I design things that don’t work. Don’t sell. Things I really believe in, that just don’t find an audience. I’ve been doing it all my life.
Once, I worked for months on design and marketing for a product called Pixie Globes. They were small magnets with a glass stone over an image. Failed. I have several hundred still left.
With POD [print on demand], I’ve saved myself so much investment in things that don’t take off like I expect. I can put a design out and maybe a year later it starts getting traction. If you’re thinking of designing for a POD, I highly recommend it. It’s a great creative outlet, even when a design doesn’t spark as you’d like.
My two most recent designs that haven’t gotten attention are my Badges and my Boos. I really like them both. Badges are real badges you can give someone [or for yourself] when something was done that may seem minor to others but really made you proud.
You can click the image to see all the different badges.
My Boos were an idea I got after telling someone to stop being a grumpy boo. If you tell someone to stop being grumpy – it makes them more grumpy, but if you tell them to stop being a grumpy boo – they can’t help but smile. There are quite a few Boos, not just grumpy.
Both of these designs make me a bit of a grumpy boo. I have other designs where I hit the wrong button editing and magic occured. Something I never would have intended came out, and it sells pretty well. These? I worked on them for days!
If you’re thinking of giving POD a try – you have nothing to lose. Grind out those things that make you smile and hope they find someone else they tickle as well. Sometimes they don’t. But that’s okay!