Ask the
Hooper Quinn Experts

While misconceptions and mistakes might represent two distinct categories of error-making, it is almost always the case that the latter are the direct result of the former.

This is crucial to recognise because most misconceptions—and therefore mistakes—can be avoided by taking the time to understand what is involved in developing a product, and by having informed expectations of the time and cost to do so effectively. We’ve provided a host of resources on our website, to give you a detailed overview of the whole process. Explore our Product development Guide alongside our related Services for more information. Or to discuss your project with us in detail, get in touch, and we’ll schedule a convenient time for you to chat with our technical director.

Though simple inaccuracies in design and planning can very often manifest in significant, typically financial disruption during manufacture and production, in our experience nowhere are there more misconceptions than in the prototyping phase. Take a look at our Prototyping Guide to see what processes take place and why they’re necessary.

(Or… “We are a small start-up with little experience in the field, what extra advice and support can we expect to receive from Hooper Quinn?”)

Getting excited about ideas and helping businesses take them forward is what gets us up in the morning. Every enquiry we receive is assessed by our Technical and Commercial Directors, who then conduct a thorough project feasibility analysis in advance of your initial client consultation. By breaking down and mapping out the right product development strategy, we work with you to establish a clear vision for your product.

Businesses reach out to Hooper Quinn when they have a problem that they cannot solve or need guidance through a particular stage of product development. Communication is therefore central to our operation. Our guidance is rooted in strong experience across the core phases of development, and we take the time to ensure our advice is tailored to your specific needs. Honesty represents an immutable commitment at Hooper Quinn, too. And so, while we pride ourselves in being able to take on all manner of engineering challenges, we will always advise against progressing with conceptually flawed projects.

In addition to this Q&A, we’ve packed our website full of useful guides, directories, and case studies. Explore them by returning to the homepage and following the links provided, or consult our list of Services to discover more about how we can help.

A robust development strategy, clear lines of communication, high degrees of engineering competence and adaptability, and managerial integrity are all vitally important to a smooth development journey. But ultimately, we believe that it comes down to the people that you entrust to drive your project forward.

At bottom, trust in the ability of your engineering team to get the job done makes all the difference. Which leads neatly on to the next question…

We’re tempted to suggest that these two questions answer each other. But let’s consider each in turn.

There is a strong trend in the field of product development which sees companies emphasise the marketing element of their enterprise, with photorealistic models and 3D animations populating their websites. While these images may be effective in grabbing the attention of prospective clients, they are not what makes for a workable product, and potential investors know this. The real work is in delivering quality engineering solutions; the best guarantee for commercial success and effective cost-reduction comes from quality workmanship. With experience ranging from the design of revolutionary Formula 1 powertrains and numerous consumer technologies, Hooper Quinn offer this assurance with confidence.

Pitted against today’s fast-food, fast-industry world, our reputation is in designing high-performance products. Your venture won’t be handed off to be fast-tracked by an inexperience engineer. At Hooper Quinn, every one of our projects is overseen by the Technical Director, who, from the initial consultation, maintains regular contact until the completion of our partnership. While we always look to expand our enterprise, we refuse to compromise on quality, and will only widen our service packages once we can guarantee our standards are upheld across the board.

Most importantly, we are our engineers. Our collective ethos is simple: it’s about a collaboration of talented individuals, forging tight relationships in the service of a single vision. It’s about connecting innovators to the talent that can make it happen.

Find out more about our mission and origins, and if you’d like to join our company, check our current vacancies.

Budgets and timescales can differ radically from project to project, but with a wide range of experience in working with small- to medium-sized businesses, we have developed a reputation for the accuracy and reliability of our project plans and quotations.

After your initial consultation, we’ll respond with an informal estimate before presenting a formal technical proposal & quotation, which will communicate in clear terms the scope of work to be delivered, the quality you can expect, what the cost will be, and how long it will take.

By beginning each partnership with a full Product Requirements Analysis and Product Development Strategy, we work quickly to develop a clear path forward for your product. Putting quality at the core of everything we do, our record of cost- and time-efficiency is hard to beat.

To discuss your project with us, get in touch for a free consultation.

Combined, our services offer a total end-to-end-solution, but we can work on projects at any stage in the development journey, from the preliminary concept design analysis to prototype rendering, testing, and commercial production. Our products come in all shapes and sizes, too, as we work on everything from sub-system components and parts to whole products.

During our initial consultation, we’ll provide advice on what we think your project will require, and, should you require the service, will work with you to carve out a bespoke Product Development Strategy.

Consult our Services Directory to see where we can assist you, and explore our Product Development Guide to consider your project in the context of a detailed overview of the end-to-end process.

