Build It and Maybe They Will Like It.
The traditional methodology for inventing, designing, and selling a new product is dead. There is something to be learned from the silicon-valley inspired crowdsourcing put on by sites like kickstarter or indiegogo. Essentially what is happening here is people are selling products before they are even built.
The Old-School Way of Inventing New Products
Traditionally, you dream up a new widget which solves a problem. It might be a stronger and lighter cladding or a new labor-saving metal stud which installs in less time. Regardless of what it is, the next step is to sketch it, design it, manufacture it, test it and then ultimately market and sell it. It is not until you have spent a fortune in time and money that you find out if it will be a success or a failure.
The Modern Way of Inventing New Products
The online-tech world has a different way now, a leaner and smarter way. You design the product, focusing not on how it will actually work, but on the problem it will solve and what it will mean to the customer. You make a great video, throw it up on kickstarter and if the idea resonates with people, they will put money in up-front to get your widget. If enough people do this, you meet your goal and you now have the money to actually make the thing.
I’m not suggesting that building products should be created this way, but maybe there is a lesson to be learned here.
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Have a Virtual Version of Your Invention Made First
What if you took your latest and greatest idea and created a video which used photorealistic 3d animation to demonstrate what the product is, how it works and why someone should use it in a 3 minute video? That is exactly what a few forward-thinking bpm’s have been doing for years.
You then pass that video up and down your organization, or to an industry partner or investor. If everyone agrees on the potential of the widget, you then use the video to put the idea in front of your potential customers and then gauge their interest.
If they show a high enough level of interest, then you go ahead and manufacture the widget without the risk of it being a complete failure in the market.
You Will Improve Your Invention Before Building It
An unintended consequence of this methodology has often been the refinement of the product design at a far earlier stage. Typically, when someone hands me a new product design, I will make my 3d model of it, but I will also model it in-context so we can show how it is installed, where it is installed and why. In that process, if there is an inherent design flaw in the product, we will find it far before the thing is mass produced, or even before it exists in the physical world at all.
For Example
For example, when you watch this video below, think about how this could have been created long before this product was ever actually manufactured (it wasn’t – but I thought it would make for good food for thought). Consider the possible implications of that in the way your organization invents new products.
Regards and I hope you find beauty today, even when it does not yet exist.
-JY
About the Author :
Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.
His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.
