"It's good to hear from the in-house crowd here. I am also in a small in-house design team, and we design/manufacture Fire & Safety products. We have complete freedom to work through a project in the fastest way we can think of. More often than not I find that I can work from a (very rough) sketch to cardboard to a final product faster than I can sketch there. Building a rough model seems to pull the pitfalls out of a design faster than I can sketch them. We are also in the unique position where we have a full test lab and it has been faster to prototype and destructively test than it is to model and simulate through FEA. But, based on this article I'll have to keep brushing up my sketching skills if I want to stay relevant in the wider context of ID."

"I enjoyed this post..Store: print a photo with a big white cup inside the machine. No-one reads instructions, but following photos is easy.Product: 1.change the tray design so that it doesn't look like it drains - If something drains, you assume it can cope and you happily "trial" where the coffee will go. 2a. place button inside cavity, so that it is pressed by the cup when inserted.2b. or extend spout lower? (mentioned below)2c. open cavity in the bottom, so you aren't worried about getting burnt. - all 3 give a natural sense of awareness of the hot water/coffee"

"I know several parents whose newborn children were happiest in a cardboard box (though I almost fell off my chair when I heard about it). But aside from that, we can't be afraid to rework products that we purchase. Why shouldn't you re-purpose to suit your own needs? As an in-house product designer I find that you always have ideas for a v2 when a product is frozen for manufacturing, there's always room for improvement. There's furniture through my house that I have trimmed, re-painted and turned on its head to better suit my needs.**As long as you are aware of the risks and understand the responsibility now rests with you, not the manufacturer. "