Logos can make your brand stand out, but how do they get that way? How do inventpreneurs go from ideas, descriptions and emotions to a final product? The featured  development of our logo will show you.

The process theory revolves around iterative designs based on refinement and feedback.  The process begins with a description of the company / product.  The description should include high level functional and emotional statements for example: quality, organized, bringing elements together, which developed into two concepts: “center of the team” and “flow chart process”.  For our case, we had our designer read through the existing website and create a first round of designs (left).

We selected our two favorite of the group and encouraged our designer to experiment with colors.  We liked logos 4 and 6, but we were looking for some additional work on the logo to expand on the flow chart concept of number 4 and the center of the team concepts in number 6.

We ended up choosing the blue and green flow chart concept and we really liked it.  We brought it out into the marketplace and solicited feedback.  The feedback that we got was positive, but

we wanted to experiment with adding a little pop to

the logo.  The next round contained a lot of pop both with the logo, text and orientation.  We liked integrating a circle into the middle of the logo to get back to the center of the team concept.

Of course you knew what we ended up with at the very begining of the post, but I hope that this example of both the logo creation process and the development process as a whole has helped.

Post your Logo Story!

This past weekend I attended the Hampstead Mothers Club Craft Fair to sell my pens and my girl friend’s mothers purses and gooey apples.  I’d rather not say that we weren’t prepared, but we didn’t have a sign, business cards or any of the other marketing materials the other vendors had, however we were selling while other vendors were not. Here is how you sell without all that jazz.

Get the Buyers Involved: Gooey Apples:  My first walk around the show had at least three other booths with similar candied apples ranging from $6-$10.50, ours were originally priced at $5.  To separate ourselves from the competition, we pursued a sampling strategy for the apples which were a main focus to move because they only last for around a month.  So we cut up our apples, handed them out to kids and parents, never denying a second sample and word spread throughout the fair.  We were able to do this because of our volume, we had 100 our competitors maybe had a dozen similar products in inventory.  We held our price for a while, but we did go for 2 for $8 and then for the last hour when it got quiet 2 for $6.

Getting the customer to taste our apples helped with selling, how can your product affect the customers through their senses.

Value is Perceived: The purses sold well too, perhaps second or third in the category of totes which was crowded.  This was a perceived value play.  The purses were really high quality (felted wool) and the customers knew that they had seen purses like these for much much more $.

Early Sales Outlets: The craft fair I attended and many are a ripe ground to secure some early sales for a product.  The craft fairs are always looking for more new items, just make sure that you frame your product correctly in the application.  These fairs and even flea markets are great areas to find some real feedback from unbiased consumers.

Make Sales: We were constantly altering our booth, presentation, changing prices and trying new strategies.  We were talking to the people walking buy, but focused on making the sale.  Many entrepreneurs / inventors that attend shows are much more passive, but getting people involved is exciting.

Pitchmen, a new show on the Discovery Channel puts inventors, entrepreneurs and seasoned Pitchmen professionals together to bring new products to market.

The recent episodes I have seen (episodes are not online) had products that were on Tools, Fitness, Cosmetics and Home & Garden. A few recent products are the  Tool Bandit, Grabit, Spin Gym, and  Heel Stick.

The typical show format is an introduction to four new concepts in a very short pitch, two of which will become the focus of the show.  The team will then push the product towards market.  Every product is different, is in a different stage and therefore needs different things including advertising / trade show/ investment & partnership presentation.  Billy and Sully often do sidewalk or environmental test markets.

What Else you get behind the Scenes

ABCs of Pitching

While doing demo hand movements can attract attention – good but shouldn’t cover up the demonstration – Bad

Story of the invention big. 50% of selling is the product, the other 50% is getting customers to buy the person / story. Going against big competition: Oxy Clean, Tide – stain pen.

Idea evaluations

Product concerns

Price Setting

Attractive Appearance

Easy to Use

Branding / Naming / Trademarks

A large part of duck tape prototyping is doing it for cheap. This could mean $20, $200 or even more… but it is still a lot cheaper than a professional prototype. The cost of duck tape prototypes is mostly materials. There is no expensive CAD, engineering or design to be done, only fabrication time. The hidden cost of duck tape prototypes is the time, but since most inventors do this stage in their basement or workshop time isn’t a wallet type expense.

You can save time by doing your homework on materials, supplies and parts that you expect to need. Most can probably be found walking around the box stores in your area, but you could save some money and some alteration time by finding the materials online. Beware however to check the specifications / drawings of these parts to make sure they are what you think they are, and not just a pretty picture.

The major difference between duck tape prototyping and all other types of fabrication is the variety of materials you will use. You can use wood, plastic, metal and everything in between.

Also beware that you will probably use more materials than you expect. You will make mistakes on your early prototypes, having a few extra materials will help avoid wasting more time by going back to the store or waiting for shipping. Having extras will come in handy, but always save your receipts and return unused materials, that money can come in handy later in the development process.

Often we get asked, how can we communicate our ideas without any artistic ability. Being a bad artist myself, I think that I can help with a few tips. First you need to figure out your goal, communication or impression. If you are trying to communicate I can help, if you are trying to make things look pretty I can’t besides working with one of our designers. Admit to yourself that you are only looking to communicate your idea and let go of making your drawings look perfect.

Secondly, look at your equipment. Do you have a scanner, a digital camera or a fax? Do you have a computer with some drawing software on it like Microsoft Visio or Paintbrush? These questions are important because the goal is to communicate with someone else you need a way to share.

Okay here are some drawing tips.

1. DRAW BIG- The temptation is to draw things small, so mistakes look better. The problem is that the good stuff gets hidden in the small size too.
2. USE COLORS- Colors can help show different items, something that is especially helpful if the invention is an assembly.
3. LABEL EVERYTHING- Briefly describe (1-3 words) each item. Then on a separate piece of paper describe the items in detail, including a rough idea of dimensions.
4. GO LONG- Don’t try and fit everything on one page, if you have everything on one page it is most likely too small.
5. BE BOLD- Regardless of your equipment thin light lines are hard to read, make them thick and dark.

Sharing is the other side of the equation. If you have a camera snap a few pics, send it in a fax, or scan it in and e-mail. If you are doing it on a computer, make sure the recipient can open it. In general, if you can’t draw it by hand and don’t try it on the computer. Just go for it!