Choice of materials for innovative design

When designing an innovative product, you want to make sure you choose the right materials to improve your chances of success. We suggest a five-step approach.

The aim is to obtain a viable list of materials and processes corresponding to a set of design requirements. Assessing the viability of a material means checking whether the balance of its technical, economic, environmental and legal attributes is favorable. This involves a technical model that takes into account user preferences and product personality, as well as a cost model and prior identification of the market and the level of potential added value generated by the product. The following questions need to be answered:

• What are the design requirements?

• What strategy should be put in place to select viable materials?

• How do you summarize and prioritize?