Challenge:
ClearCuts Acrylics
Challenge: In my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, my three business group members and I as the product designer, were tasked with creating a business around a product idea, and then pitching that product to the Weisman Art Museum Giftshop for them to sell during the holiday season.
Phase 1 - Ideation
We began the project by touring the Weisman Art Museum and it's Gift Shop. Our goal was to get a good idea of what they were missing/looking to sell so that we could fill that gap. Using the information we gathered, we held a brainstorming session of items we could design and produce at a low cost. We came up with a variety of ideas, spanning from apparel, snowglobes, specialty hot chocolate, wrapping paper, coasters, glasswear, 3-D printed puzzles, sticker protectors, etc. The concept we decided to go forward with was mixed flannel t-shirts that had Minnesota roots. We designed and sewed this idea for our first market, however, we found sewing 2-shirts took us over 6 hours and that t-shirts are very expensive to buy and sell. Not to mention none of us had a sufficient background in sewing. Our product got no votes for best product in the class. They were not favored by the customers that came to the market, so at that point we knew we needed a pivot.
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I then started brainstorming new ideas that we could do at a super low cost and efficiently, as that seemed to be our biggest obstacle. I came up with the idea for custom designed laser-cut ornaments. I had done a lot of laser-cutting and AutoCAD work in high school and found that it could be applicable to making a sellable product. My group was initially hesitant, as it was a big pivot from our last concept. However, I told them I would sketch/AutoCAD some designs to show them how unique this product could be.
First Sketches of ClearCut Acrylics Ornaments
When I showed them the sketches and explained how we could also recreate infamous exhibits that the Weisman Art Museum had to offer through laser-cutting, they decided that the pivot was the best idea. After consulting with our professor we decided that using acrylic in opposed to any sort of wood would be much more unique and possibly attract a wider audience.
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We had twenty people vote on which designs they liked the best. From there we narrowed down to three designs that were Minnesota related, and three designs that were Weisman related. I then used AutoCAD to make the six designs and we did our first laser-cut print to test the designs.
Minnesota with Skyline
Minneapolis Skyline
Minnesota Outline
Weisman Museum Outline
Fish Exhibit by Frank Gehry
Original Weisman Sketch by Gehry
We then took the test prints to Instagram to poll potential customers and see what they thought of our product idea.
Potential Customer Feedback
Twitter Poll
From doing survey's on Twitter we found that decorating a tree with ornaments during the holidays is very common. This proved to us that there is a market for a new type of ornament. There was also a lot of interest in the product when we did initial polling on Instagram, we also got great insights on which designs we should keep and which ones we should alter. Which leads me into our iteration & development phase.
Phase 2 - Iteration & Development
We came into the second market with slightly different designs after completing the social media polling, and with a lot more questions to ask potential customers. The second market went exponentially better than the first, after our pivot we had the most votes in the class for best product, and we started collecting ornament orders right there and then.
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We also received a ton of great feedback on our designs/product as well as possibilities of how to package it going forward. It was suggested that more be added into the Minnesota outline design, such as snowflakes, to give it more of the Minnesota feel. Potential customers didn't love the type of ribbon that we used which was a grey and gold sparkly thin ribbon. They said it made the product look cheap which contrasts with the high quality look of the acrylic. Feedback also included that we should have an option for customization, so that any design can be requested through an order form of some kind. Finally, we got feedback that our business name, which at the time was "Novel Décor", didn't fit the product well and that we should brainstorm new names.
Market 2 Product Set-Up
After taking the feedback into consideration, we decided to move forward with the brand name ClearCuts Acrylics, as it was recognizable and easily conveyed what type of product we were selling. We also moved forward with a bright festive red velvet ribbon which helped tie the product together very nicely. After discussing with our professors we came up with packaging that was a clear plastic covering around a piece of cardstock, with an image on the back that reflects the ornament design and has a blurb about it's history.
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After the many changes we made, we were very excited going into the meeting with the Weisman Art Museum representative, to pitch our product to be sold in her museum. The representative met with 15 teams, and after our pitch she loved our idea, so she made us an offer at the event, and told us how many of each ornament she was looking to sell in her museum.
Product Example Packaging
Frank Gehry Fish with Red Ribbon
Final Pitch Presentation to Weisman Museum Rep
We did receive some minor feedback from her, and went forward to make those changes before she made us an official offer, this lead us into phase 3.
Phase 3 - Finalizing & Selling
After fixing the small things the representative was looking for, she went ahead and made us an offer. Of our six designs, she decided she wanted to sell 3 different kinds in her shop. The three she wanted were the Minnesota with snowflakes, the Weisman museum outline, and the fish ornament. For pricing she wanted us to give it to her for a price she could mark up 52%. We decided to sell each ornament to her for $3.80, so she could mark it up to $8.50 per ornament. She purchased 48 of our ornaments, and from there we hit the ground running.
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We also started taking orders through our other channels; such as social media, the markets we attended, friends and family, and a website that we newly created.
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To get everything ready for purchasing, we had three major steps to complete. We had to laser-cut all the product, then tie the ribbons onto each one and package it accordingly. We also took nice photographs of our final product so that we could market it on social media and add the images to the website for potential customers to parse through. I started creating and laser-cutting more designs based on customers requests, so we added those designs to our website for customers to have more options to choose from.
Mass producing and packaging our product
Designs being laser-cut
Final Product Photos
Final Packaging Photos
After finalizing everything, we were ready to market and sell product. The Weisman representative got our product in their gift shop and we were shipping out all our requested orders.
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Now for the figures, we sold over 300 units of our product and made about $2,000 in profit in one month. We produced our product for less than .90 cents a piece including packaging, and sold our product for $8.50 a piece.
Custom 1 of 1 Designs
Yola's Café Product Photos
Design for a local Wisconsin Café
History of Café on Packaging
Website Images
Images of Product in the Weisman Museum
Product Featured on Social Media
Over the duration of the project I learned and developed so many skills. The class challenged my creativity in a way I hadn't expected. Creating the designs for the ornaments and getting a business up and running in such a small time frame gave me so much energy. I can definitely see myself doing something similar to this venture in the future.
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I also learned that having a successful business/product isn't always about how well designed the product is. After failing miserably with the flannel pocket t-shirt idea, I quickly learned that being successful and selling product wasn't going to be about having the most creative design. At market one, the most successful prototypes were ones that well executed a simple idea. The best way to be successful was going to be to use the strengths I already had, like having 7 years of AutoCAD experience under my belt at that point, and being well versed in research tools.
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Finally, I learned how to manage and run a team, as I was the sole product designer. It helped give me confidence to direct people and lead in an empathetic way. Overall, this was a fantastic experience and helped develop my skills as a manager, designer, and marketer.