Mark PC
5/5
I began working with Innovate Design in Spring '24, regarding a concept I'd had in the back of my mind for some time. I can't talk about my idea (for obvious reasons), but I can say that I could not have chosen a better company to 'pitch' it to. To add to that, I feel very fortunate for being assigned the 2 staff members (I was), to help take the project from initial conception, to the stage it is at today (Patent and Trademark applications in progress). They are Tom - Senior Innovation Coach, and Sam - Product Designer.
Soon after I sent them a pretty long document, outlining my idea in some detail, I received a call from Tom, giving me some initial feedback, and to arrange a Teams video meeting with them both. I'd also sent over some very basic sketches of the concept (free-hand drawing isn't a great skill of mine!), to go with the written document.
From the off, both Tom and Sam were a pleasure to work with. I'm a person who tends to pay a lot of attention to detail, and I'm pretty thorough when taking on any kind of project. This resulted in me sending them a lot of back n' forth email correspondence - maybe much more so than most of their other clients! Every single time, their replies were constructive, helpful, friendly and professional.
Over a few months, we worked together, towards a stage whereby the concept I'd had in my mind was formulated into a virtual product. Subsequent iterations and improvements were made, as a result of the great communication we had over emails, and video/phone meetings. We reached a point whereby the product (the 'virtual version' of it at least) was completed - and I for one, do not think it can be improved upon any further.
The end results of the Design Stage of the project have been perfect, in my opinion. Innovate Design took onboard my original concept, improved it, and developed it to the point where it stands today... Which is a virtual product - fully designed, complete with all its working parts assorted/organised, materials allocated, and dimensions/weight pre-determined. I now have a fantastic, valuable presentation document to take forward...
Any individual or company viewing this will be able to fully understand the aims of the concept - and all its features & benefits (though it is not an actual sales/marketing document - that will come later). I also have a complete 3D STEP file of my product. These file types are used by manufactures to physically create products, by 3D printers, I understand.
After the Patent application document (also created by the company) has been fully completed & submitted, I'll hopefully have Patent Pending status, and be able to take the product forward. There are an array of methods to choose from in order to do this, which I'm researching at present.
I hope to be able to progress to the Prototype Production stage in due course (Innovate has a specialist department to facilitate this process). I realise that this will increase my spending on the project - though I hope to attract investment from 3rd parties &/or Government grants too perhaps. The worst-case scenario is that nothing will come of the idea, if it doesn't attract much interest. Even if this were to be the case (fingers crossed it won't be!), I would still consider the time, effort, and money spent to be well worth the investment - and I wouldn't regret a single thing... You have to try right?!
People reading this might now be in a similar position to mine, earlier this year - whereby they have a really good idea, but don't know what to do about it. I would say to them to absolutely not hesitate to contact Innovate Design right away, to get the ball rolling.
Thanks for reading, and the best of luck to you!
