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VIVE, From Sketch To Success!

By on March 21, 2016

Just like any other brand, VIVE started its life as a simple drawing, a sketch, an idea on a piece of paper. Years went by before this became reality and turned into the products like you know them now. We would like to share the story of this small piece of paper becoming the success story of VIVE!

Two and a half years ago the Shots team came up with the idea of creating a luxury brand filled with unique products. All of them with their own special features, curves and shapes that customers would really appreciate. With technology becoming more and more advanced and the increasing release of toys every year, it was almost a mission impossible to distinguish themselves from the rest. The biggest challenge for shots’ art director and a select team of designers was born!

All armed with said piece of paper and numerous ideas they started this challenging task. They knew that only the best concept would survive and become part of this new brand. Months went by and most of the propositions landed in the “round archive” under the desk. Nine out of ten designs didn´t make the grade but finally the new brand visualized in front of their eyes.

A product cannot be a success only because of its looks, but it has to perform as well! For a high quality pleasure product the features and performance are just as important. They have to be innovative and unique to make them stand out in the crowd of all other available toys in the market. Research was the keyword on the road to success!

Thoughts that came to mind were, “why are most cock rings round”? It’s an exciting product that everyone knows but can it be improved? After a long process of deliberating the final result was unexpected. The downside of a round cock ring is the fact that it can roll or shift from its place while being used. And, “Can we design a shape that will solve this problem and would not be able to shift”? Because of this result the ideas of improving existing products started flowing. They started to ask themselves numerous questions. Like: “A vibrator has to vibrate, but what if we approach the idea from another side and how can we improve the whole concept”? And, “How can we be unique and innovative with products that people already know and love”?

Looking at all available and new technologies their ideas came to life. Already two and a half years ago they thought of a smartphone that could function as a remote control. Since almost everyone has a smartphone nowadays the idea became more viable and they thought of creating an app with a remote control function. Then questions like, “Are we able to create a toy that allows you to reform the handle or tip so you can adjust it to the angle you prefer”, came up. All questions that only could be answered by looking at the downside of the product. For instance, a wand is a beautiful product for stimulation but you can’t use it for penetration, so can we create a wand that gives the best of both worlds?

Once they finished their designs and figured out all the features of the toys, the process of turning a piece of paper into reality began. But there was still one major decision to be made before the first physical part could be created. The choice of material will make or break any design so it had to be a perfect match to the purpose of the toy. The search was a lengthy process that they couldn’t rush as they had to look at all the available possibilities. Eventually an extremely soft silicone type popped up and only one touch of this material made them fall in love instantly.

Another point for a product to be successful was of course the packaging. This process almost took the same amount of time as creating the toys, as the number of aspects that they had to think about were endless. The packaging of the product had to be attractive in order for the consumers to fall in love with the product! It had to catch their eye in the store immediately, but it also had to contain a product description and specifications for people to understand the purpose of the products. When this was done also the first steps towards figuring out a marketing campaign had to be made. Also this is a part of the design process since the campaign has to match the appearance of the brand you’re creating.

A year of trial and error went by and they finally had the toys ready: on paper! Now that piece of paper had to evolve into a beautiful toy! The first step in this process was to create a 3D print by their own design department. In this way they got a nice image of how the first samples would look like and they were able to make the first of a long string of adjustments for every product. Once the VIVE design crew felt that the ergonomics and aesthetics were falling in place, they sent everything to the production facility with a list of materials that should be used and the features the products had to contain. The creation of the first sample had started!

It sounds like a pretty fast process, but receiving samples and making adjustments to the products takes most of the time in the development. What happens is that the VIVE design crew receives a sample, then they make several adjustments and then they send the new designs back to the facility. Another sample is created and they sent it back to the designers. New adjustments are being made and the whole process starts again, and so on and so forth! In this process they work close with a test panel and the sales department. They do this to ensure all the parties involved are satisfied with the results. Eventually there is a sample that comes really close to the ideas in the head of the designers, testers and sales department. When that happens the first light at the end of a long tunnel becomes visible!

The final sample that comes in is called a “golden” sample! Approving a golden sample is like seeing the first steps of a child. The product is growing from a- design to an actual product. Then It finally gets reviewed one more time by the VIVE designers, testers and sales department.

There are no words to describe the thoughts and emotions when you see, feel and actually hold the final sample of a product that took so much “blood, sweat and tears “ to create it. No words to describe the feeling of having created a successful and luxury brand that has become an instant hit at its first release! Still at the beginning of its life the future looks very bright for their top brand VIVE! In the mind of the VIVE design crew it was only yesterday when they made that first sketch on a small piece of paper. A piece of paper that has become the success story of VIVE!

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