One3 Design: The Design Orchestrator

About One3 Design: The Design Orchestrator

The Design Orchestrator | Beyond the Whiteboard Every product starts as a rough idea — a napkin sketch, a "what if we tried..." at a whiteboard. This show follows that idea to the shop floor, where it becomes something you can hold, weld, and ship. Hosted by One3 Design, we go behind the curtain on product development — industrial design, CAD modeling, prototyping, and manufacturing — with the engineers and fabricators who make it happen. Based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, One3 Design has spent 20+ years turning ideas into market-ready products. Follow along from napkins to steel.

Publisher

One3 Design

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Jun 2026

Latest episode

4 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

7 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Nov 2026

   Episode 7: When Do You Move From Designing a Product to Actually Building It?

   When Is a Design Ready to Build? Moving from design concept to commercialization too early wastes time and money, but waiting for a perfect design creates its own problems. The key is knowing what needs to be validated before taking the next step. In this episode of The Design Orchestrator, Clay Martin, CEO of One3 Design, discusses how product development teams determine when a design is ready for the build phase. Clay explains the importance of internal design reviews, client sign-offs, manufacturing considerations, and prototype testing. He also discusses why building individual components or subsystems before assembling the complete product often helps teams identify problems earlier. In this episode, you'll learn: - What determines whether a product design is ready to build - How premature builds lead to wasted materials, time, and resources - Why over-designing delays valuable physical testing - How prototypes help validate functionality, aesthetics, and mechanical performance - Why client approval and clear deliverables matter before moving forward From early prototypes to production-ready designs, Clay shares practical insights into balancing design confidence, development costs, and manufacturing readiness. Ready to take your product from concept to commercialization? Explore One3 Design's industrial design, design engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing services: one3designinc.com (https://one3designinc.com/)

2. 

   26 Oct 2026

   Episode 6: What Actually Happens During the Design Phase of Product Development?

   A product can look perfect on screen and still fail in production. What really happens during the Design stage to make sure it works and can be built reliably? In this episode of The Design Orchestrator, One3 Design CEO Clay Martin walks through Design, the third stage of One3's Proven Process: Discover, Define, Design, Build, and Deliver. Clay brings more than 30 years of experience in digital engineering, Class-A surface modeling, and manufacturing processes, and holds twelve patents. Design is where “the rubber meets the road.” Clay explains how form follows function through structural analysis, tolerance stack-ups, material selection, FEA, and mold-flow analysis. He shares how industrial design and design engineering work together, why One3 honors the industrial design language, and how parametric CAD tools like PTC Creo let the team iterate and “fail faster” before building physical prototypes. Clay also explains the Design for Manufacturing (DFM) review and what he says sets One3 apart: knowing what “done” looks like. That means a fully manufacturable CAD model, with draft, shutoffs, and tool clearance already accounted for, so suppliers can move straight to tooling. In this episode: What the Design stage involves beyond aesthetics The engineering behind snap fits, crush ribs, and living hinges How industrial design and design engineering work together Why DFM reviews matter before tooling How small details like wall thickness or screwdriver clearance can stop production Have a design that looks great on screen but hasn’t been proven for production? Bring it to Clay and the One3 Design team. Visit https://one3designinc.com/ (https://one3designinc.com/) Follow The Design Orchestrator on your favorite podcast platform. Next episode, Clay takes on the Build stage: what it takes to actually get it built. Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@One3Design) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon/Audible⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e48a847-b558-4815-ad91-15e0dc3d8e47/one3-design) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one3-design/id6785543387) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pocket Casts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/one3-design/a43fc540-55f8-013f-a97f-0affea7591c5) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Castbox⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://castbox.fm/channel/One3-Design-id7293941?country=us) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠iHeart Radio (https://iheart.com/podcast/337801456/)

3. 

   19 Oct 2026

   Episode 5: When Do You Actually Get an Accurate Product Development Budget?

