Customization is a hot trend these days, with consumers eager to put a personal stamp on all kinds of products. Basketball company Spalding is even offering shoppers the opportunity to have basketballs laser-engraved with official NBA team logos, throwback logos and personal text. U-DESIGN, Spalding’s new interactive, e-commerce experience, was made possible thanks to a partnership with InkSoft, the sales and production platform used by many decorated-apparel shops. We spoke with JP Hunt, one of InkSoft’s co-founders, about the partnership and the continued popularity of personalization.

JP Hunt, Inksoft co-founder

Q: Can you tell us a little about the partnership with Spalding and how that came about?

JP Hunt: We were lucky to be chosen by Spalding to as a technology partner to build a custom Spalding ball customization tool. Initially, this tool was available in Spalding's business-to-business portal accessible to dealers but was extended to power Spalding’s U-DESIGN custom basketball initiative. U-DESIGN offers consumers the opportunity to design and personalize a Spalding iconic basketball with their choice of an NBA team logo. 

Q: Why are people so interested in custom design experiences? What’s the appeal?

JH: Consumers love personalized products especially when they align with their passions and interests. Of course, brands and businesses love to leverage personalization as it enhances brand affinity and generally results in higher perceived value and revenue.

Q: How does InkSoft technology make it easier for brands like Spalding to provide custom design experiences?

JH: InkSoft’s interactive online design technology is embeddable, which allows brands to integrate a design solution into their existing web presence. Additionally, InkSoft’s API allows for connectivity into business systems to seamlessly interface with established practices and systems. At the end of the day, it’s about getting to market quickly with minimal complexity and costs.  

Q: What do you envision for the future of e-commerce and custom designed products?

JH: You’ll see consumer brands continue to invest in personalization offerings. These brands understand the impacts of personalization on purchase intention and satisfaction. It’s a win-win for both brand and consumer.  

Q. Any other exciting news InkSoft can share with us?

JH: InkSoft is releasing some all-new technology in early 2019 including a new version of our Design Studio. We’ve totally redesigned the customer interface and experience and leveraged some new technology to help our customers drive even more revenue from selling personalized products. Additionally, we are releasing InkSoft Core, which represents almost two years of software engineering, design, and development. Core is a new suite of tools to help our customer manage the entire lifecycle of decorated products. Core includes customer, order, purchasing and production management software. Lastly, InkSoft will be introducing InkSoft Proposals, a massively improved solution for doing art approvals, invoicing and quoting. Of any new solution, InkSoft Proposals has me the most excited. It’s a total game changer.