Sports Equipment Brand: Creation & Management
CanadaFlicks: an equipment brand & physical product line for a game called table soccer
Context & Challenge
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Table soccer has been played by thousands worldwide since 1940, but access to equipment is a barrier to growth
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How might we utilize emerging technologies to create an equipment brand that promotes innovation and accessibility within the table soccer market?
Scope
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Since February 2018 I have been the president of the association overseeing table soccer across Canada
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This project continues on as a solo entrepreneurial effort. Others helped with user testing and interviews.
The basic equipment and flicking mechanic of table soccer
Key Roles & Skills
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Research: testing hypotheses and product designs
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Brand Design: creation of a name and graphical assets
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Web Design: layout for an online sales platform
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UX Design: ideation of forms for custom product options
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Sales & Marketing: copywriting & product positioning
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Industrial Design: in-house 3D design & production
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Product Management: interaction between all of the above
Tools Used
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Shopify CMS: sales management via E-commerce website
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TinkerCAD: 3D designs for prototypes & final products
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Adobe Illustrator: brand assets, stickers & packaging
- PrusaSlicer: optimizing settings for 3D printing
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Prusa 3D Printers (2): custom plastic part production
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Silhouette Cutting Machine: stickers & packaging
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Brother Inkjet Printer: stickers & packaging
Process
Competitive Analysis
User Research & Testing
Design Ideation
Launch & Production
Results & Reanalysis
-Research product space
-Note key insights
-Identify opportunities
-Interviews, A/B testing
-Test production methods
-Define user personas
-IA's, sketches & mockups
-Branding & web design
-Iterative 3D printing
-Product management
-Sales & marketing
-Production optimization
-What have we achieved?
-How are things going?
-How might that improve?
(this process is always ongoing)
Accomplishments (so far)
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Accessibility: all active Canadian players use this brand of products; around 10% of American players use this brand
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Innovation: nearly all types of products sold were the first to be manufactured using 3D printing technology
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Financial: this is a career-development project, so the goal has always been simply to break even with this brand
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Professional: grown my own design and entrepreneurial skills through high-level, real world challenges
Product: figures on bases
Icon logo for 1:1 use cases
Shopify website layout displaying products & pricing
Process In-Depth
Competitive Analysis
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The table soccer market was initially researched in order to define and analyze challenges and opportunities
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The focus was placed on investigating insights within the realm of Geography, Production, as well as Sales & Marketing
Geography
Insights
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Majority of manufacturers are based where the game is most popular: Europe
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North America does not have any manufacturers of table soccer gear
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USA has around 100 active players, Canada has around 20 active players
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Not initially pursuing the European market will be the most efficient use of resources
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A local brand would enable Canadian players to benefit from domestic shipping
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USA has a medium-sized community ripe for testing and initial international ventures
Opportunities
Production
Insights
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I personally own two 3D printers and a computerized cutting machine
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Plastic is the most common material used to make table soccer products
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Nearly every other manufacturer uses injection molding for mass production
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3D printing allows for a faster, more iterative, and cheaper approach for prototyping
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Production throughput will be much lower with 3D printing, so focus on innovation and customization
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Computerized cutting allows for the creation of stickers and packaging
Opportunities
Sales & Marketing
Insights
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Many top companies do not sell directly through their website, instead using PDFs and messaging & PayPal
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Product lines of top manufacturers are overly-exhaustive and not well organized
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Education regarding the differences between products is sparse
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Creating a website with a sales portal would allow for a more streamlined user journey
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A simple, yet comprehensive product line makes user decisions less confusing
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Strong copywriting and product descriptions will stand out to the users in this market
Opportunities
User Research & Testing
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Interviewing, alongside A/B testing of initial prototypes were used to understand the viability of this production method
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Personas were also created to be able to better identify and empathize with the user archetypes present in this market
Interviews
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I informally interviewed over a dozen table soccer players of various experience levels
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I asked questions ranging from general industry knowledge to specific product feedback
Goals
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Challenge my research and assumptions regarding the current table soccer market
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Be aware of my inherent biases with regards to the success of my own brand
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Understand the potential different user types within this product space
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Challenge my research and assumptions regarding the current table soccer market
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Be aware of my inherent biases with regards to the success of my own brand
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Understand the potential different user types within this product space
A user's detailed interview response regarding product performance
Insights
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Most experienced players aren’t bothered by the current market conditions
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Beginner players are often overwhelmed by import charges and foreign currency
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European players tend to have more experience than North American players
Solutions
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These types of users will not be a primary priority for this brand
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This initially-investigated niche is confirmed as a lucrative opportunity
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Brand goals will be further focused on catering to this domestic market
A/B Testing
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How will users react to products made with a 3D printer?
