A tale of product design success: Architectural Mailboxes

pimg alt=”0Locking-Mailboxes.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/0Locking-Mailboxes.jpg” width=”468″ height=”447″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pHere’s the best-case scenario for you as a product designer seeking financial success: You see a need for a new product; design it; get it manufactured; then a monster retailer like a Wal-Mart or Home Depot picks it up, then the factories and freight trains start humming. /p

pBut just how, exactly, does all of this happen? Obviously it’s a very idiosyncratic process, but for a tale of good business hustle you oughta read A HREF=”http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/21proto.html?hpw” this ITimes/I article/A on Vanessa Troyer and Chris Farentino’s A HREF=”http://www.architecturalmailboxes.com/” Architectural Mailboxes/A. /p

pTroyer and Farentino spotted an upcoming trend way back in the ’90s, accurately predicting that more and more people would begin regularly ordering goods through online e-tailers like Amazon. And they realized that those consumers would probably feel more secure if their mailbox was of the locking drop-box variety, which the duo then designed. (Stealing mail is a federal crime in the ‘States, and if you live in a neighborhood that actually has front lawns and mailboxes, chances are your neighbor’s not going to risk his CPA license to pilfer your Flowbie; but perceptions are everything.)/p

pIn any case, due in large part to Troyer’s hustle, Architectural Mailboxes is now carried by Costco, Lowes, Target, and yep, Home Depot.br /
/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/a_tale_of_product_design_success_architectural_mailboxes_16011.asp”(more…)/a
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