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TOY FAIR 2013

February 20, 2013

WhiteBoard, and WhiteBoard designed products attend Toy Fair 2013

WhiteBoard designers Rick&Eric made their annual trip to Toy Fair in New York to check out what is new in the world of toys and to meet with some important clients.

Slam Man, an interactive boxing device invented and developed by WhiteBoard, anchored the Pure Global Brands booth.

SkaZooms, a new line of collectables developed by WhiteBoard, were a popular attraction at the Jax, Ltd booth.

WhiteBoard

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WHITEBOARD'S PRESIDENT RICK POLK!

LIFESCIENCE ALLEY 2014 CONFERENCE | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH

LifeScience Alley is the largest state-based life science trade association in the U.S. WhiteBoardwill be participating in its 2014 conference next Wednesday, Nov 19th at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The conference focuses on Healthcare and its impact on business, it includes interesting speakers, breakout sessions, and exhibitors. Stop by an...

WHITEBOARD SPEAKING AT MEGATECH 2014: 3D PRINTING FROM EVOLUTION TO REVOLUTION

WhiteBoard will be speaking at Megatech 2014 at Century College in White Bear Lake this coming Tuesday, November 11th. The theme of this year’s conference is 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing and WhiteBoard will be illustrating the role of rapid prototyping in the Product Development Consultancy environment and the impact it has had throughout the...

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OCTOBER 23, 2014 | WHITEBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

A few WhiteBoard team members went up on the roof between 5-6pm with both a Nikon D7100, Canon 6D, welding helmets and heavy shades.

WHITEBOARD PRESENTED AT SOLIDWORKS 2015 WITH OCTANE FITNESS

WhiteBoard Product Solutions and Octane Fitness are presenting the Zero Runner at the Symmetry Solutions SolidWorks 2015 release event, October 9, 2014. Presenting the development of the Zero Runner, and the collaborative effort between Octane and WhiteBoard, the two companies will be highlighting the ability to use the platform SolidWorks as a col...

JAMSTIK TO BE RELEASED!

One of the products that WhiteBoard helped develop is being released for people to buy on Amazon or through JamStik.com. It is called the JamStik. The JamStik essentially is a MIDI controller you can play through your iOS device that senses where you place your fingers on the neck and what strings you strum. What makes this different from other MI...

WHITEBOARD DOES INTERBIKE 2014 IN LAS VEGAS

WhiteBoard product designers Rick Polk and Jason Ness went to the largest bicycle industry trade show in North America, The Interbike 2014 show in Las Vegas. There they checked out what was new in the bicycle industry and to meet new and existing clients. Below is a list of what they found inspiring:‍

REUSE SODA BOTTLES WITH INNOVATIVE NEW CAPS

WhiteBoard came across this DesignBoom article on innovation in the world of reduce, reuse, recycle: “Coca-Cola Gives Old Bottles ‘2nd Lives’ With 16 Functional Caps” from toys to food to cleaning, the possibilities seem endless. Although Coca-Cola decided to start with 16 of their best ideas to distribute across Asia. Innovative designs with brand...

WHITEBOARD SUPPORTS NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK DAY

The League of American Cyclists have named May National Bike to work month, with May 12-16 National Bike to work week, and May 16 National Bike to Work Day. Being 39 degrees this morning in Minnesota, leads us to the conclusion that the decision makers are not from Minnesota. Though, here at WhiteBoard, we have folks that bike to work during the wi...

ICE CAVES | INSPIRED BY EVERYTHING!

One of WhiteBoard’s photographers, Ryan Chernik, had the unique opportunity last month to visit the Superior Ice Caves up in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Trips like this offer an opportunity for inspiration and perspective. Here at WhiteBoard, we are Inspired by Everything!

WHITEBOARD PRODUCT SOLUTIONS ATTENDS THE 2014 IDSA MIDWEST DISTRICT DESIGN CONFERENCE

Director of Product Development Jason Ness, and Industrial Designers Caleb Summers and Eric Polk took the weekend to attend the IDSA Midwest District Conference in Chicago. There they met with students and professionals from around the Midwest area.

PRESIDENT AND CEO OF WHITEBOARD PRODUCT SOLUTIONS MAKES THE (REAL) POWER 50 LIST

Congratulations to Rick Polk, President and CEO of WhiteBoard Product Solutions, on making the list of the (Real) Power 50 of 2014! The article “The (Real) Power50” can be found in the May issue of Minnesota Business Magazine. This list represents some of the best people to know when conducting business in the state of Minnesota. Thanks to Tiger Oa...

