On a daily basis, Inventionland Corporate Industrial Designer John’s job-related tasks vary as he handles everything from new product design, engineering, prototyping, building, finishing and sometimes even packaging. For John, diving right into each and every project in various capacities is something he enjoys, as it offers him the opportunity to continuously use his skills and creativity in different ways.

“My interests have been in art and the creative fields since I was super young,” said John. “Drawing, tracing, sketching, painting, sculpting – all of that stuff since I was a kid,” continued John. Speaking of being a kid, in this new video episode of Inside Inventionland, John takes us from his designer duties to his dad duties as he talks with us about his young daughter. From dad to designer!

Ask him why he wanted to be an industrial designer or designer in general and John will tell you a very interesting story. “I didn’t!” John said. We’ll let John explain in his Inside Inventionland video! Watch now below!

As you’ve learned from John, Inventionland’s unique environment has a lot to offer. “I like Inventionland because of the freedom that it affords. I like Inventionland because of the resources that it offers me. I can come here whenever I need to and get whatever I want done,” said John.

In case you missed an episode, you can catch the rest of the Inside Inventionland series by checking the Inventionland blog or subscribing to the YouTube channel today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2017

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This week on Univision network, the #1 Spanish language network in the United States, morning show Despierta America gave viewers an inside look at some of the coolest office spaces in the world! At Inventionland, we were excited to welcome reporter Luis Sandoval as he made the journey to visit us at Inventionland in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, following visits to Google and Facebook headquarters in Mountain View, California!

The morning show, some might say comparable to The Today Show or Good Morning America that many of us are familiar with, airs from 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. EST Monday through Friday, featuring news and entertainment stories.

On Wednesday, Luis ventured to Google headquarters where fun facilities are aimed at “creating a creative and collaborative environment in which fresh ideas can be born,” according to the report.

On Thursday, Luis gave audiences an inside look at Facebook headquarters, where “state-of-the-art facilities include an exercise park, business premises, souvenir shops and free restaurants for employees,” per the report.

We loved getting a glimpse of both the Google and Facebook headquarters as it’s always great to see and relate to other innovative companies who also appreciate the value in fostering a creative work environment.

We may be biased in this opinion, but we’d like to believe reporter Luis Sandoval saved the best for last as his adventure to some of the coolest offices in the world landed him at Inventionland on today’s Friday airing, in which audiences got to know the facilities of Inventionland, “the most creative factory in the world,” as the report said.

“Conoce las instalaciones de Inventionland, la fábrica más creativa del mundo..”

Additionally, Luis got to chat with Inventionland Executive Director Nathan and Creative Director of Design Tim to learn more about our creative environment, our 4-day work week and more!

Thanks for the visit to our creative space! Check out Inventionland on Despierta America online now!

Copyright Inventionland, 2017

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Each week, students of all ages walk through the doors of Inventionland to get a peek inside our whimsical invention factory, consisting of running waterfalls and 16 uniquely-themed sets. For many, it’s a truly eye-opening experience. Inspired students often leave with the encouragement that their skills will allow them to one day work in such a creative environment.

While many of our Creationeers have been part of the Inventionland team for over ten years, it’s fun to reflect back on the days when they were just students themselves.

“When I was in high school, I got into engineering. And industrial design, after I learned about what it was, it seemed like it was a real easy fit for me… I was doing a lot of artistic stuff, being able to still use some engineering skills and it just fit perfect,” said Design Manager Curtis who grew up drawing and painting.

Curtis’ skillset would ultimately lead him to Inventionland, which he actually helped to build!

“It’s not like working in your typical office. I think that was kind of the idea…to give us an environment that helps us work better and more efficient and get the job done in the best way we possibly can,” said Curtis.

Get to know the man behind the beard, who just happens to be the captain of one innovative boat, in Curtis’ episode of Inside Inventionland here!

In case you missed an episode, you can catch the rest of the Inside Inventionland series by checking the Inventionland blog or subscribing to the YouTube channel today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2017

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Late last year, founder and CEO Mr. George Davison (“Mr. D”) and a team of Inventionland Creationeers attended an exclusive, invite-only preview party at The Container Store’s brand new Pittsburgh location. Finding many Inventionland-designed and packaged products on their store shelves was exciting, but this New Year brings more great news. #ContainYourself because we have something pretty cool to share!

Thanks to a partnership with Jokari – a company that aims to “Make Life Better” with kitchen gadgets, storage and organization solutions, and more – our talented Creationeers have worked hard to innovate Jokari’s product line.

That dedication to innovation is what has brought many Jokari products to retail store shelves, including The Container Store. It all starts with an idea! As it turns out, sometimes those new product ideas become a “home run.”

