TECAtech Design UK


NEWS Shenzhen Design Park TECAtech were invited to the opening of one of the largest design business parks in the world... >>>More Here DesignUK Tokyo 2009 TECAtech have taken part in the UK's annual design event in Japan since it started in 2003. >>>More Here British Business Awards TECAtech were finalists in the 2009 British Business Awards as ‘Most Promising new Business’. >>>More Here Launch of PRISM GLASSES The PRISM Eyewear range was just launched as part of this year’s London Design Week, featuring the PRISM CASE manufactured by us..... >>>More Details here Launch of TITAN This year’s IFA Consumer Electronics show featured the launch of our Universal Remote Control family for Vivanco. >>>More Details here New Lighting Range We are currently designing a new series of low-energy task lights for the SAMPOLO range. More details to follow.... MP3 Design using new IML process With one of our new MP3 player projects we have been experimenting with new surface finishing techniques to produce iridescent metallic colour which can be used on top of an LCD display. UK Furniture Design Exhibition TECAtech took part in the China International Furniture Fair in Guangzhou. >>>More details here New Mobile Phone design Our mobile phone design was featured in Neweekly Design Magazine in an article about the future of design. International Design Seminar at the V&A TECAtech were invited give a presentation to UK design companies at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. >>>More details here Judging the next generation of designers TECAtech were invited to judge in the First China Youth Crossover Creative Competiti-on. The next generation of young designers were competing on the first ‘cross over’ design competition sponsored by SINA... >>>More details here UK Design in China Our recent event 'UK Design in China' as part of the London Design Festival was a great success, thank you to all who took part in the workshops and panel talk and also to Creative Connexions and the TECAtech team. >>>More details here Consumer Electronics Show For the first time selected Design companies from all over the world were invited to participate in the SinoCES exhibition in Qingdao. China’s International Consumer Electronics Show >>>More here DesignModels.co.uk We have launched a new protptyping serive for UK desiners called Design Models, our process provides a high quality painted finish which looks just like a real product or part and at a very competitive price. >>>Web Link here	TECAtech is a British Design and Innovation Company specialising in market targeted product design for the U.S. and Europe. Coming from a highly international and multicultural environment we work internationally to provide innovative product design for the markets we understand the best. APPROACH Design is a key differentiator in establishing Market presence, but successful global design requires true understanding of individual markets and cultures. We have a track record of successful products in Europe, North America, China and Japan and we know how to tailor our solutions to fit these different regions. Combining engineering and design we create innovative solutions with new added value. We consider new technologies, materials, trends, and fashions and integrate this understanding in the product development process. LOCATION With design offices both in the UK and China we offer unique advantages for companies manufacturing products for the European market, as well as for companies targeting the Chinese and other Asian markets. We provide accessible European design combined seamlessly with engineering, tooling and production in China. We eliminate the gap, the delays, and the problems. We are uniquely positioned to act as a cultural bridge for our clients in Asia and the West. TEAM With a mixed team of international designers and engineers we are able to offer a highly innovative and versatile design service with a track record of high volume sales and successful patented design innovation with the quality control you would expect from a British-Swiss company. OUR DESIGN PROCESS Our Design work normally begins with a brief setting out the aims and objectives of a project and outlining certain targets and parameters for its completion. Our proposal will outline our understanding or our clients requirement before we begin. Research and opportunity mapping We begin most projects with a research study of market trends and relevant design references within the target market segment. This helps to define a design direction