ADVANCEMENTS IN MATERIAL SCIENCE IMPACTING PRODUCT DESIGN

Product development centers around process and material, which is why a Core77 blog about the improvements in material science caught WhiteBoard’s eye. In the past, the process was a long and arduous one, full of frustrating trial and errors resulting in a lot of dead ends. With the rise of the supercomputer, materials can now be virtually created ...

TOY FAIR 2014

WhiteBoard designers Rick & Eric made their annual trip to Toy Fair in New York to discover what is new in the world of toys and to meet with new and existing clients.

BOILING WATER FREEZING IN MID-AIR

The engineering department at WhiteBoard had a little fun this morning in our cold Minnesota winter. At -22 degrees Fahrenheit, they threw a cup of boiling water into the air and watched it turn into vapor and ice…or in their words “a cloud in a cup.”

FAT BIKES | THE OPTIONS CONTINUE TO GROW

Twin Cities Biking PathsAlmost 1/3 of the WhiteBoard team bikes in to work and with a shift in seasons comes our shift in gear. Winter gear is one of our favorites so a few weeks ago our sights were set on finding the best fat bike for this season. A few of us are avid fat bikers and so picking out our top candidates was easy. We tested the new Bor...

ICEDOT CRASH SENSOR

For those who regularly read our blog, you know that we have more than a few bikers who work here (see Specialized Turbo Review). ICEdot, an innovative young company in Oklahoma and a WhiteBoard client, makes emergency identification and notification systems for bikers, skiers and snowboarders (ICE stands for In Case of Emergency). So we were thril...

LIFESCIENCE ALLEY 2013 CONFERENCE

LifeScience Alley is the largest state-based life science trade association in the U.S. WhiteBoard will be participating in its 2013 conference next week at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The focus of the conference will be to discuss the impacts of the national and global healthcare transformation and the new business models that are emerging....

VINTAGE TONKA TRUCK DONATED TO TONKA TOY MUSEUM

WhiteBoard recently donated this vintage Tonka Fire Truck to the Tonka Toy Museum. We have done a lot of work for toy companies over the years (including Tonka Toys), so we certainly appreciate classic toy designs like this one. We imagine the Form Follows Reality™ matrix for this product must have been something like: Must be Tonka tough Must be m...

MD&M MINNEAPOLIS

Swing by booth #444 at MD&M Minneapolis next week (October 29th and 30th) to see some recently released devices designed by the WhiteBoard team. Also, we still have a few VIP passes available for clients who would like to attend the show. Contact us if you would like a pass.

THE RETURN OF THE COOL PEOPLE FEATURE

Years ago, WhiteBoard Product Solutions (then known as Leisure Design) had a website feature with a huge fun factor. Each employee had an onscreen miniature version of themselves, which when moused over, would morph into an alternate view. As the years went by, the site got overhauled and the cool people feature got eliminated. Recently, however, b...

U OF M INNOVATION FELLOWS VISIT WHITEBOARD

WhiteBoard was honored to host a team from the Innovation Fellows Program from the University of Minnesota’s Medical Device Center. The Medical Device Center is a valuable asset to the medical device community as it combines basic research, applied and translational research, and education and training. The Innovation Fellows Program seeks to train...

SPECIALIZED TURBO REVIEW

WhiteBoard keeps on top of trends research, and never has it been so much fun than investigating the new Specialized Turbo e-bike! For years WhiteBoard and its staff have gained valuable knowledge by keeping on top of new product innovation from a wide range of product categories. The bicycle category is one of the oldest consumer product categorie...

24 HOURS OF LEMONS

WhiteBoard is known for its product development, industrial design, engineering, prototyping and package design; but only a few clients know about a little secret in the back of the building called Purespeed R&D. Purespeed is a race shop dedicated to the support and fostering of club racing and the spirit and camaraderie that go with it. On March 1...

JAMSTIK FEATURED IN POPULAR SCIENCE

JamStik was featured in the May issue of Popular Science as one of ten products in its 7th Annual Invention Awards.WhiteBoard collaborated with the inventor and the Zivix team to design, engineer and create working prototypes of the JamStik. That enabled the inventor’s technology to come off the work bench and into the hands of the Zivix marketing ...

WHITEBOARD IN THE NEWS

Star Tribune writer Dee DePass did a remarkable job writing a story about WhiteBoard based on a two hour tour and conversations with clients that ranged from medical devices to consumer electronics and power equipment. In the short time she was here, she was able to capture the culture, diversity, competency and vibe of WhiteBoard.The WhiteBoard te...

