Inventables Announces Student Design Competition
3/6/2006 – Chicago, IL
Inventables, a Chicago based company that researches leading-edge innovations for consumer product companies from Nike to BMW, has announced the launch of a Student Design Competition.
Over the years, Inventables has received hundreds of requests from students and professors for access to its world-class technology innovation research. In response to this unbridled enthusiasm the company is granting limited access to its classified database of technology innovations, with the goal of educating aspiring designers about the innovation process.
“We believe design should start by identifying unmet consumer needs and by considering the context in which products are used,” said Zach Kaplan, president of Inventables “We encourage students entering the design competition to start there and then use the technology as stimulus for new product innovations.”
Upon entering the competition, students are given the opportunity to examine 25 innovative technologies so that they might stock their subconscious with new possibilities. They are then to identify and document an unmet consumer need and use the Inventables technologies to brainstorm a new product concept. Entries will be reviewed by a panel of professional product designers from Motorola, IDEO, SC Johnson, Sloan Valve, Creata Promotions, Pensa and SRAM. All email entries must be received by 11:59 pm EST, June 15 2006. Winners will be featured in DesignAid, Inventables’ advanced-materials portfolio, which is seen by thousands of corporate product developers. The first place winner will be showcased on the cover and receive a $500 scholarship.
Inventables hopes this contest will provide a structured environment for students to flex their creative muscles and conceive of remarkable product innovations that will help launch their careers.
About Inventables:
Inventables is a company that helps consumer product manufacturers innovate. Founded in 2002, Inventables set out to educate and energize product development teams by sharing materials and technologies that have unexpected qualities. Through its flagship product, DesignAid, Inventables shares a collection of the world’s most astonishing materials and technologies. This quarterly portfolio showcases these provocative items and reveals possible applications. Some of the out-of-the-ordinary items that have been featured in DesignAid include liquid metal, squishy gel magnets and intelligent rope that can detect tension. Actual samples of every item come packaged with a booklet of application possibilities to spark imagination. Thousands of designers at product manufacturing companies, including Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR), BMW (BMWG.DE), NIKE (NYSE: NKE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) receive DesignAid. And, products directly influenced by DesignAid are already beginning to fill store shelves. To learn more visit www.inventables.com.
Contact:
Zach Kaplan
Phone: 312-274-9941