   How much should you budget to develop a new product when you don't even know what it will take to build it yet? In this episode of The Design Orchestrator, we explore one of the biggest questions facing inventors, startups, and manufacturers: When can you actually get an accurate product development budget? One3 Design CEO Clay Martin examines why estimating product development costs early can be challenging and how a structured development process helps turn initial assumptions into more reliable numbers. From identifying technical requirements and defining project scope to considering engineering, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing, understanding what goes into a product is essential to planning what it will cost. Whether you're bringing a new invention to market or planning your company's next product, understanding how development budgets take shape can help you approach the process with greater confidence. Have a product idea but aren't sure what it will take to bring it to life? Discover how One3 Design helps turn concepts into market-ready products at https://one3designinc.com/ (https://one3designinc.com/) Follow The Design Orchestrator and listen on your favorite podcast platform for more practical conversations about product development, engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing. Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@One3Design) ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon/Audible⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e48a847-b558-4815-ad91-15e0dc3d8e47/one3-design) ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one3-design/id6785543387) ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pocket Casts⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/one3-design/a43fc540-55f8-013f-a97f-0affea7591c5) ⁠⁠⁠⁠Castbox⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://castbox.fm/channel/One3-Design-id7293941?country=us) ⁠⁠⁠⁠iHeart Radio (https://iheart.com/podcast/337801456/)

4. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Episode 4: What Gets Locked In During the Define Stage of Product Development?

   What gets locked in during the Define stage, and how does it protect a styling and packaging program from scope creep? In this episode of The Design Orchestrator, One3 Design CEO Clay Martin breaks down Define, the second stage of One3's Proven Process: Discover, Define, Design, Build, and Deliver. Clay Martin brings more than 25 years of experience in digital engineering, Class-A surface modeling, and manufacturing processes, and holds twelve patents. He explains how Define turns what was learned in Discover into a product requirements document that covers functional specs, target cost, target volume, materials, compliance standards, and the key constraints that drive Design. Most importantly, it defines what "done" looks like. Clay calls that requirements document the contract for what gets built. He compares it to the plan for building a house: it sets the scope and the cost, and any deviation becomes a change order. Clay walks through what happens when a client wants to skip Define and jump straight into Design, whether requirements can change once they're locked, how stage gates help teams decide when to pause and revisit a decision, and how to work through scope disagreements as partners. As Clay Martin puts it, any change down the road is "a visible change, not a hidden one." For OEMs, manufacturers, and engineering teams, a disciplined Define stage eliminates ambiguity, sharpens cost estimates, de-risks the program, and keeps everyone aligned from concept to commercialization. Have a styling and packaging challenge? Explore how Clay Martin and the One3 Design team deliver form, function, and the floor it's built on. Visit https://one3designinc.com/ (https://one3designinc.com/) What's the toughest part of keeping a program on scope? Join the conversation! Follow The Design Orchestrator on your favorite podcast platform for more practical insights from Clay Martin on styling and packaging. Youtube⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@One3Design) ⁠⁠⁠Amazon/Audible⁠⁠⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e48a847-b558-4815-ad91-15e0dc3d8e47/one3-design) ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one3-design/id6785543387) ⁠⁠⁠Pocket Casts⁠⁠⁠ (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/one3-design/a43fc540-55f8-013f-a97f-0affea7591c5) ⁠⁠⁠Castbox⁠⁠⁠ (https://castbox.fm/channel/One3-Design-id7293941?country=us) ⁠⁠⁠iHeart Radio (https://iheart.com/podcast/337801456/)

5. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Episode 3: What Happens During the Discovery Phase of Product Development?

