News

Natural personal care products manufacturer Faith Products re-approached Lucid Innovation to refresh the identity and packaging for its award-winning personal care range.

Lucid Innovation was tasked with reinforcing Faith’s on-shelf presence at point-of-sale, whilst clearly differentiating product benefits from its competitors.

The sharp, bright ingredient images are an evolution of Faith’s previous design, with increased emphasis on natural provenance. The new design communicates reasons to buy in a vibrant, more contemporary package.

We’re pleased to announce that BSI has accredited Lucid’s processes to ISO 13485:2003, the international standard for the development of medical devices.

For 10 years our industrial design and engineering team has been delivering medical device design.  We’ve consistently used an evidence based approach, working to ISO 9001:2008.  Customers drove our move to ISO 13485:2003 accreditation.  As ours our team has been involved in the development of more invasive devices, the documentation of options and risk analysis has become more critical.  We look forward to helping more clients in this growing sector.

BDI Director and MD of Lucid Innovation, Alistair Williamson, believes that the emergence of 3D printers – technology which produces three-dimensional parts from digital data – offers a significant opportunity to change the way many organisations do business.

Entrepreneurial organisations face unprecedented challenges right now.  Unprecedented competition, increasing consumer expectations, rising costs in Far East  manufacturing economies and the crippling shortage of credit for innovative businesses to finance development are to name but a few. “Necessity is the mother of invention” goes the old saying, and historically, disruptive technologies have turned into real business opportunities in tough economic times.

3D print could draw parallels with the shift to digital photography in the imaging industry, with implications that marketers, entrepreneurs and business leaders need to consider now if their organisations are to survive.

Kodak’s recent filing for bankruptcy protection shows how iconic brands can become unstuck when disruptive technologies radically change markets.  Adapting from servicing a huge near-monopoly in industrial processing of film, to distributed, low-volume, in-home and high street print-on-demand appears to have been too much for Kodak.  It’s a change-challenge that other businesses may soon face.

Over the last 25 years, 3D printing technologies have revolutionised new product development, particularly prototyping.  Developers used to wait weeks for models to be made.  A matter of hours are now the norm in leading design studios -  all thanks to a variety of technologies which make three-dimensional shapes to replicate computer design data.  Businesses don’t need to buy 3D printers to benefit.  Just like in the photography sector, numerous commercial bureaux provide the services to individuals and organisations that choose not to make what can still be a big investment.

Now technology developers are moving the same 3D print processes into manufacturing.  Where there’s a need for speed and short run production it can be an economic choice, particularly for high-value products.

3D print enables businesses to think big, yet stay agile on small budgets.  With no tooling or lead times, it’s a perfect production technique for us, enabling rapid design customisation and eliminating the need to hold stock.

- Philip Charlton, Managing Director, Renephra

Today, Lucid Innovation and other design teams are using 3D print to accelerate low-volume medical device production.   Industrial design studios are effectively becoming flexible, mini-manufacturers. Renephra, a University of Manchester spin-out, is using our printed devices in clinical trials, accelerating its development of ground-breaking treatments for end-stage renal disease.

 Renephra  MD Philip Charlton says: “3D print enables businesses to think big, yet stay agile on small budgets.  With no tooling or lead times, it’s a perfect production technique for us, enabling rapid design customisation and eliminating the need to hold stock.”

 But is 3D print just another niche manufacturing process for specialists?  Why should marketers, financiers and corporate management care?  Right now, compared to moulded production parts, 3D print production in volume is relatively slow.  It’s costly and the materials and finishes available are limited.

With our 3D printer whirring away in the background making another batch of specialist medical devices, the team at Lucid Innovation got thinking about the opportunities for a technology at a tipping point.

Exactly the same barriers presented themselves to the early adopters of digital photography – barriers of price, quality and choice that are not just long gone.  In the transformation, consumers have come to expect far more.

People today expect to create great images with a cheap (or free) camera.  We expect the choice to keep our memories digital, or to customise images, print onto paper, cards or t-shirts at home.  We expect more specialist services to be accessible, allowing us to pop into a high street photo-shop to get big prints, put our pictures on a canvas or even have them applied to ceramics.

A similar transformation of consumer expectation will affect different sectors, thanks to 3D print. Printer manufacturers see huge potential in lower cost machines. “If we can democratise access to the toolbox, our user base will increase”, says 3D Systems Chief Executive Officer Abraham Reichental. “This technology is going to end up in your kids’ bedrooms and on the factory floor.” ⁽¹⁾.

Industry commentators like Terry Wohlers, agree, citing the toy market as a prime target.  As the technology inevitably gets cheaper, home or in-store 3D printers could change the way we develop, market, distribute and buy toys.  This could enable, or force major shift in business models.

