How good ideas get made

IN THIS ARTICLE WE’LL TAKE YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS OF GETTING YOUR BACK-OF-THE-NAPKIN GENIUS INVENTION INTO PEOPLE’S HANDS

The objects used in our daily life are generally taken for granted but let’s take a step back and consider how they came into being in the first place.

They would all have been the idea of someone - whether the designer of a unique car to something as basic as a water carrier or a specialist surf board. 

How did the idea come about in the first place - was it to solve a problem or did the idea generate from work being done on another product? The best ideas tend to be those that solve problems.

But how does one person’s idea end up in our everyday lives? How do you take this idea that’s in your brain all the way through to a finished product? Anyone who has a good idea can choose to take it further but a great deal has to be considered to ensure it’s going to be financially viable. 

The idea has to work and it needs to be profitable to both create and sell, ideally aimed at a large number of people in a viable market. The timing also has to be right before someone else comes up with the same idea and beats you to it.

INVENTION

Inventing a successful product initially requires a lot of in-depth research to ensure intellectual property/patent/copyright/trademarks are not being infringed and that it is truly unique. IP databases have to be scrutinised to ensure the developer of the new product has the ‘Freedom to Operate’ (FTO). This gives authority to develop, make, and market products without legal liabilities to third parties such as other patent holders. A FTO analysis begins by searching patent literature for issued or pending patents, and obtaining a legal opinion as to whether a product, process or service may be considered to infringe any patent(s) owned by others.

Once this is cleared the inventor can apply for a patent with the IP Office. At this stage there is no need to provide in-depth information about the product - this can be finalised within 12 months.

This year allows the inventor time to further develop the product, research the industry, find out what sells and does not sell and scrutinise the competitors, if not the first product of its type in the market, and look for a gap in that market. Information needed to ensure the project is going to be a success includes both quantitative and qualitative data. Potential users can be interviewed from each target group and field research can be done based on observing user behaviour in their environment.

When confident the product is viable the formal design process can start. The key to successful product design is an understanding of the person for whom the product is being created. 

PROTOTYPING

Prototyping is the most important part of the design process and is done at every stage of development from the initial brief to pre-production sign off. It is the act of designing and manufacturing a product as close to the product deliverable as possible. The advantages of including a production prototype in product development are that it enables functionality verification of the design and a review before full production. It also assists the design and engineering team in presenting the product more effectively to customers without the final tooling costs. (Hint: this is something we can help with)

Prototyping can begin with a basic sketch on a notepad, which is developed into a simple physical prototype using rough block models made of card, wood and glue. 3D sketches can be imported into virtual reality programmes and fully representative models using computer-aided design (CAD) can be created using 3D printing. CAD drawings using photorealistic images can explore the functionality and design aspects using different models, different users and different materials. They include all the components needed for the finished product and show how it might work, look and feel taking into account materials, manufacturability, mechanisms and construction. This allows mechanisms to be tested identifying problems and solutions early on. These can be shared with focus groups and the design tested with potential customers.

Several variations of the prototype are usually created to explore functionality, style and logistics of manufacturing - up to three concept designs are usually examined before developing the final product. When every minute detail is finalised the factory is given the detailed specifications of the final product for mass production.

MANUFACTURING

Inventors have two options as to what to do with their product. They can either licence the design to someone else - authorising them to make, use and sell the design, in exchange for a license fee and royalty payments, or they can arrange manufacturing themselves. This will need financial backing which could come from investors with an interest in the product and, in recent years, Crowdfunding has become an option for some small businesses (usually best when customers feel, or are likely to feel, a strong affinity or emotional attachment to your product).

But those businesses who produce the item themselves have many other considerations to resolve. They need to set targets and decide where the product is going to be manufactured.  And they need to determine what markets they are aiming to sell it into - domestic or foreign and whether they are going to licence it to another business for distribution.

Of course products can be made from many many materials and often multiple materials combined together. And there are multiple manufacturing process to suit all needs (we deal with the various plastic manufacturing processes in another article).

Rotational moulding is most suited to making larger items from dense and long-lasting plastic - but this can be combined with other forms of manufacturing, finishing and assembly so that there are many applications where we can enable your inspiration to come to life.

TO MARKET

Finally business owners need a clear plan about how they are going to market the product and how they will make potential customers aware of it.  At the end of the day no customers = no business. There are numerous marketing methods from attending trade shows, getting features in trade magazines, social media, networking with industry members and potential customers and best of all word of mouth from satisfied customers. As we are not marketing experts we’ll leave that subject to other more qualified people!

Do you have an idea burning away? Have you scribbled your way through hundreds of napkins trying to perfect your idea? Perhaps it’s time for some real talk… We’re here for you. Get in touch for an informal chat about what you’re aiming for and let’s see if we can work together to make it a reality!