   A costly product development mistake can begin before the first design is drawn.In this episode of The Design Orchestrator, One3 Design CEO Clay Martin breaks down the first stage of One3's five-stage process: Discover, Define, Design, Build, Deliver. As a Product Development Partner, One3 starts by investigating a product's purpose, market opportunity, technical constraints, safety requirements, and manufacturing options before any design work begins. Why invest in discovery when there's no prototype to show yet? Clay walks through what clients walk away with: documented risks, the key challenges ahead, and a clearer path forward. He also shares how asking fresh questions helped one client rethink an expensive development approach before committing to it. Have a product idea, or a challenge your team can't quite solve? Explore how One3 Design takes products from concept to reality at one3designinc.com (https://one3designinc.com/). Follow The Design Orchestrator on your favorite podcast platform for more conversations from inside the product development process: Youtube⁠⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@One3Design) ⁠⁠Amazon/Audible⁠⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e48a847-b558-4815-ad91-15e0dc3d8e47/one3-design) ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one3-design/id6785543387) ⁠⁠Pocket Casts⁠⁠ (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/one3-design/a43fc540-55f8-013f-a97f-0affea7591c5) ⁠⁠Castbox⁠⁠ (https://castbox.fm/channel/One3-Design-id7293941?country=us) ⁠⁠iHeart Radio (https://iheart.com/podcast/337801456/) What's one question you'd want answered before investing in a product idea? Tell us in the comments.

6. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Episode 2: Why Use a 5-Stage Process Instead of Just Starting to Design?

   If you had an hour to solve a problem, how much of it would you spend understanding the problem? In Episode 2 of The Design Orchestrator, "Why Use a 5-Stage Process Instead of Just Starting to Design?", Clay Martin, CEO of One3 Design, explains why skipping straight into CAD means getting ahead of yourself. Clay borrows a well-known line: "If you have an hour to solve something, spend fifty-five minutes understanding the problem and five minutes solving it." That thinking is behind One3 Design's five stages, in Clay's words: 1. Discover: understand the current state, the constraints, and the opportunity 2. Define: define what done looks like and align the scope and outcomes 3. Design: develop the right solution using the right pieces 4. Build: execute, test, and improve to optimize 5. Deliver: deliver in the real world Each stage works as a gate. Before a project moves forward, the open questions get answered. Will the product face constant UV exposure? What loads does it need to handle? Which industry standards and regulations must it meet? That gives clients the chance to stop, recalibrate, or adjust scope before costs grow, and it keeps both sides aligned on what's being built. The process also flexes. Clay estimates about 99% of projects include Discover and Define, but some engagements end at Design, and others start at Build with a finished drawing package. As Clay puts it, "the framework of the five-stage process fits virtually everything." Coming up, the series breaks down each stage one episode at a time. Listen to Episode 2 of The Design Orchestrator: Youtube⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@One3Design) ⁠Amazon/Audible⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e48a847-b558-4815-ad91-15e0dc3d8e47/one3-design) ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one3-design/id6785543387) ⁠Pocket Casts⁠ (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/one3-design/a43fc540-55f8-013f-a97f-0affea7591c5) ⁠Castbox⁠ (https://castbox.fm/channel/One3-Design-id7293941?country=us) ⁠iHeart Radio (https://iheart.com/podcast/337801456/) Learn more about One3 Design (https://one3designinc.com/).

7. 

   29 Jun 2026

   Episode 1: Inside One3 Design

   Great ideas don’t become real products on their own. They need the right engineering, testing, manufacturing strategy, and a team working in sync at every stage. In the first episode of The Design Orchestrator, host Mike Downer sits down with One3 Design founder Clay Martin to explore the experiences that shaped his approach to product development. Clay offers insight into the path that led him to establish One3 Design and the principles that continue to guide his work today. The conversation also touches on how One3 Design supports inventors, startups, and established OEMs in moving ideas forward, outlining a structured, stage-gated approach that takes concepts from early exploration through to production-ready solutions, including design, engineering, prototyping, testing, and manufacturing support. To learn more about how One3 Design applies this end-to-end development process in real-world projects, visit the One3 Design (https://one3designinc.com/) website to see how its team can help move your next product from concept to commercialization. Follow The Design Orchestrator and listen on your favorite podcast platform for more conversations about engineering, innovation, manufacturing, and how products actually get built. Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@One3Design) Amazon/Audible (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e48a847-b558-4815-ad91-15e0dc3d8e47/one3-design) Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one3-design/id6785543387) Pocket Casts (https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/one3-design/a43fc540-55f8-013f-a97f-0affea7591c5) Castbox (https://castbox.fm/channel/One3-Design-id7293941?country=us) iHeart Radio (https://iheart.com/podcast/337801456/)

Contact One3 Design: The Design Orchestrator

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.