This chapter examines the early stages of the design process and provides practical and appropriate methods and techniques commonly used in design research, constructing and analyzing a design brief, identifying customers’ needs, and establishing a comprehensive Product Design Specification (PDS). Examples, images, and tips from a variety of product design projects reinforce the essential aspects of how to progress a project from inception to PDS. Generally speaking, these early stages of the design process progress chronologically, but it is not uncommon for there to be some flexibility in the order that product designers carry out these activities.