Designers already use component files downloaded off the web.  It won’t be long before toys are available to make on cheap home printers, enabling a host of new product opportunities to become possible.  It might not be the end of the traditional boxed gift, but an in-home 3D printer offers incredible after-sale potential.

Why not accessorise Barbie,make more Lego, or mend Bob the Builder’s broken tools straight away?  Why not make another twenty Transformers, or one that’s twice as big, or one in different colours?  Why not connect digital content back to the real world, download characters from video games, perhaps to print as trophies as we progress to higher levels within the games?

Consumer choices could be transformed. The careful control that brands managers exert over their intellectual property could be challenged, as could current toy safety regulations. You might say print-on-demand could be a “grey” area in product liability.

For marketers, this may not be just engaging consumers in fun choices.  There’s also an opportunity to link a relatively high ticket price 3D printer product into product range.

Toys are just one potential opportunity, but if 3D print makes even a small impression on this enormous market, it would have major business implications.  Innovators like Apple have thrived by developing their revenue model from a reliance on developing custom hardware, into phenomenal growth distributing content generated by others.  The big players in the toy market, and others could follow.

The scale of this one opportunity is colossal.  In September 2011,  the equivalent of over 60,000 twenty-foot containers of toys landed in the USA alone.  89% of these originated from China⁽²⁾.  China’s impressive manufacturing infrastructure, relatively low production set-up and low labour cost is a major factor in enticing so much production, keeping so many containers shipping half-way around the world and tying up so much finance in the process.

With 3D print at home, labour costs disappear. Many design restrictions disappear when, unlike moulding plastics, virtually any shape, mechanism, or assembly of shapes can be made at once.  Forget the design and manufacture of elaborate protective packaging – you no longer need it.  Lose the cartons, pallets, distribution and retail costs.  Forget the finance for tooling, stock, insurances and the long lead times before most current products reach the market.

All of a sudden, agile, design-led market entrants have the option to adopt a different – perhaps more sustainable – business model.  All of a sudden the infrastructure of bigger businesses and advantages of low-cost economies look less critical to mass-market product launch.

 In September 2011, the equivalent of over 60,000 twenty-foot containers of toys landed in the USA alone.  89% of these originated from China.

Perhaps most importantly, any entrepreneurial organisations could take more risks, developing more customised products, effectively exploiting the opportunity to bypass the biggest block to product launch – banks and their stranglehold on finance for growth.

This disruptive business model won’t make sense for all markets, products or organisations.  However the potential applications will grow far beyond mechanical parts.  Multi-component mechanisms, multi-material and multi-part products can be made – right now.  Designers have created 3D print fabric. Researchers are developing integrated printed electronics into components.⁽³⁾ Even buildings have benefitted from 3D print technologies.

And of course, opportunities always come with associated threats.  Virtually anybody will be able to access the technology to make many things immediately, given a design file.  The potential for piracy is immense and we only have to look to the entertainment industry to see how disruptive technology has delivered mixed results for established businesses. But measures have been taken within the entertainment industry to (both technological and legislative) to combat this, and it isn’t unreasonable to think the same measures could be applied to a 3D-print industry.

This is a technology that won’t go away.  Entrepreneurs that build businesses around the opportunities of 3D print have a real opportunity to thrive, and bypass the bank-manager in the process.

To find out how Lucid Innovation can help you with your prototyping requirements, please contact us here.

References

(1) http://www.businessweek.com/technology/3d-printer-makers-aim-at-home-market-01092012.html

(2) http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-toys-imports-drop-9-percent-despite-coming-holidays-132787153.html

(3) http://investors.stratasys.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=659142

Lucid Innovation has delivered PROLONG, a complete design and manufacturing management solution for a clinically-proven treatment for premature ejaculation that went on sale in Europe in May.

Premature ejaculation affects relationships and people’s wellbeing. Since the 1950s, studies like Alfred Kinsey’s have shown that three quarters of men ejaculate within two minutes in most sexual encounters.  When Auris Medtech Europe asked our team to develop the branding and packaging for the Lucid-designed PROLONG treatment product, we created a solution focused on the benefits of use, not the embarrassment of the problem.

Dr Andy Zamar, Auris Medtech Europe’s MD reveals:

In trials, 60% men reported lasting 11 times longer after six weeks of Prolong use.  In comparison, only 40% men who had Gold Standard Treatment at 2 London teaching hospitals reported only a three-fold improvement.

Lucid’s involvement in the project extended beyond medical device development into developing the PROLONG brand positioning, corporate identity, multi-lingual packaging and, instructions for use.

We delivered a turnkey development solution, sourcing all the components for PROLONG, undertaking quality control and delivery of the first batches.

We have been accredited to ISO 9001:2008 for design and production management for several years.  Our clients really value the experience and contacts we deliver to smooth the transition of a brand concept into commercial reality.

 

Do you want to shape your own future in a multi-disciplinary development team? 