for the concept generation phase, additionally we can use this stage to help to identify market gap opportunities. Concept development The research phase normally leads directly into the generation of a wide range of design concepts either in 2D or 3D. Using idea generation techniques and structured concept development we explore a wide range of possible solutions to a problem and then together with the client choose the best solutions to develop further. Mechanical Engineering In this phase the concepts are modelled in 3D and the final level of detail is added to the design. Realistic renderings of the concepts are produced for presentation and solid model data is produced for the mechanical design stage. Detail design of each component and generation of 3D CAD files and engineering drawings are provided. Prototyping and manufacturing We can offer a full prototyping and product manufacturing service at very competitive costs due to our location in China. We are experienced accompanying our clients through the manufacturing stage of the product. Design and engineering changes are made to best meet the manufacturing requirements. PRESS Here are a selection of recent press articles and stories relating to TECAtech: PRISM case, Eureka Magazine, January 2010 PRISM case, 5Magazine, January 2010 PRISM case, Dexigner, January 2010 Remote Controls , Dexigner, November 2009 Clear Opportunities for everyone to see, CBBC, August 2009 TECAtech Design Questionnaire UK - China, Product Design Hub, March 2009 TECAtech Creative Workshop: China – UK, Dexiner, March 2009 TECAtech Wireless Ear Buds, Minus5, Feb 2009 TECAtech looks East, The engineer, June 2008 TECAtech spreads wings to China, SEDA, June 2008 NEWS First Wireless Ear-buds Working with wireless technology company Kleer, we have helped to develop the worlds first high quality wireless earbuds for MP3 players. The headphones just launched in the US provide better sound quality than Bluetooth but last three times longer due to lower power consumption. Award winning HDD DVD Our High-end DVD recorders win international reputation for the simple user interface and elegant solution. All complex features are hidden making it easy for any user to quickly grasp the basic functions. Second year of high sales The in-car DVD players designed for RCA have sold over one hundred thousand units since their launch and continue to retail in wal-mart following a design update for a second year. Design week The UKs top design consultancies attended an event in Japan as covered by this article by design week: Japan showcase for UK at DesignUK event. Britain's pool of design talent and creativity was brought to this year's Tokyo Design Week in Japan last week, in the shape of the fourth annual DesignUK 07. >>>More information MXTV Tokyo Interview MXTV Tokyo Business News interviewed us at the Design UK event at Tokyo Design Week. TV Tokyo interview TV Tokyos World Business Satellite programme interviewed us following the design services forum in Tokyo mid-town during DesignUK 07. Single Design for Multiple Markets A single design can be used across different market regions and retail at different price points with suitable changes to colours, finish and graphics without altering the tooling. This design was used for both the RCA brand in the U.S. and Thomson in Europe. New Office Location We have moved our office from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. Our new location now ideally situated for easy access to the manufacturers and development houses we work with. TECA Concept Vehicle Innovation is the heart of what we do. We believe that innovation within new product development is the key to creating a successful market leading solution. The TECA Concept VEhicle is a case study to illustrate our abilities to approach an existing product and radically redefine what it does and how it works. >>>More information	WELCOME NEWS APPROACH LOCATION TEAM DESIGN PROCESS OPPORTUNITY MAPPING CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROTOTYPING/MANUFACTURING PRESS CASE STUDIES CONSUMER ELECTRONICS PORTABLE DVD PLAYER SIMPLE REMOTE CONTROL WIRELESS EAR BUDS HOME THEATER SYSTEM DIGITAL CAMERA AUDIO VISUAL SUITE INTERNET RADIO MOBILE PHONE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MEDICAL FILTER FLUID DRAINAGE TAP SPORTS EQUIPMENT CAR CLEANING BRUSH CYCLE TOOL CYCLE TRAILOR SNOWBOARD ATTACHMENT TECATECH BIKE JOBS CONTACT US: by email info@tecatech.com by phone UK 44 790 503 2171 CN 86 755 2513 1396 by skype BOOKMARK AND SHARE: Digg Delicious Google






