Should I hire a product designer, or can I figure this out myself?
DIY it for a first version if your product is a formulation, apparel, or simple hardgood, most Indian factories have in-house design teams who'll iterate off references for free once you're a real customer. Hire a designer only when the design itself is your differentiation (a distinctive silhouette, a packaging-led brand, an electronics form factor), because that's where a bad first impression is expensive to undo.
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3 resources, 1 India-specific, 3 link-checked.
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✓ Link checkedFreeBeginner
The clearest plain-English walk-through of the design-to-CAD-to-prototype pipeline, useful as a checklist even if you outsource every step to a factory.