{"id":21491,"date":"2015-07-13T16:22:32","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T16:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=21491"},"modified":"2017-04-17T12:26:08","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T16:26:08","slug":"five-tactics-to-help-you-decide-your-next-design-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/five-tactics-to-help-you-decide-your-next-design-idea","title":{"rendered":"Five tactics to help you decide your next design idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

For some people finding new design ideas is as easy as looking at their surroundings and finding inspiration, for other\u2019s it can be challenging finding that creative spark. An even more difficult challenge is designing a product that has the potential to sell and do well on the Shapeways marketplace. Here are some of the tactics that you can use to come up with new ideas for product designs.<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0Google Trends<\/strong><\/p>\n

Designing products around what\u2019s trending online is a great way to make a design that is fresh and relevant in people\u2019s minds. One way to find what\u2019s trending is by using Google Trends<\/a>. With Google Trends you can filter out what\u2019s trending by many category options by demographic and subject matter (science, sports, animals, etc). This is based on top stories and search terms people are searching for. You can even do a search on Google Trends for specific keywords and see how strong they come up in Google search. Here is an example of a search I did to see how popular the Tardigrade<\/a> was. Here you can see how popular the keyword was and the demographic that are searching for it.<\/p>\n

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2) Instagram Hashtags \/ Explore<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instagram recently launched a new updated discovery tab which allows users to easily discover trending hashtags and photos based on the type of photos you post and like. This is a great feature to see a curated stream of photos based on the photos you\u2019ve already liked and give you a visual inspiration for your next product design idea.<\/p>\n

\"FullSizeRender<\/a><\/p>\n

Searching various terms on Instagram shows you how relevant and popular a subject can be.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

3) Collaborations<\/strong><\/p>\n

Collaborations amongst other designers and artist have been a growing trend in the Shapeways community. A fantastic way to bring a new product to the marketplace is to get together with a designer or artist whose designs inspire you. If they\u2019re on Shapeways you can send them a private message, you can tweet at them on Twitter, or send them a direct message of a mock up 3D model to that artist on Instagram letting them know you\u2019re an admirer of their work and if they\u2019d be interested in collaborating with you on bringing that design to market on Shapeways. Here is an example of a collaboration <\/a>done between Gabriel Prero<\/a> and Bathsheba<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4) Ask your existing audience \/ Do a Q&A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you have an existing audience or following? Ask you audience on social media. Make a post on Twitter or Facebook asking your followers what\u2019d they like to see you design next and listen to their feedback. You can also experiment with Reddit’s r\/IAmA, here is an example of one<\/a>\u00a0done by Kostika Spaho and Christopher Carter.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

5) Modify An Existing Product<\/strong><\/p>\n

Take a look at your existing products and see if you can modify it or manipulated it into a whole new product all together. For example here is a 3D printed Grumpy Cat and \u00a0a Santa themed grumpy cat created by designer Manuel Poehlau<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Designer Corretta Singer<\/a> of the Shapeways shop CS1 turned her mech heart pendant <\/a>into a mech heart ring.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Give these tactics a try and you just might come up with your next hit product. What does your creative design process look like? Let us know in a comment below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For some people finding new design ideas is as easy as looking at their surroundings and finding inspiration, for other\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":21519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[489,481,478],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-design","category-shapeways","category-community"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Corgi-Bottle-Opener-2-copy.jpg","yoast_head":"\nFive tactics to help you decide your next design idea - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For some people finding new design ideas is as easy as looking at their surroundings and finding inspiration, for other\u2019s it can be challenging finding\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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