Hi everyone!
Last Friday Milestone 2 took place and we came up with a name and two big changes.
We wanted a brand related to the sun. We also wanted it to be easy to pronounce by people of different populations, ages, and regions. Finally, it had to be short and catchy. We went for Ilanga, the Zulu word for “sun”. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
The big changes that we introduced at the milestone are the two sides of one pivot:
On the client side, Ilanga is for children. There are 3 main reasons behind this move; first, getting sunburns as a child has a large impact on the risk of developing a skin cancer, then we think our product can help raise awareness about the risks and benefits of the sun and finally none of our competitor target this market.
On the product side, Ilanga is a cap, we are not working on a bracelet anymore. We feel this new shape has a better association with our goal. We also like the fact that the connectivity is improving an existing product instead of standing on its own. Finally, measuring UV rays this way is more convenient than with a bracelet: No cloth that could cover the bracelet, no shadow that can hide the sensor.
Do you remember the solar panels that we wanted to use to power Ilanga? We had to get rid of them due to size, but this pivot allows us to bring them back! As we want to raise awareness about the risks and benefits of sun exposure, we think it makes a lot of sense that Ilanga will be 100% solar powered and we think our users will really like it.
Finally, we are considering the incorporation of augmented reality in the interaction with our product, but this will be the topic of another post.
These changes are quite challenging and the time slowly running out is reinforcing our motivation to work harder and better.
By the way, our designers are currently focused on the first renders and the visual identity of the brand, expect a stunning post soon!
Ilanga