Today, Nick is live from the 2018 Las Vegas Market in an all-star panel with Julia Buckingham, Angela Pickens, Joshua Rose and Rafael Kalichstein, Kelli Ellis and Katherine Kalen of Sunpan. Get to know these incredible designers and marketers while learning just why collaboration can be so valuable during this IFDA DesignEDGE panel: “From Creation to Consumer.”

The Image

Juggling all the moving parts while owning a business is difficult, so finding merchants to work with is helpful to your overall process. Know or find merchants that align with your image that you’ll be able to create a relationship with. Find a group that will fit with your brand that you will be able to contribute to. While designing, you want to make something innovative that will stand out. Though you want to bring new ideas, be sure to keep consistent with your brand and that of your contributor.

The Relationship

Say you start a relationship with a brand. You’ve always bought their products — but now, you’re a creator. You now have the opportunity to bring a creative vision to life. You must understand each other’s brand and your general goals. Become ingrained with the company you are working with, and have them know you. Much of the process is about making relationships flourish, which means being creative and constructive. 

Beyond Designing: Marketing, Licensing and Trademarking

Beyond the product, you must be ready to take on roles outside of designing. It is vital that you be able to market yourself for what you can do and how you will do it. Developing the idea is only one step of the whole process. Licensing and trademarking come into play and you have to be knowledgeable about the procedures and be ready to take on more than only creative tasks.

Hope you learned a bit from this panel: “From Creation to Consumer”! 

Weekly Wisdom