Product Development Step-by-Step

Developing a New Product Line - Six Steps

What is a product line?  A product line is a selection of individual items, usually within one product category, with complementary functions, sizes, colors, patterns/motifs and prices.  A product line normally consists of 5 to 25 items.

What is a product collection?  A product collection is a selection of product lines, sometimes representing multiple product categories, with complementary functions, sizes, colors, patterns/motifs and prices.  A company may have only one or several collections.

The process of product development follows six basic steps.  These steps should be preceded by a good understanding of your target market through market research as suggested in the section on researching market trends. The time and resources invested in each step will vary from one product to another but all stages are are necessary whether you are developing a custom designed product requested by a customer or are creating an entirely new product concept for your company.  (Note: The following steps outline the process for creating a single product line.  In the concluding section we suggest ways to combine product lines to make a collection. )

Step 1:  Define objectives

It is always good to articulate the objectives of each new product development project, whether they seem obvious or not. Objectives may include:

• Creating a custom product line based on a buyer's request
• Expanding an existing "best selling" product into a broader product line
• Developing a new category of products, perhaps to enter into a new market or niche
• Improving product designs to increase the profitability of a product line
• Developing products to re-position a company

Step 2:  Develop your concept

This step is also known as "idea generation" and many people consider it to be the most creative part of the product development process. During this step design concepts are researched and selected.  Design concepts may include colors, textures, motifs, shapes, materials, techniques, product categories or stories.  Multiple product lines can be inspired from a design concept.

Note: If you are working on custom designs for a buyer, this stage of the product development process might be quite short.  Your buyer usually provides the design concept, including categories, colors, and motifs and may even send specific product sketches.  If this is the case, then you can skip this idea generation phase, although it might still be helpful to create a concept board with the provided design ideas.

Some ideas for design concepts include the following.  It is not necessary to select ideas in each of these categories.  A design concept may include only a few ideas or it might be a more complex concept with many more.

• Colors. You might be inspired by a single color or perhaps a combination of colors. Colors might be neutral and soft, such as warm beige, light browns, and pale grey. Colors might be edgy and trendy, such as bright orange or clear turquoise.
• Textures. Smooth, shiny, rough, bumpy, nubby, sharp edges, soft edges, etc. Smooth, shiny textures with sharp edges will give a product a very modern, contemporary feel. Rough, bumpy textures with soft edges will give a product a more organic, natural feel.
• Motifs. Finding unique motifs indigenous to your own culture and applying them to new materials or new shapes is an excellent way to make a traditional design look new. For example, take motifs from traditional ceramics designs and apply them to embroidered or woven textiles. Or borrow designs found in architecture, for example carved wood patterns in doors, and apply them to glazed ceramic plates.
• Shapes. Look at forms of traditional products, such as ceramics or wood. Think of ways to apply to simplify those shapes to make them look more modern. Try changing the scale of those shapes, making them bigger or smaller, to give them a new look.
• Materials. Most product lines incorporate one or two primary materials. Collect samples and swatches of those materials to use as inspiration in your design concept. Select materials that are unique to your country or region. Try new combinations of materials, such as wood and metal, or textiles and wood. Combining materials is an excellent way to differentiate your products.
• Techniques. Highlight a craft technique that is special to you or your community. Find the best quality examples of that technique. Are their new ways to apply the technique? Can an embroidery technique normally made with cotton be made in wool or even leather instead? Try the technique in non-traditional colors and see if it gives it a new look.
• Product Categories. Normally, a single product line remains within one product category and a product collection can incorporate multiple categories. Select those categories.
• Stories. Begin collecting the stories behind your design inspirations. They will be helpful when creating your marketing materials later.

Where do you find ideas for design concepts?  Look for inspirations locally in your own communities and culture, and then compare those concepts to your market research.  Do those ideas complement opportunities that you identified in the market?  Do your colors coordinate with the traditional, neutral or trendy colors seen in the marketplace?  Do patterns and motifs relate to products observed in your market research?  You want to find design concepts that are unique, innovative and new to the market.  However you also want your concepts to be relevant to the market's tastes and demands.

