What Design Means to Me
By Andy Heath | Asgard Secure Steel Storage
I’ve always believed that good design is about much more than making something look attractive. It’s about solving problems, challenging conventions and creating something that genuinely makes people’s lives better.
After more than 10 years working with Asgard Secure Steel Storage, I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in everything from initial product concepts and development through to manufacturing, marketing and customer experience.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that great design rarely happens by accident.
It comes from curiosity, experience, understanding people and, perhaps most importantly, being prepared to question why things are done a certain way.
Design Starts With a Problem
For me, design has never been about simply creating something new for the sake of it.
It starts with a question.
Why does this product work this way? Could it be better? Could it be stronger, easier to use, more practical or more attractive?
Sometimes the simplest questions lead to the biggest improvements.
At Asgard, we’ve always approached product development by looking at genuine customer problems.
People need secure places to store bicycles, motorcycles, tools and valuable equipment. The existing solutions aren’t always particularly secure, practical or durable.
That presents an opportunity.
But rather than simply copying what is already available, I’ve always been interested in how we can approach the problem differently.
That, to me, is where design becomes interesting.
Design Is About People
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that you don’t have all the answers yourself.
At Asgard, I’ve had the opportunity to work with people with very different skills, experience and ways of looking at a problem.
Someone in manufacturing will see something differently from someone in engineering. Sales and marketing will have another perspective. Customer service hears directly from the people using our products, while the people delivering and installing them see things that somebody sitting in an office simply won’t.
All of those perspectives matter.
I might start with the original idea or have a strong view about where I think we should go, but that doesn’t mean the finished solution has to be entirely mine.
Somebody else might spot a problem I’ve missed. They might suggest a simpler way of doing something or come up with an idea that takes the original concept somewhere better.
I think one of the skills you develop with experience is knowing when to lead, when to listen and when to let somebody else’s expertise improve your idea.
For me, the best design isn’t about being able to stand at the end and say, “That was my idea.”
It’s about being able to say: “Together, we found the best solution.”
Convincing People Is Part of Designing
There’s another side to design that I don’t think gets talked about enough.
You can have what you believe is a brilliant idea, but unless you can convince other people to believe in it, that idea may never get any further.
One of the biggest design challenges has nothing to do with drawing, engineering or manufacturing. It’s convincing key stakeholders that your idea is the right solution.
You might be able to see exactly where you want to go, but the people around you won’t necessarily see it immediately. And why should they?
They’re looking at the idea from their own perspective. Someone might be considering manufacturing costs. Someone else is thinking about production. Another person is looking at sales, customer demand, risk or the disruption involved in changing something that already works.
I’ve learned that simply having a good idea isn’t enough.
Part of being a designer is learning how to communicate that idea, defend it, listen to objections and sometimes modify it without losing the thing that made the original idea good in the first place.
There’s a fine line between having conviction in your design and being too stubborn to listen. Experience teaches you the difference.
Sometimes you have to prototype something. Sometimes you have to demonstrate it. Sometimes you have to explain the same idea five different ways before somebody sees what you can see.
And occasionally, you have to accept that they’re right and you’re wrong.
For me, design isn’t simply about finding the right solution. It’s about taking people with you and giving them the confidence to believe in that solution too.
Designing for Manufacture
This is where design meets reality.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that a good idea isn’t necessarily a good product.
You can design something that looks fantastic. It can be clever, innovative and work brilliantly on paper.
But if you can’t manufacture it efficiently and at a cost that makes commercial sense, ultimately it isn’t a viable design.
That’s why the relationship between design, engineering and manufacturing is so important.
Our manufacturing team understands processes, machinery, materials, production time and practical limitations in ways that someone approaching the problem purely from a design perspective might not. The same applies to our product design and engineering teams.
There have been occasions when I’ve been absolutely convinced that my solution is the right one, only for somebody closer to the manufacturing process to say: “There’s a better way of doing this.”
And sometimes there is.
Part of becoming a better designer is learning to recognise that.
You have to be prepared to back down, put your ego to one side and accept that someone else might have found a simpler, more efficient or more cost-effective solution.
I don’t see that as compromising the design.
If the end result is better for the product, better for the customer and financially viable for the business, that is good design.
For me, designing for manufacture is about finding the balance between creativity, engineering, quality and commercial reality. A successful product ultimately has to satisfy all four.
The Relationship Between Design and Manufacturing
One of the things I’ve always appreciated about working at Asgard is our manufacturing heritage.
We’re not simply a company that comes up with products and sends drawings elsewhere to have them made. We design and manufacture our products here in Yorkshire.
That connection between the people developing a product and the people actually making it is incredibly valuable.
An idea might look fantastic on a computer screen, but until you’ve considered how it’s going to be manufactured, assembled, transported, installed and ultimately used by the customer, you’ve only solved part of the problem.
