and of course, stay tuned to the Newsroom to catch the latest installments in the Altair Industrial Design Series.