Professional Industrial Design

[warmodder]

I'm pretty unfamiliar with the entire process of designing a product from beginning to end. I have a concept, but I'm not sure exactly how to put that concept into production. I know that I need people to code specific parts, design the hardware and interface, and develop branding, but I'm really unsure where to begin. Some questions I have:

Has anybody gone through the product development process before? I'd really love all the hints and tip I can get.

How much does a professional design consultant cost? I don't want some fly by night operation but at the same time I can't afford a tremendous amount.

What is the time frame for developing a product? Do I need to create a working product before I go to investors or can I get money with just an idea?

Right now I figure I can get about 10k in capital to start with. Is this enough? Am I even in the ballpark?

I hope my post is explanatory enough...let me know if I'm unclear though.

Thanks!

 

[boredhokie]

Hm the first thing I would do with that money is hire a hire a patent attorney and see if your idea is something that's actually viable. Once you win a patent you can start shopping your idea around to designers, VC, etc.

 

[warmodder]

Originally posted by: boredhokie
Hm the first thing I would do with that money is hire a hire a patent attorney and see if your idea is something that's actually viable. Once you win a patent you can start shopping your idea around to designers, VC, etc.

This seems like a good idea, I wasn't sure about patents.

Anybody else? Surely somebody has gone through this process before.