Johannesburg - It’s a testament to human creativity that something that started out as strictly functional – the USB flash drive – has found so many shapes.
These novelty and promotional storage devices are great for attaching to your keychain with all your important documents or treasured photographs. They look funky and store all your data.
During the Fifa World Cup, I got one the shape of a football, and I’ve since received a lipstick, a doll, a bracelet and an outrageously blingy, heart-shaped USB stick that makes my laptop look like it just got engaged to Kanye West.
“We can customise absolutely any shape or object into a USB flash drive,” says Nicky Sacharowitz, sales director of Branded Promotions. “They are extremely popular for corporates to increase brand awareness, and they make fabulous promotional gifts.”
There are literally hundreds of novelty moulds available for USB sticks, depicting anything from food and beverages, people and animals, to apparel, musical instruments, vehicles, and abstract shapes.
David Bondi, managing director of Curve Concepts, supplier of USB flash drives, says his company has created flash drives in the shape of everything from cars, trucks and tyre treads to gas bottles and medical equipment. “We work closely with the client and our 3D designers to create a truly unique item. The customisation process takes about three weeks from concept.”
While the design is limited only by your imagination – it can be cute and gimmicky or sleek and sophisticated – there are a few things to keep in mind. For a start, if it’s too bulky or unwieldy, it might not fit properly into laptop USB ports, or it may interfere with your ability to plug in more devices. That was the problem with my little soccer ball, which now just decorates a pencil holder.
USB stick moulds can be made from any material including wood, bamboo, leather, metal and plastic, but rubberised PVC is the most popular because it is cost-effective, says Bondi. “Also, the unit should ideally have a lanyard or keyring attached, making it easy for people to keep it at hand,” he says.
Completely customised flash drives are available only from wholesalers, not retailers, and it’s important to contract a reliable supplier, says Bondi, “because it can be damaging to your brand to distribute flash drives that don’t work or fail after a few uses”.
I must add my own little caution here, which is to avoid opting for metal only as the mould, because it can deliver a sharp little shock when you plug it into your computer.
Most customised USB sticks begin life as a sketch by the client company. It’s then given a 3D rendering by the manufacturer, with some suggestions by their creative designer team.
They can add moving parts or any other accessory, in any colour, so the possibilities are wide open. Inspired designs have to include the USB stick that fits into a pen and those that double as a colourful rubber bracelet.
A really imaginative one is the little lightbulb, which is new on the scene, while less tasteful are USB sticks that look like bullets, syringes, pill capsules or wine corks.
A customised mould costs about R1 500 once off, while the USB stick is custom made in China. A minimum order is usually 100 units.
“Corporates like to pre-load onto the USBs so that once inserted, all the company information will appear on the PC or laptop. We can also get it embedded so that it can’t be deleted,” says Sacharowitz.
Flash drives are also ideal for conferences, training and events. “A single unit can serve as a gift, a branding medium and a communication tool that eliminates the need for reams of printed material,” says Bondi. - The Star