DESIGN

Design according to Umania is not a pure and simple style game, but the result of design processes, which are complex and variegated, but always unique and flexible.

Umania helps companies innovate their products considering trends but also perceptive aspects, the “classic” technical specifications parallel to the use of new materials, the complexity of the functions and the user friendliness. Umania develops new product lines, replacing existent individual products with others capable to satisfy new market needs, studying scenarios of use and offering the study and development of products and services.

Design, as it is conceived by Umania, has to give solutions to some needs and give directions to ideas consistently to business strategies; that’s why it is important “to enter personally” in the customer’s culture, observing whatever he does, analyzing his lifestyles and understanding his still unsatisfied needs.

The activities Umania can support this design process with, are:
-    Experiential Design – definition of the user’s experience of use of products and services
-    Conceptual Design - sketches and rendering of product and service concepts
-    3D Modelling
-    Rendering of 2D and 3D models
-    2D and 3D Animations
-    Rapid prototyping of virtual models
-    Pre-engineering and engineering of the product

To carry on better all these activities Umania has got a design team made up of professionals coming from different disciplines, able to support the project development in all its aspects:
-    Industrial design
-    Visual Design
-    Technology and application of materials
-    Engineering

The activities of ideation and design are supported by specific tools, such as:
-   Concept generator: through creative techniques it supports clients involving them in the delicate phase of conceptualization, from which new ideas and projects take shape.
-    Design research: search, study, realization of the best experience of use for the final user, so that the interaction with the product or service is not only a memorable experience for those who take advantage of it, but also a significant additional value for the client.
-    User research: the user is always at the centre of Umania’s care, in all phases of the project development through specific analyses of different kind. Umania uses ethnographic observation techniques by means of which it understands the unexpressed users’ needs, organizes some focus groups to inquire into concepts and prototypes and avails itself of usability studies to improve the characteristics of the product.

The application fields are several: from product design (consumer, vending, vehicle, and packaging), to the design of services (institutional communication), to design environments.