PROTOTYPING AND COLLABORATION: KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

When a client comes to WhiteBoard for the first time, they expect to see our industrial design and engineering capabilities, but they are always amazed when they see how extensive our prototyping capabilities are. Product development is a very iterative process. The ability to quickly create prototypes in our facility enables us to “discover” early...

REVIEW & DISASSEMBLY OF THE BEATS BY DRE PILL

WhiteBoard Critique of the “Beats BY DRE PILL“ Beats by Dre has taken the headphone market by storm. Celebrities, the Olympic team, and the average Joe on the bus, can be caught wearing a set of their stylish headphones. However, Beats makes more than just headphones. The Beats Pill is the extension of the head phone collection that brings the rest...

JAMSTIK

JamStik Rocks CES. For the past 6 months, WhiteBoard has been collaborating with Zivix, a Minneapolis based company, to develop a functional and sleek device for their patented guitar playing technology. The device connects wirelessly to smart phones, tablets and computers to play digital music with an authentic guitar feel.

NORTH STAR STEM ALLIANCE TOUR

On November 27th WhiteBoard hosted a group of students affiliated with the North Star STEM Alliance, whose mission is to double the number of underrepresented students receiving bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. The students toured the WhiteBoard facility and were given an overview of WhiteBoard’s product development...

MEDICAL DEVICE DESIGN

WHITEBOARD PARTICIPATES IN THE MD&M SHOW. The WhiteBoard booth featured industrial designer Nicole Parks sketching concepts on the Wakum tablet.

PRODUCT DESIGN WORKSHOP

WhiteBoard inspires students to succeed one sketch at a time. A team of industrial designers at WhiteBoard recently hosted 14 industrial design students from the University of Wisconsin-Stout for a 3-hour sketching workshop and tour of the WhiteBoard studios and model shop.

SOFT WATER...REFRESHING STYLE

Asking the Right Questions Leads to Value-Added Solutions. A fundamental part of the WhiteBoard product development process is the “discovery & definition” phase. During this time, the WhiteBoard team partners with the client to identify and understand all the realities that need to be considered in order for the product to be successful (see “Form...

Form Follows Reality™

Our Approach: Form Follows Reality™ You have heard the phrase “form follows function.” It was coined by architect Louis Sullivan in 1896 to emphasize how a building’s design should always reflect its intended purpose. It has since been adapted by product designers to guide product development. We at WhiteBoard Product Solutions believe that functio...

TOY FAIR 2013

WhiteBoard Is Not Letting Covid-19 Stop Innovation

15 Different Prototyping Capabilities

Target Top Pick!

AWARD WINNING TOY CONCEPT!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM WHITEBOARD!

GREAT EXAMPLE OF FORM FOLLOWS REALITY™

MN BASED COMPANIES REUNITE TO IGNITE INNOVATION IN THE TOY INDUSTRY

50 STRONG ON FOX BUSINESS

FUGOOXL STYLE – THE WHITEBOARD REVIEW

UPGRADED WHITEBOARD WEBSITE AND BLOG!

WHITEBOARD DESIGNERS SUPPORT THE TORCHLIGHT 5K

CONGRESS MEMBER ERIK PAULSEN VISITS WHITEBOARD THIS WEEK.

MAKING WATER COOL AGAIN

CREATE YOUR OWN 3D PRINTING MATERIAL THROUGH RECYCLING

3D PRINTING IS NOW A TOY…LITERALLY THANKS TO MATTEL

GIF'S MADE EASY

WHY LACE UP WHEN YOU COULD WRAP UP?

PROVING DESIGNED-IN-AMERICA TO BE MADE-IN-AMERICA ROCKS!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY FROM WHITEBOARD!

WHEN SERVING UP INNOVATION WILL YOUR CONSUMERS TAKE A BITE?

NY DURING TOY FAIR!

WHITEBOARD HOSTS UW-STOUT SKETCHING WORKSHOP!

REINVENTING THE WHEEL

WHAT IF MICROSOFT HAD DESIGNED THE IPOD PACKAGE?

SO YOU SAY YOU WERE AT THE GAME? NOW YOU CAN PROVE IT!

WANT TO GO SOLAR?

LOG YOUR LIFE

3D PRINTING AND ITS ROLE IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

JOHNNY 5 IS ALIVE!

THANK YOU TO OUR CLIENTS IN 2014!