I’ve always enjoyed that interaction between creative thinking and practical engineering.
Sometimes an engineer will explain why something can’t be manufactured in quite the way you’ve imagined. My natural reaction is often to ask: Why?
Not because I don’t respect the technical challenges, but because I think questioning limitations is an important part of innovation.
Sometimes there’s a very good reason why something can’t be done. Other times, asking the question leads everyone towards a different solution.
That’s why I believe the best designs come from collaboration rather than departments working in isolation.
Good Design Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
There’s a temptation in product development to keep adding things: more features, more components, more technology, more complexity.
But I’ve often found that some of the cleverest solutions are surprisingly simple.
A small change to a product’s shape, an adjustment to how a door opens or a different approach to accessing stored equipment can make an enormous difference.
And sometimes removing something unnecessary is just as important as adding something new.
For me, good design should feel natural.
The customer shouldn’t have to think too hard about how something works. It should simply work.
Listening to Customers
One of the biggest influences on my approach to design has been listening to customers.
Over the years, we’ve received thousands of comments, suggestions and questions about our products. Some are complimentary. Others tell us where we could improve. Both are valuable.
The people who actually use a product every day can often identify opportunities that the people designing it might overlook.
Customer feedback can influence everything from dimensions and security features to accessories and relatively small practical improvements.
Sometimes a suggestion that initially seems insignificant can lead to a much better product.
That’s why I’ve never viewed design as something that ends when a product enters production. A good product can always become a better product.
Quality Is Part of the Design
I don’t believe you can separate good design from quality.
You can create the most attractive product imaginable, but if it doesn’t perform properly or starts falling apart after a few years, what was the point?
Our manufacturing background has always influenced the way we develop products.
We understand steel, fabrication, engineering and the importance of creating products that last.
That doesn’t mean every design decision is easy. There will always be commercial pressures, manufacturing limitations and costs to consider.
But those challenges are part of the design process.
Customers might initially be attracted to something because of its appearance or price, but ultimately they’ll judge it by how well it performs.
And that’s what determines whether you’ve designed something worthwhile.
Seeing an Idea Become Reality
One of the most rewarding parts of product development for me is seeing something progress from an initial thought into a finished product.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about that journey: the initial idea, the discussions, the sketches, the engineering challenges, the prototype, the inevitable changes and the arguments about how something should work.
And then eventually, something that started as an idea becomes a physical product coming through the factory.
When you then see customers using it, appreciating it and recommending it to other people, that’s when all that effort becomes worthwhile.
That satisfaction has never really disappeared for me.
Design Is About Thinking Differently
I’ve never believed that innovation should be restricted to people with “designer” written in their job title.
Good ideas can come from anywhere.
The factory floor, engineers, salespeople, customer service teams, delivery drivers and customers themselves can all offer a perspective that changes the way you look at something.
What matters is creating an environment where people are prepared to contribute ideas and question existing methods.
Just because something has been manufactured or designed in the same way for years doesn’t mean it’s still the best way.
Technology changes. Materials improve. Manufacturing techniques develop. Customer expectations evolve.
Our thinking has to evolve with them.
British Manufacturing Matters
I’m proud of the fact that Asgard products are designed and manufactured in Britain.
Not simply because it’s something we can put on a website or in a brochure, but because I believe there’s enormous value in retaining design, engineering and manufacturing skills in this country.
When those disciplines work closely together, businesses can become more innovative, responsive and better equipped to develop products that genuinely stand out.
British manufacturing has faced plenty of challenges over the years.
But I still believe businesses prepared to invest in people, technology, manufacturing and product development have a strong future.
And good design has an important part to play in that.
Design Is Never Finished
Perhaps one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that design is a continuous process.
No matter how successful a product becomes, there’s always something to learn.
A different material. A better manufacturing technique. A new customer requirement. A suggestion from somebody on the factory floor. Or simply a fresh pair of eyes looking at an old problem.
I never want to reach the point where we believe we’ve got everything right.
Because the moment you stop questioning things is probably the moment you stop improving.
What Design Really Means to Me
Ultimately, design is about curiosity.
It’s about looking at something and asking how it could be better.
It’s about creativity, but it’s also about practicality.
It’s about having the conviction to fight for an idea when you believe in it, while having enough humility to recognise when somebody else has a better solution.
It’s about using the knowledge and skills of the people around you rather than believing you have to have all the answers yourself.
It’s about balancing what you want to make with what you can manufacture and what makes commercial sense for the business.
And sometimes it’s about compromise.
Not compromise for the sake of it, but the intelligent compromise that turns a good idea into a product that can actually be manufactured, sold and used successfully.
For me, great design has never been about being able to say: “I was right.”
It’s about being able to look at the finished product and say: “We got it right.”
And after more than 10 years at Asgard, that’s still one of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of what I do.
Andy Heath