Just this week, Mr. D announced that the Inventionland-designed Pull Up Hanger for Jokari, now selling in private-label packaging as the Chrome Tank Top Hanger by The Container Store, has been very well received! An email came in from Jokari’s buyer from The Container Store to note that this product is “…definitely a home run!”

“I think it’s a great example of taking a product in three different directions and seeing the possibilities,” said Creative Director of Design Tim, noting how the original Pull Up Hanger has been redesigned and packaged under Jokari’s Paula Deen Everyday collection, in addition to the new version at The Container Store.

Graphic Designer Tess originally thought of the concept back in 2010 as she stood in front of her closet. “One of the problems I had was storing my tank tops,” said Tess. “I was looking in my closet and trying to think of easy ways to store them. Then, I had that ‘aha!’ moment – what if they hung vertically, but you could lift them up to view them all? It was me at home thinking ‘I wish I had this!’ It’s a personal concept, something I needed and something I believed in. To see that it’s doing so well is pretty gratifying. It kind of justifies our design, research and product testing,” said Tess.

It may have been a while in the making, but sometimes these product development struggles make the best stories. “I love telling the story of how things might sit for ten years before they do anything,” said Tim. “If you believe in your idea and you keep nagging the right people, eventually it’s going to be a great seller as we’ve seen in this example with The Container Store,” said Tim.

Congratulations to Tess and the team for believing in an idea and seeing it through the years! Check out Tess’s Chrome Tank Top Hanger at The Container Store here!

Copyright Inventionland, 2017

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Each and every day, talented Creationeers arrive bright and early to our 61,000 square foot creative facility to do exactly that – get creative! From prototyping, to metalworking, to woodworking, industrial and graphic design and more, each Creationeer is prepared to put their skills to work.

As to be expected, however, even the most creative minds experience burnout. So, how do these Creationeers do it day after day? Here are just a few tips for staying creatively inspired.

Immerse yourself in a creative environment.

Visitors are often amazed and awe-inspired by the whimsical environment at Inventionland. From Pirate Ship Discovery to Inventalot Castle and more, the uniquely designed sets within our space have brought Inventionland to the forefront as one of the most creative office spaces in the world.

It’s important to note, however, that the unique environment here is not just for show. According to a dedication plaque you can find on our treehouse, “Inventionland is a gift that is designed to encourage your creative spirit so you can lead us into the next area of discovery.”

Inventionland is designed to spark innovation and creativity for each and every person that comes to work in our space. While most companies don’t have a themed environment quite like Inventionland’s, there are things you can do to immerse yourself in your own creative environment. Outfit your office, cube or desk with items that are uniquely you. What things spark your creativity? Surround yourself with elements that ignite creative thought and keep you motivated.

Let your creative brain recharge.

Have you ever worked on a project and felt your brain just simply isn’t working to move the project further? It’s certainly true that sometimes you just have to put down a project and come back to it once your brain recharges.

“Each week, we brainstorm with our designers and sometimes the brain just gets stuck or doesn’t seem to work properly anymore.  You have to put things on hold and come back to them with fresh thoughts.  Most of the time when you look at something, the second time around it is easier to figure out,” said Creative Director of Design Curtis.

Creative Director of Design Tim agrees. “Sometimes, you just have to go home and come back the next day having to redo what you’ve already done,” he said.

Let your creativity bring you a sense of accomplishment.

Founder and CEO Mr. George Davison can attest to the sense of accomplishment that channeling your inner creativity can bring.

“The truth is that both men and women get inspired by the release of the creative imagination within them. When you are creating something, you are usually completely absorbed in doing so, and the process allows us to form ideas into a structure that gives a sense of accomplishment,” said Mr. Davison.

Here’s to keeping creatively inspired!

Copyright Inventionland, 2017

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In a recent blog, we noted that Inventionland is sponsoring “The Ultimate Pitch” contest at the Craft & Hobby Association’s Creativation show in Phoenix, Arizona next week. This contest will award one innovator $10,000 and the chance to develop their invention idea. While the contest has drawn some creative ideas and the large trade show floor may be what they’re calling “the capital of the creative products industry,” we’re quite certain that we have a ton of creativity happening right here at Inventionland daily!

“I love how creative I get to be with my job,” said Graphic Designer Tess in a new episode of Inside Inventionland, our video series that highlights our talented team of Creationeers both personally and professionally.

“I also like that there’s so many different projects you get to work on and so many people have such different ideas. I feel like I’m constantly learning about new things and I just think that’s awesome,” said Tess who works on everything from package design to industrial design, to display, virtual board and presentation creation.

