On Tuesday 19 May 2026, Technology Scotland delivered the second event in its Product Design Scotland Breakfast Seminar series. Created to connect and strengthen Scotland’s innovation ecosystem, the series brings together designers, innovators, and industry leaders to explore key stages in the journey from innovation to commercialisation.

Hosted in an informal breakfast briefing format, each seminar provides an opportunity for practitioners from across disciplines to share ideas, tools, and best practices that support successful commercialisation strategies.

The second seminar focused on Getting the Most Out of Prototyping — a critical aspect of innovation that enables technology developers and designers to fail fast, learn quickly, and ultimately create more successful products. Discussions highlighted the value of developing simplified versions of a product to test functionality and gather feedback before committing to full-scale development. The session reinforced that the purpose of prototyping is not perfection, but learning: validating assumptions, identifying usability challenges, and refining concepts through an iterative process.

The seminar featured guest presentations from Derek Liddle, Owner of Invent Design Build, who explored electronic prototyping, and Stuart Kelly, Director at Systolic, who shared insights into mechanical prototyping.

Derek opened the session by outlining some of the fundamental considerations in prototyping, encouraging attendees to first ask: Why are we developing a prototype, and what questions are we trying to answer? He discussed how objectives can vary significantly — from meeting investor expectations and validating functionality, to refining design concepts or preparing for manufacture. Alongside showcasing examples of best practice in electronics prototyping, Derek emphasised that prototyping should be viewed as an iterative learning process, often requiring multiple versions before the right solution is achieved. He also highlighted the importance of balancing divergent and convergent thinking, warning that converging on a solution too early can lead to promising ideas being dismissed before they are fully explored or validated.

Stuart continued the discussion by reinforcing the importance of asking the right questions at the outset of the prototyping journey. He noted that unclear objectives frequently result in disappointing outcomes. Stuart also highlighted the value of low-cost, rapid prototyping approaches in the early stages of development — including methods that do not require the creation of a physical product. These approaches allow teams to test and validate ideas quickly before making significant investments of time and budget.

The session concluded with an engaging group discussion, giving attendees the opportunity to share experiences of both successful and unsuccessful approaches to prototyping, and to reflect on lessons learned from their own innovation journeys.

Further details on the third event in the Product Design Scotland Breakfast Seminar series, scheduled for late August, will be announced soon