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Is this production method viable?
Methods
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Personally testing samples of other popular equipment currently on the market
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Producing iterative prototypes to test against previous prototypes
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Sending two distinct final prototype ideas to ten trusted people in the community
Insightful feedback from a user I submitted to A/B testing
Insights
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For the most part, my products perform on par with the current products on the market
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There are some consistency issues with equipment dimensions
Persona Analysis
Solutions
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Continue iterative prototyping process and continue submitting products to personal and external testing
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Higher resolution 3D printing was implemented & quality control processes were put into effect
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One of the more prominent insights from this process: two relevant user types has been revealed
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In identifying these archetypes, the brand goal of primarily focusing on producing for beginners was further cemented
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One of the more prominent insights from this process: two relevant user types has been revealed
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In identifying these archetypes, the brand goal of primarily focusing on producing for beginners was further cemented
Kevin Lacroix
The competitive player
"I grew up playing this game and since have competed internationally"
Age: 52 years
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Table Soccer Experience: 40 years
Bio: Kevin grew up playing table soccer when it was just a toy. Since he can't play real soccer anymore, he gets his competitive rush from playing in table soccer tournaments.
Goals: He enjoys the benefits that premium-level equipment gives him. His main concern is performance, and he doesn't mind paying premium prices to get it.
Frustrations: He is not happy with the fact that the current equipment market is producing some low-quality knockoff products. He feels erodes trust within the community.
Jamie Stevens
The casual player
"I recently got into table soccer and play a couple events per year locally"
Age: 32 years
Location: St. Louis, USA
Table Soccer Experience: 2 years
Bio: Jamie found out about this game on social media and joined the local club. He has his own equipment now but still doesn't play in tournaments very often.
Goals: Jamie wants to get the best value possible with equipment purchases. He wants simple, easy to use products that just get the job done.
Frustrations: He sees the current equipment product space as very confusing and not well documented. He hesitates with international shipping, and likes a simple sales process.
Design Ideation
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The design process for most physical products continues to be an iterative process, consisting of countless tiny tweaks
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For branding, web & UX design components, an example is depicted below
Key Design Decision: Custom Options Form
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The creation of a website for sales was a key opportunity identified during research
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Shopify CMS & an add-on app were used to create product pages with custom forms
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This specific example takes a look at the form on the product page for the bases product
Problem
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As per brand goals, a healthy number of custom options must be available for products
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However, offering a large number of custom options is potentially overwhelming for the user
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The E-commerce website’s user journey is a key component of the brand's USP,
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Therefore, the process of selecting these options on any given product page is a critical design consideration
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Solution
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Breaking down the custom options for this product, it becomes evident that there are four main custom variables at play
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The base colours available are too numerous for a dropdown, so a reference photo was used along with a shared form
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Figure options use a responsive layout with optional dropdowns that do not reveal unless "Yes" is selected
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Sticker options are similarly responsive, but use an optional upload and required text field to communicate infinite possibilities
Launch & Production
Sales & Marketing
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Upholding and communicating brand goals of innovation & accessibility, as identified during research & testing
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Working out product positioning cost-wise within the wider market on a product-by-product basis
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Ensuring these visions are compatible with the production end of things
Production Business Model
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Calculating product margins and time costs for product positioning and accounting purposes
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Keeping track of tools being used: 3D printers, a computerized cutting tool, as well as associated software
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Ensuring production is compatible with sales & marketing
Facebook page header showing two versions of the responsive logo
Results & Reanalysis
Accomplishments
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Accessibility: all active Canadian players use this brand of products; around 10% of American players use this brand
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Innovation: nearly all types of products sold were the first to be manufactured using 3D printing technology
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Financial: this is a career-development project, so the goal has always been simply to break even with this brand
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Professional: grown my own design and entrepreneurial skills through high-level, real world challenges
Reanalyzing & Future Goals
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Since the brand was conceived, another manufacturer in the USA has grown much larger than my brand
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Therefore I will shift focus away from providing accessibility to all of North America, and just focus on Canada's access
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This also gives Canadians a closer option geographically, so I can further emphasize innovation as a key brand goal
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The low production throughput of 3D printing is a key limitation, so this will limit the strain on manufacturing
Goalkeepers as far as the eye can see...