We are product design and customer experience innovation consultants... 

The Clandestine Team

Clandestine Design Group was founded in 2014 by product designer and Design Director - Neil Davidson. Neil left his previous role as Creative Director of CMD Product Design and Innovation after 14 years to explore new opportunities in design and business.

In addition to leading the agile CDG team, Neil also works in a number of other self-funded ventures that stretch his design skills, hone his business nouse whilst keeping his design thinking and creative edge sharp to help CDG’s clients in their new product development and innovation programmes. To learn more about Neil’s background and other business ventures feel free to click through the Team page.

Our Partners

Sometimes the outcome our client is looking for needs collaboration with other design disciplines and R&D partners. CDG is confident that together with our network partners we can meet the needs of any design and innovation programme. These partners include Graphic / Brand Designers, Digital Communication Agencies, UX UI Application Software Designers, Electronic Hardware Engineers, Spatial Designers, Rapid Prototyping and Mass Manufacturing suppliers.

Our network of partners are simply the people whom we respect and have had wonderful success collaborating with on projects past. We are confident that they deliver work to the same level of quality and standard that we do.

Having said this, collaboration is a core value so we are more than happy to work with anyone you believe would contribute to a project. We are always eager to expand this network and engage with new people.

Our clients are all shapes and sizes, from local sole traders to global Tier 1 businesses with employees based all over the world. CDG takes on all types of projects across all industries with the same level of interest and energy - from delivering large scale consumer products against a tough timeframes or budget, to helping a passionate entrepreneur convert a game changing idea to an innovation and then onto commercially viable business.

Our client’s ideas or insights for innovation are often formed by being a frustrated customer, identifying a gap in the market because a product isn’t meeting your needs or from the certainty that there must be a better or safer way to do your job. Your experience and expertise are an essential part of the design process that CDG leads you through, to assist you to develop the best design outcome and new market offering.

Although we enjoy working every day with small businesses to build on their existing success using our services, our designers are just as comfortable assisting large organisations. We are well versed at meeting your businesses specific requirements, whether it’s developing customer engagement programmes, facilitating innovation workshops, building a new product development and innovation roadmaps or simply assessing off tool product samples for you in Asia; we have you collaboratively covered.

Regardless of the size of the business CDG works with clients in the same way, without disrupting your business we covertly endeavour to understand the culture of your business, your point of difference and your purpose. Then using creativity and collaboration we build mutual respect and develop our relationship. This relationship makes it easier to work together, to keep communication clear and open between the businesses allowing us to achieve the great things together.

If you would like to see who we have helped and the incredible work generated in the past feel free to use the link below and review our portfolio page.

Our skills and services

Clandestine Design Group’s skills and services cover all aspects of the strategic to tactical innovation and new product development process. Some client projects engage skills and services sequentially as part of the engagement model where others pick what is required when they need them.

The following list of skills and services have been grouped relative to the three phase CDG engagement model:

Reconnaissance Phase – Qualitative Market, Business and Customer Needs Research:

• Business Model Review
• Purpose, Practice and Promise Workshops
• B2E, B2B, Stakeholder and Customer Engagement Programme Development
• Ethnographic Studies
• First Person Interviews and Observational Research Studies
• Customer Diaries and Photo Journals
• Focus and Co-Creation Group Facilitation
• Foresight Studies – Future Social, Cultural, Technology Trends Analysis
• Hindsight Studies – Past Social, Cultural, Technology Trends Analysis
• Persona Mapping
• Customer Journey Mapping
• Service Model Design
• Synthesis and Insights Presentations

Strategy Phase – Innovation Modelling

• Translation of Insights to Innovation Strategies
• Innovation Strategy Low Fidelity Prototyping or Pretotyping
• Scenario Planning and Narrative Walk Throughs
• Innovation Strategy Horizon Mapping
• Innovation Strategy Business Case Assessment
• Innovation Portfolio Development
• NPD Pipe Line Development
• Innovation Strategy Product and Business Concepts
• Tactical Development Briefs

Tactical Phase – Product Design, Engineering and Manufacture

• Industrial Design
• Competitor and Market Research
• Product Visual Brand Language Development
• Colour Material Finish Trends Studies
• Product Lifecycle Mapping
• Technical Requirements Specification Development
• Analogue Hand Sketch Concept Development
• Digital Sketch Concept Development
• 3D CAD Models
• Photorealistic Renderings and Animations
• Design for Mass Manufacture Engineering
• User Experience Design UX
• User Interface Design UI
• 3D Printing Rapid Prototyping
• CNC Machined Prototyping
• Batch Beta Trial Production
• Mass Production Processes and Tooling Management
• Asian Manufacturing Supply Chain Management
• Point of Sale and Structural Packaging
• Exhibition and Tradeshow Display Design
• Impact Assessment - Post Production and Commercialisation Review

It is rare that a project would use all of the skills and services listed above. Every client is unique and their projects need a custom engagement model response that utilises the most effective and efficient use of these skills and services. To learn more about the typical CDG Engagement Model feel free to link through the Engagement page.

Design Thinking, Design Led, and Design Integrated are terms used to describe the world’s most innovative and profitable businesses. Often our media highlights the large design led organisations however there is actually no corporate size requirements for a business to be design centric.

In today’s market it is common to see a Start-Ups or SMEs embrace design and radically disrupt a major and mature global competitor.

Despite the technical jargon that drowns the design and innovation industry we must remember that design is a human centric problem solving approach. So when a company is considered design led it really means they have put humans, their people, stakeholders, customers and end users at the centre of their business. They use design processes and thinking to solve problems that deliver real meaning, real innovation and real value to the market.

So if you are unsure where to start…start by using design! Get in contact, drop us an email or give us a call. Put yourself at the centre of the problem for a while and see how we can help you or your organisation.