About us

Crucible is a product design agency near Oxford that delivers creative innovation, practical solutions and profitable results. The consultancy is run by Hugh Raymond and Mike Ayre, who established the practice in 1990. We’ve developed hundreds of successful products for clients of all sizes, from small specialist companies to multinational corporations. Please look over the sections below to find out more about our approach, our work and what our clients think of us.

Our approach

Crucible's product design services are delivered in a friendly, collaborative way and backed up by over thirty years of practical experience. Our work combines creative ideas with practical solutions and commercial experience. For us, good design is about how to make something look great, cost less to make, work better and be easier to use. 

Read more
Our approach

Why work with Crucible?

There are five reasons to choose Crucible as your industrial design consultancy partner:

  • We listen - to your ideas, timescales, concerns and cost targets
  • We’re experienced – a track record of hundreds of projects over 30 years
  • We deliver - your project will be completed on time and on budget
  • We're team players - with a friendly, positive approach & no jargon
  • We cover the whole process – from initial ideas to the finished product
Read more
Why work with Crucible?

What our clients say

  • “From the initial product strategy meetings through to the concept design and technical development, Crucible has delivered two stunning hand driers that represent an exciting new chapter for Airdri. ”
    David Lewis, Group Engineering Manager - Airdri Ltd, Oxfordshire.
  • “The benefits that Crucible brought to our business are extensive. Their design input has substantially reduced both production costs and operating overheads.”
    Mark Bosley, Suez Water Systems, Oxfordshire.
  • “The cabinet lock has opened up a large and very significant market place for us with sales growing month on month. We can comfortably attribute a significant part of the success to Crucible's involvement.”
    Dominic Ryan, Codelocks Ltd, Berkshire
  • “So much styling and so much function at a mid-price point offers outstanding value in a hand drier.”
    Alan Gettleman, Bobrick Corp, Los Angeles
  • “Crucible's experience and guidance was essential to the entire process. They were very professional and hand-held us every step of the way to ensure there was a clear brief and that we met our deadline. ”
    Mark Crittenden, OXIS Energy, Oxfordshire
  • “Crucible delivered a modern, stylish, practical design, within the Parker brand guidelines and played a major role in meeting the tight deadlines for its international launch.”
    Ian Timms, Parker Hannifin Manufacturing Ltd, Sussex
  • “Crucible were great to work with on this project. They provided a superb service and a first class result.”
    Peter O'Donnell, Gerrard O'Donnell Ltd, Liverpool
  • “Mike and Hugh took a very co-operative approach to the project and were always available for the discussions and meetings that are so important in a project like this.”
    Adam Clatworthy, Technical Project Engineer, SKC Ltd, Wiltshire
Read more
What our clients say

Product design consultancy

T: +447786262989 E: info@crucibledesign.co.uk

Crucible Design Ltd, 16 East Lockinge, Wantage, Oxfordshire. OX12 8QG