	Portable DVD Player Working directly with manufacturers in China to provide products for the US and European markets has given us a greater understanding of how to get the best results and maintain design integrity throughout the product development process. Working closely with Chinese Manufacturer KXD for our client, a well know US Brand, we provided Industrial Design and Mechanical Design guidance to ensure our original concept immerged from the manufacture process. Controlling and guiding manufacturers and development houses up to the point of production can mean the difference between success and failure when the product meets the customer.

	Simple Remote Control Remote controls are often crammed with all sorts of functions that are never or very rarely used. An important part of our approach to designing any human interface is to reduce the complexity. In this example for a DVD recorder remote we studied the way the product was used and altered the design to prioritise the most popular functions and moved the less frequently used buttons to a hidden area of the remote for more advanced users. This approach has the added benefit that customers build a degree of confidence in the product before they make the purchase rather than being put off by complicated looking controls. We used simple block prototypes to refine the ergonomics quite early on in the design process ensuring the most popular buttons were the most comfortable to use.

	Wireless Ear Buds Working with wireless technology company Kleer, we have helped to develop the worlds first high quality wireless earbuds for MP3 players. The headphones just launched in the US provide better sound quality than Bluetooth but last three times longer due to lower power consumption. The headphones use a duel aerial system to eliminate the drop out problem common with Bluetooth headsets for phones. To allow a first-to-market entry level product the final design used a cable to connect the two ear phones together – this greatly reduced cost as only one IC and battery was needed.

	Home Theater system The fast moving market for consumer electronics requires a constant stream of new designs to keep pace with the competitors product offerings each season. We followed this range of home theatre DVD systems for two years updating the design and features in-line with the changing market position and price point.

	Easy Use Digital Camera This high definition digital camcorder was designed to have a simple user interface and raise the price point to nearly twice that of the low definition model. Modern electronic components often fail to give a true impression of their worth, although capable of taking very high quality pictures the small lens unit inside the camera fails to convey this. Our approach for this model was to give greater emphasis to the lens, simplify the user interface and add value with materials and finishes but maintaining its compact size. As part of the development process we made many ergonomic study models to test various orientations of components and use

	Saturn Audio Visual Suite The Saturn audiovisual suite for Vivadi is a high-end TV and Hi-fi system. We worked with Vivadi to establish a future-proof design, extending the product lifecycle well beyond that of conventional consumer electronics. The solution for this product was to separate out the elements of the design that would be suitable for longer-term use and those that were likely to change within a much shorter time scale. The range of products for Vivadi all incorporate a similar philosophy ; include the best technology to date – but allow the electronics to be easily updated in the future. Removable modules which can be easily accessed and replaced by the user at home were used, as the technology changes or improves, only a small part of the product becomes outdated and there is no need to replace the whole system.

	Internet Radio We developed a range of internet radios for a large US brand, the brief was to develop different designs for specific user groups identified by the companies user feed back research. We demonstrated how a signle design approach could be altered for each target group to provide a family of related solutions with a common aesthetic and interface.

	Mobile Phone Our recent mobile phone design has been focusing on the future needs of mobile users, adaptable applications, anti-theft design and a new look at how applications work.

	Medical Filter Smiths Medical is a market leader in anaesthesia and critical care, working with Smiths this project was an in-depth research and innovation study over a fourteen month period to integrate two important components in a hospital breathing system into one new patented product. By eliminating one of the components used in intensive care and surgery breathing systems large cost savings can be made for healthcare organisations and reduced dead-space and risk of disconnection benefit the patient. This project working directly with Smiths internal staff involved prototyping, testing and full risk analysis as well as patent research and filing.

	Fluid Drainage Tap Developed for SIMS Portex this urostomy drainage tap is designed for patients who have suffered from cancer of the bladder. After surgery a bag is used to collect fluid and patients release the fluid themselves every day. When dealing with such a personal and private matter a great deal of care needs to be taken to ensure the device works without fault and that the patients own concerns and recommendations are taken into account. Following research we improved the design for easy single handed use and added an adapter so male users could use an extra flexible tube when standing at a urinal. The design also reduced the number of parts used to two simple mouldings.

	Car Cleaning Brush Working with a large household products manufacturer, we developed an innovative new system for mixing detergent and water in this brush design. Designed for cleaning alloy car wheels this brush connects to a hose pipe and delivers a measured amount of detergent into the water stream discharged from the head. Our challenge was to create a leak-proof pressure vessel with the smallest possible number of parts.

