We had the opportunity to work with Environment Canada recently on a customized USB flash drive project that included a custom designed and fabricated mold for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha, Qatar. We were initially approached about the production of a standard drive order, but after consulting with the team at EC, we pitched the idea of utilizing a customized mold of a polar bear to communicate the content loaded onto the drives more effectively.

The creation of a custom mold typically has a few steps. We ask that the client submits a series of reference images for us to draw from thematically. In this case, Environment Canada wanted to incorporate a clearly visible outline of a polar bear – something akin to the beautiful Inuit style art that graces some of Canada’s national museums, but also something that was clearly identifiable and not abstract. We settled on 5 different reference images that we researched. The 5 qualified as images that we like to call “dimension-able designs” – meaning, that they fall within the parameters of  being able to incorporate into a CAD program and create a mold that would fit universally into all USB ports. This is a key step. Creating a mold that is too wide can hinder the use of a even a single user, considering that most computers have at least 2-3 USB ports that are in almost all cases virtually on top of each other. Secondly, the client wanted to utilize a material that was comparable to the look and feel of an iPod – a cool white plastic.

After presenting the 5 CAD designs, the client chose the subtle outline shown here. We fabricated and completed production in 7 days, and then loaded over 1.6 GB (a combination of multilingual videos and documentation) of content in 48 hours on 1500 drives for delivery to the CITES conference in less than 2 weeks from the beginning of production.

Considering a custom drive for your organization, business, or upcoming event? Contact us at info AT standardmedia DOT ca or Request A Quote , comment on this post,  or let us know what you had in mind with a reference image that you’re considering.