Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Fat Bikes | The Options Continue to Grow

a map of the twin cities bike trails
Twin Cities Biking Paths
Almost 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 Borealis Yampa, Salsa Beargrease XX1, and TrekFarley.  Kevin at FreeWheel Bike set us up and we were off to ride some single track.  

Fat Bike Demo


Fat Bike Demo

What a difference a few years has made for these bikes.  They were all light weight, quick, and simply awesome to ride.  The Salsa Beargrease is perfect for those that “need” a 24lb fat bike or plan to make a run for the podium at the local race scene.  The Borealis was the perfect combination of blending all day riding comfort in a lightweight race package. The Trek Farley was our biggest surprise.  It lacks the carbon appeal but handles so quick and agile.


Borealis Yampa beauty shot


Borealis Yampa beauty shot

 Lap after lap was counted as we switched bikes but ultimately we decided on the Yampa.  Why?  We are a Design firm and this met our high standards. The aesthetics on this bike are great and the performance was refined. It's a bike that deserves a spot in the stable.  



Excelsior bike path beauty shot


Bring on mother nature, we are ready!

Inspired by Everything.

Monday, December 2, 2013

ICEdot Crash Sensor


ICE In Case of Emergency

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 thrilled when they came back, after the successful launch of their first product, for help with their next: the Crash Sensor.




We design a lot of lifesaving medical devices. We also design numerous consumer products. We enjoyed the opportunity to help design this potentially life saving consumer product.



Inspired by Everything.
WhiteBoard

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

LifeScience Alley 2013 Conference


Medical product design

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.

Stop by and see some exciting new devices in our booth (#715).

WhiteBoard Product Solutions - whiteboardps.com


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Vintage Tonka Truck Donated to Tonka Toy Museum

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 made from stamped steel in the factory overlooking Lake Minnetonka
  • Must be dip painted with minimal decoration



Monday, October 21, 2013

MD&M Minneapolis

Medical Design and Manufacturing Show

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.

WhiteBoard Product Solutions - whiteboardps.com

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Return of the Cool People Feature

Leisure Product Solutions now WhiteBoard Product Solutions

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, by popular demand, the decision was made to bring the people animations back to the site! It communicates to potential clients and employees WhiteBoard's dynamic creative culture.

Alter Ego


The next step in bringing the animated people feature back to the site took place in the creative minds of the team members. For some, the hard part wasn’t coming up with a great idea - it was having to pick just one. This proved the most difficult for serious movie buffs.


Photography


The real fun took place in our in-house photo studio, where we had people fishing, doing a wheelie on their customized bike, and rappeling from the ceiling's girders. For others, it involved multiple wardrobe changes or bringing in armloads of nerf guns.

Graphic Design                                        

Some of the team member’s visions required additional post-production magic. At WhiteBoard, we’re all about finding ways to turn great ideas into a reality, and this creative exercise was no exception. It was a vital step to ensure that each employee’s personality jumped off the screen. A personal bio accompanies each transforming photo, giving an additional glimpse into what makes each of us tick.



WhiteBoard Website

Since going live, the response has been overwhelmingly positive (from clients, friends and moms). At WhiteBoard Product Solutions, we’re very proud of the dynamic, brilliant mix of talent that sets us apart as the go-to product design firm. We focus on “people, place and process”, and having the right people is the most important part of that equation.

See for yourself!

whiteboardps.com/wwa_ourPeople

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

U of M Innovation Fellows Visit WhiteBoard

Innovation Fellows Program visits WhiteBoard Product Solutions

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 the next leaders in medtech through a full immersion educational and product development program for medical device creation. The program concentrates on developing medical devices for a broad variety of clinical areas, with an emphasis on identifying and addressing unmet clinical needs.

U of M Innovation Fellows

During their visit, the Innovation Fellows learned about the WhiteBoard process for medical device design through multiple case studies at our facility. They also saw the WhiteBoard model shop and its many different prototyping processes that are used at various stages during medical device development. WhiteBoard has extensive experience developing medical devices; so it was a pleasure to learn more about the Innovation Fellows Program, inform them about the WhiteBoard process, and discuss opportunities to collaborate.



WhiteBoard