Lucid Innovation is looking for an outstandingly creative electronic development specialist, with the drive and know-how to lead exciting projects.

We need a good all rounder, a confident self-starter who work in a team to solve challenging problems that transcend brand, product and pack.

The role will be customer facing.  The right person will have good interpersonal skills and extensive experience of managing electronics prototyping and manufacture.  Experience and contacts in embedded systems, wireless technologies and the mangement of external fimware and software developers would all be beneficial.

The ability to work to standards is a prerequisite.  Lucid’s team work to a ISO 9001-2008 system, EN 3485, ATEX and EN 71 are common requirements.

There are no specific qualifications for the role except enthusiasm, creativity, curiosity and pragmatic know-how.  If you’re working in industry and want a role with variety, you have some industrial experience and you’re undertaking a PhD, or you are working independently and would like to be part of a team, we’d like to hear from you.

If you are interested in an informal discussion with our team, please send an introductory note and brief CV to directors@lucidinnovation.com.

We’re not only interested in what you have done – given the opportunity , what would you do?

Lucid Innovation has created a new identity, branding and packaging design for the Worldwide Fund for Nature’s first range of licensed personal care products. The WWF Good Natured skin, body, and hair-care range is manufactured by natural toiletries specialist Faith Products, and went on sale in April.

Lucid’s team used sector specific know-how to create a new WWF brand with integrity and real shelf presence.  Carl Stone, Lucid Innovation’s Creative Director explains:

Our objective was to connect the natural provenance of effective ingredients with a consumer’s desire to reduce their impact on the planet and support WWF’s work in safeguarding the wider natural world.  We researched reactions to naming and image alternatives. 

Building around the iconic WWF panda most clearly connected with consumers. The result is an ethical corporate identity that is really resonant with environmentally conscious parents looking for effective natural products for their families.

Lucid Innovation’s brand, product and pack creation team has worked with brands including Brother, Boots, Yorkshire Tea, Guinness, Heineken, Coors, Radox, Royal Mail and the NHS.

Are some organisations trapped in a desire to “own” ideas that damages their ability to discover and address the best commercial opportunities?

Lucid Innovation’s Alistair Williamson argues that whilst intellectual property (IP) can be incredibly valuable, many organisations could achieve a better return on investment using innovation processes less focussed on IP, and more on fast, creative discovery of opportunities and ideas that address them.

Attempting to gain exclusivity is an attractive concept, so a lot of money is often spent by organisations on obtaining patents early. Three credible American sources put the economics of the process, particularly patents, in perspective:

Richard Maulsby, a director of U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, claims that there are around 1.5 million patents in force in the USA, of which about only 3,000 are commercially viable.⁽¹⁾

Gene Quinn, a patent attorney and founder of www.ipwatchdog.com reckons basic US patents cost between £3,000 and £10,000.⁽²⁾

The University of Houston found that patent owners fail in 75% of the cases brought against infringers.⁽³⁾

So only 0.2% of patents ever make a return, they collectively cost billions to acquire, and only a quarter stand up in court.

What is the attraction?

Patents make good sense if you have thoroughly investigated a lucrative and long-term opportunity, developed great ideas that you can get to market, and if you are certain that you could afford to defend your intellectual property if a dispute ever went to court. Managed well, patents have the potential to make their owners a fortune. As an example, Lipitor, Pfizer’s cholesterol-lowering drug, was the most valuable patent in history. In the fourteen years between the product launch in 1997 and patent expiry in 2011, revenues exceeded $105 billion.⁽⁴⁾

The relevance of the Lipitor story to most businesses, however, is questionable. No doubt Pfizer worked in secret before filing its patent. The company then needed six years to get Lipitor to market. Today the pace of competition is so fast that few opportunities remain unsatisfied for long periods of time. Few could match Pfizer’s legal budget, its R&D resources and even fewer attempt to address opportunities on the same scale.

So is the typical “patent, develop and attempt to market” approach appropriate for lean, agile businesses today?

To qualify the value of IP to the majority, we need to debunk a common misnomer – the concept of “IP protection”.

Owning a patent doesn’t “protect” anything. It is like going through a process to be allowed to lease an island, on which there could be “gold”. Your patent asserts ownership for a limited period. It sets a clock running for you to seek recognition for your ownership world-wide. If you can afford it, apply in time, and pay regular fees to authorities all over the world, many will acknowledge your rights.

The patent tells the world that you value the island and it gives others a map of how to get to the gold. In theory, if others want it, you may be able develop a mine yourself, then sell or rent rights to exploit the reserves at a profit.

In reality though, the likelihood is that most people probably won’t value what you believe is gold. Others might prefer alternatives to your “gold”, or will be inspired to develop something that addresses the same opportunity or market demand differently. You may even find organisations trying to steal your gold. Unfortunately the statistics show that defending your IP is more likely to enrich your lawyer than it will yourself! Worse still – tightly-defined or badly-timed IP can limit the scope in which you exploit any exclusivity.

