Founder and principal consultant Craig is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers who graduated from the Loughborough University School of Design. He has extensive experience in new product development, across a range of industrial sectors, with both SMEs and large blue chip multinationals including Caterpillar and Rolls-Royce, where he worked as Chief Design Engineer.
It is never easy, or straight forward, to develop something new. Having worked in New Product Development for over 25 years I have seen what works well and also many common mistakes that lead to avoidable cost and delay. My aspiration is to share my knowledge and experience to help projects organise, create a robust plan and make the right technical decisions at the right time in the development cycle.
We work with a trusted network of associates, all of whom are highly experienced and share our passion for excellence. This ensures that our clients can be confident they are dealing with time served specialists with proven credentials.
ZUAN is the Japanese word for design. From architectural minimalism, to the unique aesthetic of graphic illustration, to the philosophy of continuous improvement embodied by, “engineering the Toyota way”, Japanese design is lauded for the beauty it finds in simplicity and synonymous with a well considered approach where form follows function.
図 (ZU)
A figure, drawing, illustration, picture.
案 (AN)
A plan, draft, plan, proposal, scheme
Our philosophy is to engineer designs that work, by developing a clear understanding of the purpose for the design and the problem it is trying to overcome. We do this by employing a systematic approach to the creative process, focusing on key customer requirements and technical rigour.
How we work…
Successful outcomes are fundamentally determined by clearly defined project requirements. Our approach is based on the Double Diamond process, developed by the UK Design Council.
Stage 1 | Discover. Seek to understand, rather than assume. In the initial discovery phase we spend time with the people who are affected by the issues to ensure the problem being solved is the correct one.
Stage 2 | Define. Work up potential solutions to the problem and assess their viability against the requirements established in stage 1.
Stage 3 | Develop. Seeking inspiration from elsewhere and co-designing with a range of different people the preferred solutions are develop into, “design(s) engineered to work…”.
Stage 4 | Deliver. Depending on the scope of engagement, delivery may involve testing out different solutions at small-scale, rejecting those that will not work and improving the ones that will.