Local sources of design inspiration can include any of the following:

• Museums, particularly museums with historical collections of hand-crafted items
• Art galleries
• Traditional costumes & utilitarian objects
• Indigenous plants & trees
• Regional geography & geology
• Local architecture
• Books & magazines, including lifestyle magazines

Create a concept board with your design concepts.  Collect photographs, magazine images, postcards, color copies of book pages, fabric swatches, samples of materials, quotes, and other inspiration that define your concept and attach them to a piece of cardboard, large piece of paper or even to your wall.  This will keep you focused as you develop individual items in the product line or collection.

Step 3:  Create product sketches and prototypes

Using your concept board as the design direction, it is time to create your product line.  First make a map or list of products in your line, then develop sketches of the items, and finally create prototypes of a few of the items.

First, list the individual items that will be in your product line.  Every product line will be different but here is one example of how to map a product line:

1.      Define the products.  For example, tote bag, purse, coin bag and cosmetic bag.

2.      Determine how many sizes will be offered for each item.  For example, a small and large tote bag, one size of purse, small and large coin bag, and one size of cosmetic bag.

3.      Decide if you will offer different styles for each item.  For example, a simple style tote bag and a fancier, more complex style with more handwork.

4.      Select specific color ways.  For example, this line might be offered in a black/white, blue/green, and a yellow/orange.

With this product map in hand, begin making sketches of all the items in the collection.  Include dimensions, patterns, and colors.  After making sketches of the products you might find that some items need to be added to the collection and others removed.

Develop prototypes, or samples, of a few of the items.  Determine what aspects of the sample are most difficult to make, where are areas that might be especially fragile. What parts take the most time to make, what parts take the least.  If a sample doesn't look right the first time, try again.  It often takes several attempts to get a sample right.

At the end of this step, you should have a few samples to give your colleagues and buyers an idea of the product, its design features, materials, motifs, etc.  Use sketches to illustrate the complete product line.  Don't invest in making samples of the full product line until later.

Step 4:  Get input!

Before completing the product line, it is really important to solicit input from your colleagues and buyers.

Send a photo of the new sample along with a scanned image of the sketches of the full product line to your buyers.  Ask if they would like to see your concept boards.  Let them know you are working on a new product line and ask them if they have any feedback to offer you.  Do they like the designs?  What are competitive prices for these items?  Are the colors appealing to their market?

Review the samples with someone in charge or production to troubleshoot any problem areas for producing the item in larger quantities.  Consult with the person responsible for packing products for shipments.  Determine if there are any ways the design should be modified to reduce shipping costs or prevent unnecessary shipping breakage.

With this input, return to your sketches and prototypes and make any suggested changes.  Then finalize your designs.

Step 5:  Price your product.

Working closely with your production team, determine the costs of producing your product and the entire product line. Compare these prices with the price of comparable products in the marketplace. If your products are prohibitively high priced consider redesigning the product to reduce production costs. Include all aspects of the product in the pricing - including hangtags, labeling and packing costs.

Step 6: Develop a full set of samples and create marketing materials

Make at least two complete set of samples.  Photograph the samples to have a good set of photographs to use in marketing materials and to have available to email buyers. Develop promotional materials describing the product line, its inspiration, where it is made, who made it, the materials and techniques. Give codes to all new items. Create a price list of FOB prices and terms of reference.

Remember to keep a set of counter samples of all your new product designs.  Counter samples are samples that stay in your office or showroom and are used as a reference for quality control and production to insure consistent quality when fulfilling an order. Keep counter samples for a long time. These samples become your design archive.  Some day you may find a buyer that likes a design that you created 10 years earlier.

Congratulations, you now have a new product line!

Developing a Product Collection

Merchandising a product collection involves developing several product lines that share either design or function features.  A product collection might include a line of home accessories, a line of fashion accessories and a line of tabletop linens all made with similar design motifs, color ways and techniques.  A product collection could also include several product lines within the same category, such as gourmet and table.  This collection might include a line of ceramic tabletop items, a line of tabletop lighting and a line of tabletop linens all sharing some similar design motifs and color ways.