In last week’s blog, The Importance of Storytelling Through Medical Cart Design, we discussed how your products are a reflection of your company—which naturally means your medical cart should be sexy and suave. But at what point will you have to choose between aesthetics and functionality?
More often than not, the deciding factor in these situations is cost, specifically how much you’re willing to spend on aesthetics. Any design engineer is capable of creating a dull, unattractive yet fully functioning medical cart at a manageable price, but how well would it sell?
“It’s more about finding a balance,” says HUI design engineer, Dwayne Beckmann. Functionality should take precedence over aesthetics, but there’s always a trade-off. A medical cart can have a fully functional, straight handle. It’s the best design for the medical cart if we’re focusing primarily on usability. However, if we incorporate a slight curve in the handle, it will increase visual appeal, but it may not be as easy to move. The cart is still able to function, but the augmented aesthetic quality comes at an additional cost.
In some cases, customers need to consider product consumption. For example, one of our customers exceeded their budget because they opted to pay for quality products and invested more time in the aesthetic details of their medical cart. Consequently, they sold exponentially more products than initially anticipated.
Aesthetics don’t always have to come at a huge cost. In some cases, we’ve added a cool graphic or a few non-functional accessories to enhance visual appeal without compromising the medical cart’s purpose. For other carts, we’ve applied a curved plastic cover to hide the machines held within it and create a pleasing visual line.
Ready to find your medical cart’s balance? Contact us today to start developing a medical cart that meets your needs for form, function and affordability.
