Here at Shapeways, we're changing how products are made and by whom. We have makers and designers from all over the world, some of whom are making their first product, and others who have been professional product designers for their whole lives. They're creating everything from jewelry to rocket ships, GoPro accessories to chess sets - anything is possible. No matter what they're making, though, we know how tough the creative process can be. Taking a great idea and making it real takes a lot of hard work and iteration before amazing products just "come to life".
With 3D printing, designers are not alone in the creative process. They don't have to spend thousands of dollars to get the form and function just right, and they don't have to wait to go to market until they've undergone extensive testing. With the support of their friends and fans, they can share their products with the world and get the feedback they need -- wherever they are in the product development process. We're committed to helping you create great products, by embracing iteration and encouraging your customers to actively participate in earlier stages of product development. Step one is setting the right expectations, and step two is opening up the conversation around products.
Today, we are excited to give you, our community, a sneak peek into two new ways to get support and feedback on early stage products that we'll release later this summer: Beta Products and First To Try. You can see all of the new tools on your model edit page today and preview what your products will look like when this is released to shoppers later in the summer.
First To Try
3D printing a model in every material finish you'd like to offer for sale can be quite expensive. We're working hard to reduce the barriers to entry and we don't ever want to make you 3D print a model in every finish yourself (unless you prefer to, and we know some of you do). However, because 3D printing is still new, some customers don't understand the risks subtleties involved with 3D printing and can be disappointed if their product doesn't turn out the way they were expecting. In the past you guys asked for things such as a "printed before" badge on products, but we've found that customers don't always understand the concept of printed before and what it means.
As a part of our efforts to increase transparency about the manufacturing process with designers and shoppers, we are going to show a "First To Try" label on any product that hasn't been printed before in that material, based on the Print Success Rate. This helps shoppers understand our level of confidence that we can successfully create the product that they want to buy.
Once you or your customers have successfully printed your product in each material you're offering for sale, the First To Try label won't apply any longer. There are a few ways to progress through First To Try:
You can enlist your friends, fans and community to buy your product and share a photo, which will be important for your long term product success
You can print the product in your preferred materials and ensure you meet the Print Success Rate before you launch your product
You can disable the materials that haven't been successfully printed before
Material Renders
We've heard you complain that the default grey render on the product page isn't very exciting and we agree. We're really excited to begin rolling out beautiful new renders that match the color and finish of all of our materials, so you can show a customer exactly what the product will look like. This will also help customers visualize what a product will look like even if it has never been printed before. We'll be labelling all new Material Renders so that shoppers don't get confused, but we think it's a lot better than the grey. Learn more here:
Material Renders.
Beta Products
From our conversations with experienced designers, we understand that design is inherently a collaborative process. Big design houses and small enterprises all know that to get a great product involves iteration, testing, gathering feedback and collaboration.
We've actually already seen examples on Shapeways where designers and customers work together to tweak products and make them more personal. We want to make it easier for Shapeways Shop Owners to tap into this trend and develop deeper, ongoing connections with their customers.
Beta Products help to fuel this kind of collaboration. These are early stage products that are in active development and are being improved upon through product iteration. As a Shop Owner, you will be able to invite your friends, fans, and communities to support you in the product development process.
Another thing we've heard you ask for a lot is a way to communicate with your customers. By putting your product in Beta you will have a private comment stream do just that. We see a lot of this happening in comment streams today on Shapeways, but we wanted to provide a private place to encourage honest feedback. Elaborate on your goals, get feedback on how it fits, whether they like the design and keep your customers up to date on the progress of your product. We'll also be encouraging customers who buy a product in Beta to post their comments and share photos with you after they receive their product.
Your product page will prominently announce that your product is in Beta, and has space for you to tailor a specific message to your customers. Putting your product in Beta is totally optional - you can choose to make your product a Beta Product or to move it out of Beta at any time. While we think it will be helpful for newer designers, we understand that more experienced designers amongst you may already be doing this process yourself.
The Future of Product Development at Shapeways
With a process as new and rapidly-changing as 3D printing, expectation setting is critical. But we know there is no one-size-fits-all solution. We'll continue to build more tools to help you solicit support from the community and help them understand how the process works.
Learn more about Product Development at Shapeways, or jump into the tutorials on
how to use First To Try,
Material Renders &
Beta Products in your shop today.
We're really excited about these new additions to our marketplace, and I would love for you to join the discussion here to let us know what you think!
-Kate
Edited to fix links