The benefits of a more integrated development process  

In the furniture industry, new designs are essential for maintaining relevance and competitiveness, as products must both support the brand’s identity, differentiate the collection, and attract attention in a market with increasing demands for sustainability, quality, and price.

However, we often find that technical considerations are only seriously addressed later in the development process, which can make even minor changes both complex and costly.

When the design is locked, flexibility is limited

When we become involved in a new furniture project, the design has typically already gone through several internal iterations, where expression, proportions, and details have been carefully refined, and the product is therefore often considered nearly finalized.

At this stage, our role is primarily to provide feedback on strength, material selection, and construction details, but once the design is locked, even small adjustments can be difficult to implement—both technically and economically.

This is particularly relevant when evaluating the construction in relation to production efficiency, assembly, transport, and durability, where it may be necessary to challenge key elements of the design in order to ensure optimal manufacturing and a competitive solution. This can naturally be perceived as interfering with the original design intent, and we have great respect for that.

Our role is therefore not to change the design, but to ensure that it can be realized in practice—robust, production-ready, and economically sustainable.

Early involvement makes a noticeable difference

In recent years, we have worked more closely with selected furniture brands and designers already in the early stages of development, and the results are clear.

• A shorter path from idea to prototype
  In several projects, the development time from initial sketch to finished prototype has been reduced by up to 30% compared to previous processes. When technical considerations are integrated from the beginning, costly redesigns and additional testing phases can be avoided.
• Requirements become an integrated part of the design
  When requirements for strength, durability, recyclable materials, production methods, and price point are considered early, they no longer act as limitations but instead as frameworks for innovation. This leads to more well-thought-out solutions and fewer compromises later in the process.
• Closer collaboration and stronger ownership
  When design and engineering work in an integrated way, a shared understanding of both vision and constraints emerges. This improves the quality of decisions and creates stronger commitment to the final product.

Avoid unnecessary costs late in the process

The greatest costs in the development process rarely arise from poor ideas, but rather from technical challenges being identified too late, when changes are significantly more expensive to implement.

This may involve joints that are not optimized for mass production, constructions that are either over- or under-engineered, or material choices that challenge both cost and lead time.

When such issues are discovered late, they affect not only the product itself, but also timelines, tooling costs, and overall margins.

By involving technical expertise earlier in the process, these challenges can be identified and addressed before they develop into delays or additional costs, without compromising the original design ambition.

A stronger foundation for future collections

The best results are achieved when design ambition and technical realism go hand in hand from the very beginning, and when construction, material selection, production, and price point are part of the dialogue already in the concept phase.

When engineering and design work together from the start, the result is not only a shorter time-to-market, but also stronger products, better economics, and a more robust foundation for future collections.

Let’s start the dialogue early

We see that a more integrated development process leads to both better products and more efficient workflows, and we therefore encourage design teams and furniture brands to involve technical expertise earlier in their development processes.

This is not about limiting design freedom, but about ensuring that the design can be realized in the best possible way—technically, economically, and in terms of production.