	Minoura Cycle Tool We worked together with Minoura to revitalise and innovate within their existing range of bicycle repair tools. Following benchmark analysis of competitive products we identified the key selling features and better understood the trend of this market segment. We were then able to reassess the way the product worked and how it was used. This resulted in the end product having new features and a radical new look together with a good understanding of how it would actually be received in the market place.

	Cycle Trailor This patented cycle trailer is an in house project aimed at solving some of the problems of inner city transport. As bicycles are increasingly taking a more important role as an environmentally beneficial alternative to cars some of the limitations of cycling such as how to carry things becomes more apparent. Our in-house brief was to find a folding structure that could be used to carry a load by hand and then easily attach to a bicycle.

	Snowboard attachment The Snowbone is a patented snowboarding product that attaches to a snowboard to allow the user to ride the board like a scooter. Working with the inventor, we helped to prototype, test and develop the idea for manufacture. The patented method of attachment allows the snow board to flex and bend so the rider can steer and control the board. The snowbone fills several market gaps: affordable equipment for the first timer, user friendly equipment for the beginner and a cross over between BMX and snowboarding for the youth or the more adventurous.

	TECA Concept Vehicle TECA is a 'Microvehicle' concept aimed at improving the safety, convenience and efficiency of two-wheeled travel. The Aerodynamic shape should give performance improvements of around 35% and save fuel as well! The structure is a 'monocoque' (ie. the structural frame is on the outside) made from carbon fibre composite and honeycomb. It is light in weight and very strong. The outside structure will protect the occupant even when the bike is sliding down the road on its side. Why do 45% of people in London travel to work in a car and only 1% use a motorbike? Why are there no light weight efficient ‘micro-vehicles’ on the market today? Why can’t lightweight efficient transport be safe as well? Today’s problems of fuel shortages and environmental pollution issues are apparent to us all. Cars are, of course, a major contributor to global emissions and often a very inefficient way of using our limited fossil fuels, the technology needed to improve fuel efficiency and provide safe and enjoyable transport is already available. The key to increasing the efficiency of a vehicle is to reduce the weight and improve the aerodynamics. With the use of modern composites, TECA provides a safe, comfortable and fun vehicle that goes faster and costs less to run. It also maintains the key benefits offered by two wheels such as beating the traffic-jams and parking.


Shenzhen Design Park, China - December 2009 TECAtech was offered a space in one of the world’s most ambitious design business parks located in the south of China. China has been investing heavily to build up its design and creative industries; one approach has been the construction of large creative industrial parks which can house a multitude of design related businesses all in one centralised location. Some design companies have expanded to meet local demand and government calls for growth with staff sizes of 1,000 or more. Our team in China were invited to whiteness the building and construction of the park and also took part in the opening ceremony. In the ceremony we were invited to be the first Western company to take a studio in the new building complex.



DesignUK , Tokyo Design Week - October/November 2009 Tokyo's Design festival is one of the most inspiring events of the year and as part of the Tokyo Design Week list of events Britain showcases a selection of its best Design talent. 'DesignUK' has been running now for six years and TECAtech have been there every year. In this year’s event a reception was given at the ambassador’s residence of the British embassy and we were invited on stage at 100% Design. As always there was lots to see, amongst our favorites were Eiji Shibata's Mangrove Chair and sleek folded table by Arata Asada and Miwa Aoyama.



British Business Awards, Beijing - November 2009 TECAtech celebrated as finalists of the British Business Awards 2009 in Beijing. At the award ceremony presented by the British Ambassador to China, Director of the CBBC and other important guests Andy James Lee thanked the organizers and the judges for the honor of being recognized for all the hard work the TECAtech team has put in over the years in China. As founder members of the China Design Taskforce TECAtech have been doing our best to represent British Design in the fast growing and competitive Chinese market. All of us at TECAtech are delighted with this award. To read more: http://www.britishbusinessawards.cn/



PRISM London, Eyewear Case - September 2009 PRISM Eyewear has just launched its new range of glasses which can be seen here, featuring a unique crystalline case made by TECAtech. We worked together with top London packaging designers SabotagePKG who developed the concept of a translucent case with real 'prism' qualities to show off the stylish range of glasses. The PRISM case uses a new plastic developed by DuPont which is both highly transparent and flexible so ideal for protecting glasses. TECAtech designed the case for manufacture and overcame many technical issues to perfect the complicated triangular shape.