With experience in helping small- to medium-scale businesses secure funding, with budgets ranging from the thousands into the tens of millions, our funding application and investor onboarding support services are designed to see your project through to the end. Whether it be from government, research councils, inter-corporation schemes, private investment, or crowdfunding, we have a track record of successful funding bids and can help you to implement a robust investment acquisition strategy for your project. We can also facilitate your Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), become a partner in joint funding applications, and introduce you to business and manufacturing partners for inclusion in highly desirable multi-partner funding bids.

Read our Product Development Guide to discover at which phases in your project funding opportunities become available.

Before investing significant time and money in pursuing property rights, we can assist you in meeting the criteria required to patent your product and lay out the benefits of doing so effectively. Covered by NDA, we offer several protection support services, including assessments of proof-of-concept requirements and recommendations on technological-readiness levels, which are recorded in our Technology Feasibility Reports. Starting with a determination of whether your product qualifies as a scientific or engineering novelty, we offer guidance right through to the drafting and submitting of your patent application.

Generally, yes. We’ve worked on numerous large projects for industry-leading companies and engaged in long-term partnerships and multi-project collaborations. Hooper Quinn remains a relatively small-scale operation, however. This is by design. Doing so affords us the agility and control to focus our efforts on each and every project we undertake. We want our whole team to immerse themselves in the ability of our projects to effect real change.

Get in touch to discuss your portfolio with us—we’d welcome your enquiry.

We work with a carefully selected group of trusted suppliers and specialists, whose collective manufacturing and production capabilities constitute an important part of our end-to-end engineering ecosystem. As a result, we’re able to select the partnership who we believe will facilitate the best approach each product’s specific manufacturing needs.

With well-practiced planning and control protocols designed to maximise efficiency and reduce cost and time-to-market, we are equipped to oversee all manufacturing operations. Read more about how our Production Management services can deliver the finished article to your customers quickly.

Manufacturers may offer you help in this area, but with limited breadth of design experience, calling upon them to design your product will likely not give you the best results. Caution is advised, too, with respect to intellectual property, as manufacturers may claim ownership of concept drawings and the like, because you didn't pay for them as a service. This can leave you stuck with a specific manufacturer, which can cause significant problems should your needs change.

This is not the case with a paid designer. Not only are you entitled to all documentation at the end of the project, but should you choose to halt the process at any point prior to completion, we’ll still hand over everything we’ve worked on.

NB: When selecting a dedicated development team, make sure that they have the requisite skills and knowledge to optimise your product for manufacture. Delays and costs will incur if this process is not carried out effectively. See our Design for Manufacture & Assembly and Design for Production services to see how we navigate this process.

It's rare, but it does happen. That’s why we take time to plan for it. Not only do we build flexibility directly into our technical proposals & quotations and Product Development Strategy, we also make sure that robust contingency protocols are in place across our Project Management platforms. Both are necessary for maximal speed and efficiency.

Often overlooked, flexibility is important not only to pre-empt risks and catch unwanted surprises before they can take effect, but also to give our team the breathing room to explore ideas at sufficient depth. Throughout the development process, our engineers will discover highly innovative alternatives or additions that can significantly improve the product’s core functionality (often resulting in cost-reduction). This is, after all, exactly what you want from a talented engineer who’s invested in your idea. All such decisions are communicated to the client as they arise, and offered up as a collaborative design choice, with no obligation to proceed with them.

One of the biggest benefits of being a remote consultancy is that it’s more cost efficient for our clients compared to a company with large overheads.

Operating remotely means that we have the independence and flexibility to use our time more effectively, working intensely to achieve key objectives across short timescales while minimising our collective impact on the environment.

We are free to plan site visits at key milestones in the project, at concept review, for example, upon prototype delivery, and during testing.

We are always proud of our work and will happily make room on our website to showcase our latest engineering collaborations.

Having operated in several high-sensitivity industries we take discretion incredibly seriously, and will never disclose models or designs without the explicit approval of the client.

Whether from an engineering or administration background, we’re looking for a particular kind of person. Structured as a network rather than a hierarchy, our team is made up of a tight-nit group of well-rounded professionals who engage with the company as a whole. We’re deeply involved in the development of each of our team members, giving them the space to grow and the resources to learn from each other and thrive as individuals.

If this working philosophy sounds like something you’d like to promote at Hooper Quinn, you can find our current vacancies online. If there are currently no roles which best describe your particular set of expertise, we welcome your CV and cover letter to join our talent pool or become a Hooper Quinn Associate. We monitor our talent pools very carefully, and so your efforts to get in touch will not be wasted.