Before my designer, Daniel, could complete the drawings, I had to have a brand name and logo. Initially, the bag was going to be called the “Skbootbag”. There is a reason companies pay thousands of dollars to get a logo designed. The logo represents your organisation and your product, and if the logo is particularly good, it can become a brand all of its own – just like Nike for instance. However, not having thousands of dollars to spend on a logo, I went about trying to design my own – and not very successfully at that. Here’s an example of my first attempt at drawing the Skbootbag and it’s logo. See, not very good at all! In fact, the bag drawing itself, was the one I submitted to Colin, my inventor friend.I seriously need help!
Rebekah, “my trusty assistant” as I often referred to her as, was (and still is) a brilliant graphic designer, so I enlisted her services and while we were working together in our little Miss-Organisation office, we started designing a logo. I knew I wanted to create a “brand” as I didn’t think the Skbootbag was going to be the only item I created. It then occurred to me that “Skboot” should be the company and brand name, and the “Skboot bag” would be an item of Skboot’s. So, I gave Rebekah free rein to design and finally, a week or so later, we came up with the design that everyone seems to love.
Once we had the logo, Daniel did his magic and came up with the first of the design drawings.
Before we submitted them to Cara for a prototype, I had to register the name Skboot and lodge an application for Trademark. I also had to seek the services of an IP lawyer to see whether I could get a patent on my bag. This is where the real expense comes into play. Eeek! Lawyers! A necessary evil! This whole process can cost you thousands and did and has. So, the design was registered and the trademark under way.
Now, the prototype. On 16 March 2009, Daniel and I had our first meeting with Cara Kenny from GSS. Cara took Daniel’s brilliantly designed drawings to submit them to a factory in China.
The only piece of advice I can give my readers at this point, is that if you need a prototype of something, get it made in the country you are in – not China (unless of course you live in China). The Chinese, apart from being great cooks, are also great at copying things, but creating something from new is a bit of a challenge. In total, I had 6 different attempts at the prototype until I got it right, and there are still things, that in my next model, I will do differently. It is probably more expensive to get a prototype done in your country, but in the end, it will save you time, and most likely, money.