IFA Consumer Electronics Fair Berlin- September 2009 IFA is the world's largest Consumer Electronics trade fair, the most important international exhibition for electronic products. This year saw the launch of our new TITAN remote control range for Vivanco. The TITAN 2000 series universal remote control is designed to be as user friendly and comfortable to use as possible. The sleek surfaces provide a rounded comfortable shape that fits naturally in the hand, ergonomically angled for improved functionality. The most frequently used buttons are prominently featured, large and easy to find with a durable responsive feeling. Other keys are smoothly integrated into the surface and are backlit with white LED’s for easy identification. A single Device selection key scrolls between TV and other devices providing exceptional access to all the functions and greatly reducing the keys needed.



International Furniture Fair - March 2009 We took part in China's biggest furniture exhibition representing the UK along with a host of other international design companies. China overtook Italy as the largest furniture exporter in 2005 and the purpose of this exhibition was to raise awareness of the UK design expertise among Chinese furniture manufacturers.



International Design Seminar Victoria & Albert Museum, London – February 2009 We were asked to present at a seminar aimed at design consultancies working in the arenas of branding, commercial interiors, product design, digital design and packaging that are looking to expand their business and clients outside the UK. The event was attended by many of the UK's leading design companies and organisations. As part of our presentation we talked about the results of our UK-China workshops and in particular advice on collaborating with Chinese companies and designers.


The First China Youth Crossover Creative Competition – Tecatech judging the next generation of designers The next generation of young designer stars were competing on the first ‘cross over’ design competition sponsored by SINA, one of China’s most popular websites. Young designers from all over China were invited to take part in the first youth crossover creative competition and submitted more than 3000 pieces of work. The pressure was on with an award of 100 000 RMB for the winner at stake. TECATECH - the first UK design company with a permanent presence in China - was chosen to analyze the work from an international perspective and judge from their outstanding experience within the field of Product Design. Judge Dina Guth from TECATECH was looking at the work alongside famous representatives of the Music, Dance, Movie and Graphic Design industry such as Yim Gum Tim, Sun Zhou, Yang Hui Lan and many more. Shen Chen & Zhang Meng Lun secured the top prize with their work ”Here it is!” for the most original and creative work out of the strong body of entrants. The first price was given to a collage movie which convinced through originality and expression combined with refined and detailed visual language. The award attracted designers from over 21 provinces of China. They traveled to attend the elaborate winning ceremony which was held at Gunagzhou’s White goose Tam bar in Xin Yi Square. The aim of the competition is to assist in the advancement of the practice and development of creativity in China and most importantly to encourage originality and creativity amongst young designers. This years titles were ‘creativity’ and ‘break through’ and embraced contributions from different creative practices such as film, animation, illustration, photography, advertising, graphic design, poetry, packaging and much more. For the coming year the organizers have expressed an interest to stretch the contribution field and encourage work from areas such as fashion, sculpture, and installation art, performance art… This award really emphasis the need to push outside the boundaries and enhance creative thinking and new approaches within young Chinese talent. The judges were evaluating the cross between art and advertising of the young people’s work and emphasized that the work should be new and not just a different application of something already existing. ‘Surprisingly many of the works were comparable to an international standard and communicated to a world-wide audience incorporating strong Chinese cultural elements’ said Judge Dina Guth the business director of Tecatech. This year’s winning entries are on display on the http://www.creative.vic.sina.com.cn website and exposed to more discussion.

Consumer Electronics Show China - July 2008 China’s International Consumer Electronics Show is in its 6th edition and has evolved into a prominent professional fair for the Asia Pacific region. Qingdao which will feature the sailing competition of this year’s Olymipic games is home to the large Home Appliance brands and companies in China with Hisense, Haier and Aux. Next to the exhibition tecatech was also giving a talk on the subject of innovation and new product development in China.

