Creativity & good ideas: the first steps of the product concept

Once the needs are defined, we draft the functional specifications. It sums up very clearly the qualities that the future product must have: who it is intended for, how it will be used, what its benefits and features must be, its price, its design and production stages and the human and technological resources required. We don't yet know what the product will look like, but we do know what problems it must solve.

The functional specifications form the basis of our project. It prevents us from losing sight of all the future product's features.We refer to it at every stage of its creation.

The functional specifications are ready. We launch the creation phase: research, debate, ideas, etc.

Our aim: define a feasible product concept that must answer a specific need.
For example: a runner needs to be seen in the dark. What would be the solution? What would be the right product?

We combine our ideas to be creative. Brainstormings and workshops are organised, keeping the best suggestions. And we start to imagine the product concept.

In the picture: From a workshop’s drawing, our creative minds create the first mock-ups. 

The product concept looks feasible. We make it happen by producing the prototype. It is not a final version of the product, but it brings a sketch to life, allowing us to approve certain features: shapes, colours, components, use it in activity, etc.

First, we make a first prototype, called a “mock-up”, often with scrap materials.It serves to illustrate the product concept.

Then we create on average tens of others, to refine and approve each product's function, whatever its nature: textiles, footwear, equipment, accessories, etc. We talk about design prototypes. If all goes well, we pursue the product's development. If that doesn't work out, we think of other options.

When we prototype, we also think in terms of the products' mass production. Our prototype technicians make sure that manual or machine operations are easily duplicable in our subcontractor's factories. The purpose is also to optimize assembly methods, reduce costs, and guarantee product safety and quality.

We often make our prototypes in-house in our prototyping workshops. It saves a lot of time, because we reduce, in particular, the return trips to the supplier. And to finalize the product, we have some prototypes made. They are produced in the factory, in real-life manufacturing conditions, on the machines used for mass production. Further use is made of them for other tests and for anticipating possible problems during production, etc.