Consumer Product Development: Rocketbook

The way we write and communicate has changed over the years. With new tech devices, traditional writing practices that require pen and paper have become old-school as many people have replaced them with computers and smartphones which are a more sustainable option. However, some of us can still attest to being more creative when using a pen and a notebook. MAKO is passionate to be part of a tech community and industry that works towards generating positive environmental and social impacts. Recently, a Boston-based start-up created the Rocketbook Wave, a reusable and erasable paper notebook. Rocketbook Wave is a consumer product development that was designed to digitize your notes and upload them to a cloud service through a mobile app. Once the notebook is filled, the ink can be erased by putting it in the microwave!

A Sustainable Consumer Product Development

The Rocketbook Wave combines pen, paper, smartphone technology, and the cloud all in one. The system was engineered to upload handwritten notes from paper to the cloud using a scanning system on your smartphone app.  The product contains smart pages printed with seven symbols at the bottom of each page. These symbols are associated to different functions, such as saving to Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs or your email address. By marking one or several symbols on your page, the scan app Rocketbook generates a digitized copy of the page and will directly send it to your selected cloud storage platform. “People still write with paper and pen every day, but they want the benefits of the cloud,” said Rocketbook co-founder Joe Lemay.

The scan app recognizes the pages in any background thanks to a narrow dark border surrounding each page. This allows a better user experience as the scanning process can be quickly done. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about page numbers as each page is printed with a QR code indicating the page number of each scan.

The designers of Rocketbook have created a sustainable consumer product development as this notebook can be reused up to 10 times, conserving a lot of paper in long run. The great part about this innovative product is that you can erase everything you’ve written within 30 seconds and in a rather original way. The Rocketbook Wave comes together with Pilot FriXion pens. These pens contain thermo-sensitive ink that can be erased by putting the notebook in a microwave (accompanied with a mug of water) for 30 seconds. The label on the cover notifies you when the pages turn blank by changing color.

We encourage and support start-ups to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability as part of their strategy and culture. With 53 days to go, they have already raised a whopping $138,636 on their Kickstarter Campaign. The Rocketbook Wave is a consumer product development that combines sustainable motives with smart tech tools that still allow us to stay in touch with our roots.  It’s inspiring to see innovations such as the Rocketbook as they make note-taking and organization a simpler task!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!