So you’ve got a good brand new invention that’s going to change the planet and/or make you remarkably rich? The question now is what do you do with that fantastic idea and how do you take it from an abstract concept floating around inside your skull into some thing which you can sell to others on a large scale and which will change the world for the better?
Well this will partly depend upon your invention, and if you have come up with a completely new piece of software for instance then you’ll not actually require any manufacturing and can rather just roll the idea out yourself and see if it takes off. It worked for Mark Zuckerberg, and it can work for you.
However for virtually all of us our fantastic ideas aren’t software inventions, yet rather practical things that can definitely help us around the house. Things like chair designs or brand new equipment that fulfill a require that’s there. All of these Eureka moments come at times when we find ourselves trying to do something and struggling more than essential. Would not it be a lot simpler ‘if’ we think – and that’s when we’ve the wonderful idea. It might be a totally new type of packaging that keeps food fresher while being easy to use for the user, or it can be a totally new form of game that families can play together.
Throughout history there’ve been a great number of instances of these Eureka moments and they have very much shaped the way society is today. Any time you make use of a screwdriver, drink out of a cup, lean at a desk, play with a power ball gyroscope, walk on stilts, or sweep with an extra long broom… you’re utilizing someone else’s invention. Did you know that the Hoover vacuum cleaner was found by none other than President Hoover? Likewise possibly even more surprisingly the cat flap was found by Isaac Newton!
So how do you get on board with this inventing malarkey? Well once you have your invention you need to get it produced on a larger scale and you have to have it refined. Industrial design for completely new inventions helps you to do this, taking your idea and making it more workable. For instance the ‘Very Light Car’ recent times won the automotive X prize which meant it’d get funding to be developed for industrial sale. Nevertheless a stipulation of the prize was that the car had to have an industrial design so that this would be possible – this is an instance of how an ‘idea’ is not enough without being workable in the real planet.
There are other precautions and stages to take when you have your genius idea, and you do as an example need to be protected legally against theft of your intellectual property – there are few things more depressing than going to launch a business only to find that someone else has beaten you to the punch using your idea. To stay away from this, make sure that you look into getting your idea patented prior to you take it further. Be cautious who you tell about your brand new concept and just release it once you’ve the power to launch it commercially. This way even if others do steal your concept, they will be arriving late to the party and you will have captured the majority of the market share.
Georgette Adanas has been writing content articles on product design china since 2002.
