The short version
You’ll have a design your manufacturer can quote and build without guessing, with CAD that matches how parts split, assemble, and feel in-hand, plus clear notes on what must be checked before cutting steel.
You’re coming to us to move from a rough direction or an early prototype to geometry, materials, and assembly that work in the real world. Next, we’ll confirm constraints, then start form exploration.
We start by locking down the constraints that drive everything later, including target cost, materials, key interfaces, and what has to stay from existing work. Then we explore form and ergonomics, build production-minded CAD, and pressure-test it against draft, parting lines, tolerances, fasteners, and assembly before it ever reaches a toolmaker.
About us
We’re a two-person industrial design studio. Émilie Bouchard leads industrial design, so the early work answers real questions about grip, reach, safety, and how the product reads on a shelf. Marc-André Gagnon leads CAD surfacing, so the forms you approve become buildable geometry with controlled split lines and surfaces that hold up under tooling constraints.
Clients bring us in when the risk is not the idea, but the handoff. We keep decisions connected, so a change in form updates the CAD, the assembly approach, and the DFM notes together. We’ll also tell you when a feature is likely to cost you later, because draft angles, shutoffs, and tolerance stack-ups don’t care how good a render looks.
Who you will work with
You’ll work directly with the two of us, and you’ll see the same people from the first sketch through factory handoff.
Team
Émilie Bouchard, Industrial designer. Émilie runs the brief workshop and the form and ergonomics exploration, then translates what you pick into decisions we can defend in CAD and prototypes.
Marc-André Gagnon, CAD surfacing lead. Marc-André builds the CAD and Class-A style surfacing, and he’s the one sweating parting lines, draft, ribs, bosses, and what the tool will actually do.
Selected work
Here are a few recent product design jobs that went from early direction to CAD, prototypes, and a clean handoff to manufacturing.
Portfolio
Handheld appliance redesign. We reworked the grip, button placement, and enclosure split to fix assembly issues and reduce visible mismatch at the seam. The final CAD supported two housing materials and a simplified fastener strategy for faster builds.
Consumer electronics enclosure. We rebuilt the enclosure around an existing PCB and connector set, then tuned the external surfaces so the split line followed the form without undercuts. The DFM pass removed side-actions by changing internal snaps and clearances.
Personal care product mechanism. We took a working prototype and turned it into a manufacturable assembly with defined fits and wear surfaces. The prototype round focused on feel, latch reliability, and tolerance stack-up before any tooling quotes went out.
“Their CAD matched the factory reality, and the prototype behaved like the final product.”
Product manager, a consumer goods brand
How we work
This kind of work goes best when we make the tricky constraints visible early. We’d rather flag draft, splits, fasteners, and tolerance risks in week one than discover them after a prototype round or, worse, after a tooling quote.
1. Brief workshop Week 1 We run a working session to lock constraints you can measure: target cost, materials, key dimensions, compliance needs, what must stay from existing CAD or prototypes, and the decisions your manufacturer will ask about. You leave with a confirmed brief and a list of open questions we need answered to start CAD safely. 2. Form exploration Weeks 1-2 We explore form, ergonomics, and product architecture in parallel. You’ll review options that show size, grip, reach, interface layout, and how the product breaks into parts. We’ll ask for quick decisions here, because a chosen direction is what keeps later surfacing and DFM from turning into rework. 3. CAD and detailing Weeks 2-5 We build production-minded CAD, including split lines, internal structure, fastening approach, and the surfaces that control how parts meet. If you have existing CAD, we can work from it when it is structurally sound, or rebuild when it fights manufacturability. You’ll see checkpoints where we confirm fit, clearances, and assembly order. 4. Prototype and handoff Weeks 5-7 We plan a prototype round that matches the risks, then capture test notes that feed directly back into the CAD. After that, we do a DFM pass and prepare the handoff package your manufacturer expects. If manufacturer feedback comes in during quoting, we’ll review it with you and adjust the design without losing the original intent.
Confirmed design brief
A written brief with the constraints, priorities, and open questions captured in one place, so the design, CAD, and manufacturer conversations stay aligned.
CONCEPT DIRECTIONS
A set of form and ergonomics directions with clear differences, shown with enough views and scale context to make a decision without guessing.
PRODUCTION-MINDED CAD
3D CAD for the parts and assembly, built with split lines, internal structure, and interfaces that reflect how the product will actually be made and put together.
Prototype plan and test notes
A plan for the prototype round and the notes that come out of it, including what was tested, what changed, and what still needs confirmation before tooling.
DFM SUPPORT PACKAGE
Manufacturing notes that call out draft intent, parting line assumptions, fits, fasteners, and risk areas, written so a factory can quote and comment without a long back-and-forth.
CMF SPECIFICATION PACK
A CMF pack covering colours, materials, finishes, and key appearance surfaces, with callouts that help your supplier match what was approved.
Pricing
These options cover the same product design process, with different depth in form exploration, CAD detailing, and prototype support depending on where you are before tooling.
Priced items
Getting started
If you’d like us to hold time for your product design work, the fastest path is to sign and book the first workshop.
1. Sign the proposal to confirm scope and pricing. 2. Pay 30% to book the work and reserve the start date. 3. Send any existing CAD, prototype files, and constraints so we can prep the workshop.
Signature
Fee summary
Payment
To book the work, we invoice 30% when the proposal is signed. The remaining 70% is invoiced when the finished work is handed over. All invoices are payable within 14 days.
What we need from you. We’ll start once you send a brief, target cost range, and any must-keep constraints (key dimensions, components, standards, branding). If those inputs change midstream, the schedule and scope move with them.
Existing CAD. We can work from your existing CAD or rebuild it, depending on file quality and what needs to change. We’ll confirm the approach in the brief workshop after we’ve opened the files and checked surfacing and feature history.
Changes to scope. If you add requirements after the brief is confirmed, we’ll spell out the impact before we do the extra work: what changes in CAD, what it means for prototyping, and any added time and fees.
Feedback and approvals
You’ll get review points at the end of form exploration, during CAD build, and after prototype notes. We need one decision-maker to collect internal input and send one set of notes per review to keep momentum.
Prototype rounds. Each package includes one prototype plan and test-notes pass, and we’ll support a prototype round as described in the package. Additional prototype rounds are common, and we’ll quote them once the first build method is chosen.
Manufacturer coordination. We can join calls with manufacturers and review their feedback against the CAD and DFM notes. If a factory proposes changes, we’ll translate them into design tradeoffs: cost, tooling complexity, assembly risk, and appearance.
Ownership. Once the final invoice is paid, you own the finished work we hand over for product design, including the agreed CAD, CMF specification pack, and DFM support package. Our working files and unused concepts stay with us.
