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I agree. If you're not scared of designing hardware and you have been exposed to software, it puts you in a position where you can build a physical object and a

I agree. If you're not scared of designing hardware and you have been exposed to software, it puts you in a position where you can build a physical object and also program its behavior. You can begin product level design just as a big player like Apple does with its large dedicated teams. With the advent of SOCs, its possible to do most of the hardware side of the design at the chip level. So if you can combine SOC design with high level programming (if needed) you have everything you need to holistically design a gadget. Can one person do this? Yes, I think so. As designers, with the kind of support we are now getting from SOC design tools and software development tools, the only thing missing is your product level idea and your desire to execute it. If you do this a few times, it almost becomes as simple as writing software. This is why I agree why with Paul, we truly are at the threshold of a renaissance in hardware product design.

jkestner 14y ago
If you're doing something approaching consumer hardware, no, one person can't do this (until someone does, of course). Being good at the quadrant of hard/soft and design/engineering takes a da Vinci, and he didn't mass produce any of it. Apple still had to hire an industrial designer to put a case on Woz's work. But two people, yes. :)
- khitchdee 14y ago
  If you start a startup based on a hardware gadget idea, you can do the initial design of both the hardware and the software and then as you grow you can farm out parts of the process. I am not suggesting you would build a whole gadget all by yourself, but rather that you can conceptualize and drill down into the initial stages of the design enough that you can get your company started with a hardware idea. Of course we are assuming you are not scared oh hardware(chip) design and you have a background in software. So it would require someone comfortable with both software and hardware. A lot of the students studying Electrical Engineering take up jobs as software engineers. These kinds of people would fit the bill.

jkestner 14y ago

If you're doing something approaching consumer hardware, no, one person can't do this (until someone does, of course). Being good at the quadrant of hard/soft and design/engineering takes a da Vinci, and he didn't mass produce any of it. Apple still had to hire an industrial designer to put a case on Woz's work. But two people, yes. :)

khitchdee 14y ago
If you start a startup based on a hardware gadget idea, you can do the initial design of both the hardware and the software and then as you grow you can farm out parts of the process. I am not suggesting you would build a whole gadget all by yourself, but rather that you can conceptualize and drill down into the initial stages of the design enough that you can get your company started with a hardware idea. Of course we are assuming you are not scared oh hardware(chip) design and you have a background in software. So it would require someone comfortable with both software and hardware. A lot of the students studying Electrical Engineering take up jobs as software engineers. These kinds of people would fit the bill.