So how can agile organisations avoid the patent trap?

Asking ‘what if’ and accepting that in the process of developing a good idea, many ideas will fail, is critical. As Linus Pauling, scientist and two-time Nobel Prize winner, said: “To have a good idea you must first have lots of ideas.”

Multiple ideas managed well don’t have to mean high costs. Accepting that in developing ideas, the underlying opportunities need rethinking to be viable, is part of a good innovator’s psyche. Trying out ideas in groups, in the form of rough models, role-play and sketches, means more intelligence to pursue the idea or move on quickly. This is what Lucid’s engineers and designers do every day.

Lucid Innovation has developed ID, a rapid process that balances evaluation with creativity. ID quickly enables our team to collaborate with yours; exploiting know-how that develops products and services that could result in more robust, valuable intellectual property.

ID is split into two stages. In the first stage we work with clients to evaluate an opportunity and develop ideas from a lateral, independent perspective. If we agree an opportunity is worth pursuing we’ll move on to the second stage, which consists of a qualified IP search, a market overview and “what if”, collaborative idea generation sessions.

Armed with lots of options and focused on commercial results, businesses can design better, scale faster and risk less. Best of all, the process can be completed within a matter of days and costs less than many patent applications. Put simply: with ID, you can risk less and achieve more quickly.

To find out more, please contact us here.

References

(1) http://www.inventionstatistics.com/Innovation_Risk_Taking_Inventors.html
(2) http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2011/01/28/the-cost-of-obtaining-patent/id=14668/
(3) (Paul M. Janicke, University of Houston Law Center and Lilan Ren, University of Houston, “Who Wins Patent Infringement Cases?,” American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal, Vol. 34, p. 1, 2006)
(4) http://www.pellegrinoandassociates.com/most-valuable-patent-in-history-expires/

Lucid Innovation has delivered a complete design and manufacturing management solution for Mi-Zone –  a compact personal alarm designed to reduce loss and theft of personal belongings that went on sale in May.

Have you ever had that sinking feeling on reaching for vital possessions, only to realise with that they are not where you expected them to be?  You’re far from alone: a recent study for Dell showed that a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds, and Transport for London has reported that it finds over 184,000 pieces of lost property each year.

Mi-Zone keeps a discreet eye on your personal belongings by attaching to them and then wirelessly linking them to any Bluetooth-enabled mobile device.  When either the alarm or the device moves out of a pre-set proximity zone, both flash and sound to alert the owner.

Carl Stone Lucid’s Creative Director explains:

Mi-Zone asked our team to develop its product ideas.  We created industrial design alternatives, extensively researching potential consumer reactions.  Deliverables included extensive work with specialist Bluetooth developers, prototyping, test, productionisation and packaging development.

The project extended beyond design into helping get Mi-Zone to market, including supplier sourcing for components and the quality control and delivery of the first batches.

See the full case study here.

 

Event on 6th July 2012 – Manchester Business School

Lucid Directors Andrew Hodgin and Alistair Williamson will present a breakfast seminar for MBS alumni.  They’ll introduce simple techniques to create, develop and deliver better ideas faster – by helping people to collaborate.

Lucid Innovation’s team have been using collaborative development techniques in research, creative workshops and development projects for over 20 years.  For start-ups, spin-outs and established businesses, the results speak for themselves – not just in terms of achieving commercial success, but also in precluding work on projects that could have failed.

Watch this space for more information…

Lucid Innovation’s engineering design and materials expertise has helped Zerco, a start-up business, develop a revolutionary tying strip fastener.   Typical tie strips are single-use, fixed-length mouldings.  Users such as electricians, horticulturalists and manufacturers have no alternative but to leave or trim off thousands of tonnes of high-grade plastics every year when the pull-through part of tie strips are fixed.

Working with Zerco MD, Zagros Lalo, Lucid’s team helped to develop and prototype the product and create the new manufacturing process needed.  Instead of  fixed-length mouldings, Xtra-Strap is a continuous extrusion that can be die cut to special shapes in different materials, to suit different applications.  Waste in manufacturing is recycled, and waste during use can be easily avoided.

Xtra-Strap is available on a roll. Users simply wrap around the items they wish to bundle, then tie and trim the strap to exactly the length required.  To tighten or re-use, the strap is easily removed.  The materials specification and unique interlocking design makes the Xtra-Strap extremely resistant to tearing and weathering.

Zerco MD, Zagros Lalo, comments:

“Lucid’s knowledge and creative approach to the challenges presented by materials and manufacturing processes was invaluable in the development of Xtra-Strap.  Our collaboration went well beyond design, into manufacturing, strategy and funding…”

See: http://www.zerco-straps.co.uk/distributors.html  for Xtra-Strap distributors.