UK Design in China Event - London Design Week 2008 We have been running design workshops for Chinese companies and individuals for nearly two years now. As well as introducing western creative thinking and design techniques we have been documenting the different approaches between China and Europe and learning about the motivations, aspirations and values of Chinese designers and how these differ from the west. Our recent presentation in the UK was titled 'UK Design in China' and focused on our own experiences and findings in China. Together with a panel of experts we discussed what the UK Creative Industry can achieve in China and what kind of boundaries may need to be taken into consideration for designers and businesses alike. Thanks to all the workshop participants for their time and effort. UK Workshop please see the Creatve Connexions web site for more details>>>


Tokyo Design Week 2007 Britain's pool of design talent and creativity was brought to this year's Tokyo Design Week in Japan last week, in the shape of the fourth annual DesignUK 07. The programme, organised by UK Trade & Investment, the British Embassy and the British Council in Tokyo, is the UK's annual trade mission and showcase of British design groups in Japan. This year it involved designers from 11 British consultancies carrying out presentations on the latest in UK design, followed by a seminar featuring Ross Lovegrove and Japanese product designer Naoto Fukasawa. Lovegrove's presentation focused on the 'philosophy of form', while Fukasawa spoke on the 'core of awareness'. Lovegrove also used the occasion to launch his lightweight carbon case, Onehundred&ten, created for Globetrotter. Participating groups included Joseph Joseph, Andrew Lang Product Design, The Division, TKO Design, Universal Design Studio, Contemporary Art Holdings, DPA Lighting Consultants, Keech Design, Tecatech, Seymour Powell and Sheridan & Co. Pearson Lloyd, which presented collections at 100% Design Tokyo and Design Tide - both part of Tokyo Design Week - also attended the event. TKO, in collaboration with Olympus Future Creation Laboratory, unveiled an LCD display called EyeTrek, which enables the user to receive all kinds of visual information via mobile networks. Olympus worked closely with Andy Davey at TKO, who created the detailed product design and product positioning for EyeTrek. According to Iain Willis, commercial officer, British Embassy Tokyo, 'With DesignUK 07 we set out to put on a more compact event than in some years, but with more profile. We've worked hard to raise the profile of UK design in Japan.'



CURRENT JOB VACANCIES HONG KONG OFFICE We are currently seeking the following positions in our Hong Kong Office: Assistant / Administrator Fluent mandarin speaker with excellent English skills, experience working in consultancy an advantage. Self motivated and willing to work hard. The candidate should be self confident and capable of business negotiations together with foreign staff. Willing to travel to China on a regular basis. CHINA OFFICE We are currently seeking the following positions in our Shenzhen Office: Personal Assistant Fluent mandarin speaker with excellent English skills, experience working with foreigners important. Cantonese and HK visa an advantage. Self motivated and willing to work hard. The candidate should be self confident and capable of business negotiations together with foreign staff. Engineers The person we are looking for will need to be self motivated, intelligent, personable and be able to cope with the pressure of working to deadlines. English language skills important, mechanical design in consumer electronics essential, excellent CAD skills including solid works needed. Must show samples of previous experience and successful projects. Capable of working independently in small teams. Designers we are always looking for fresh design talent, CAD skills and Rendering along with hand sketching a must. We will only consider the highest standard applicants. Please send samples of hand sketches, solid modeling and design work together with your CV. UK OFFICE We are always looking for new creative talent in our UK office, a willingness to travel to China and work closely with our manufacturers there is essential. High energy and enthusiasm is a must together with working to tight deadlines and self motivation. Our office is a multicultural environment and most of our projects are international so travel is necessary. We also consider placements and internships. How to apply: As well as a CV/resume, please send a brief description of yourself together with work examples in a way that will help us to pick you out from the crowd. We will interview as soon as we have seen a suitable candidate. Applications should be directed to jobs@tecatech.com


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