About

Olive Frogs Designs makes handcrafted tools that help you bring your ideations to reality. We are here to help you grow your creative toolbox with design insight, build tips, and inspiration. Visit our shop to find a few supplies for your next project. In our blog, you learn about our methods for designing and building our products. We want to help you make something cool of your own.

Our projects follow a convoluted design cycle. We start with research to learn more about the needs and preferences of the users we are trying to serve. We're also researching build methods and potential costs. Then we move on to design. This is where we'll ideate on ways to marry what users want, with what we can reasonably make, and inject some creative liberties. While designing, we'll still be doing a bit more research as more questions come up. Once we have a design drafted up, we'll start building something! It is very satisfying to see something you designed, come to fruition. It can also be devastating when your design doesn't go to plan. When that happens, it could be time to go back to the drawing board. Perhaps more research and a pivot in design is needed. Even when a build goes well, there is always room to iterate and improve.

A more formal and comprehensive product development process was defined by the folks at fictiv.com. There are plenty of other sources that describe a similar process. What we’ve settled on is just a boiled-down version of what others have already defined.‍

Happy creating!