In her Inside Inventionland video, we get to learn all about Tess as she dives right into her love for her job, water activities, watercolor painting and more. Hear it straight from Tess here:

In case you missed an episode, you can catch the rest of the Inside Inventionland series by checking the Inventionland blog or subscribing to the YouTube channel today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2017

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It’s a chain reaction! Once some of our Inventionland Creationeers got a look at the crazy contraptions students came up with for the Chain Reaction Contraption Contest (CRCC) earlier this year, there was no doubt they’d be excited to see what the next contest would bring.

The contest, sponsored by Westinghouse Electric Company and presented in cooperation with the Carnegie Science Center and the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania, is a creative competition geared towards students in grades 9-12 that challenges them to create a machine that will accomplish a task using a unique series of steps.

The 2016-2017 theme of “UNLOCK and LOCK IT UP” fostered many unique submissions from talented student groups and individuals, all of which Inventionland Creationeers got to view and judge at the Carnegie Science Center event earlier this December.

For our Creationeers, it was a fun opportunity to attend as a group to offer a professional maker and inventors’ take on all of the students’ contraptions.

“I was very excited about leading this team of people on this fun adventure,” said Creationeer Michael, better known as “Spicey,” who has participated in the event before. “It was nice having several of us from the Inventionland team there this year.”

Spicey was joined by fellow Creationeers Shannon, Megan, Chris and Jon whose first time participating was an experience that impressed.

For Creationeer Chris, the Chain Reaction Contraption Contest fell right in line with his fascination with Rube Goldberg’s contraptions. Reuben Garret Lucius “Rube” Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor. “He’s kind of the guy these contraptions are based off of,” said Chris. “He made overly complicated machines to do something really simple.”

These “overly complicated machines” were created with so much detail that Creationeers couldn’t help but take notice.

“There was a wide range of contraptions. Overall, the creativity was impressive. Some of them had a real attention to detail. That was probably the most impressive thing that some of them accomplished was their attention to detail,” said Chris.

One student from Leechburg Area High School won the “What Will You Create?” award, sponsored by Inventionland, which was presented by Spicey.

“The detail of the different things she did brought it together,” said Spicey. With her jungle-themed contraption, Spicey said, “She did a great job laying out the story with such creativity. She did an excellent job of creating a story about the way a tiger was going to be captured. The whole contest is about ‘unlock and lock,’ so the ball – in this case, a tiger – traveled down the path, activating each cage that would come down to trap the tiger again. So, once the ball gets to the bottom of the contraption, it traps it! It was very well done and uniquely made,” commented Spicey.

“Everybody’s contraption was really different even though they were trying to accomplish the same thing,” said Creationeer Shannon.

“I was very impressed,” said Creationeer Megan. “I liked to see what they came up with. Whether they worked or not, it was cool to see the effort the students put into it.”

Creationeer Jon was equally impressed. “It was really cool to see the enthusiasm of the students. I was impressed with the creative ways that they came up with to make their contraptions work…It was cool to see their teams work together,” said Jon.

Participation in the contest aligns with Inventionland’s educational offerings. “We’re well on our way to promoting our education offerings to schools and I think this fits right within what we’re doing with all the schools. The students are learning new things and being creative!” said Spicey.

“They’re definitely going to be the inventors of the future!” said Chris.

Congratulations to all of the 2016-2017 Chain Reaction Contraption Contest winners and participants!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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As Inventionland’s Build Line Manager, Creationeer Clay manages the prototyping department. As Clay likes to explain it, “I break stuff and turn it into other stuff and show other people how to break stuff and turn it into other stuff.”

As we’ve come to learn before, Clay is a talented builder himself, even creating an automaton named “Rusty” out of vehicle parts that now lives at Inventionland.

Friends describe him as “that guy” as he’s not only a builder, but a fixer. According to Clay, he’s “that guy” friends call when you need help from the man with useful skills and a plan, even as it relates to surviving a zombie apocalypse, for all of you fans of the hit AMC television series, The Walking Dead.

Clay kicked off our Inside Inventionland video series and now he’s back with his own feature. Watch and learn a little more about Clay, his zombie apocalypse survival plan, and other “cool stuff behind closed doors” at Inventionland!

In case you missed an episode, you can catch the rest of the Inside Inventionland series by checking the Inventionland blog or subscribing to the YouTube channel today!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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This morning, Inventionland held its very own “breakfast club,” joining together for a pre-Thanksgiving breakfast feast inside Inventionland’s Brainpower Ballpark. From eggs, bacon and hotcakes, to biscuits, gravy and more, these 6 A.M. starters received a major morning boost.

“It’s a nice change,” said Katie, Executive Assistant for Inventionland’s education division. While Inventionland holds end of month parties during the final hour each last Thursday of the month, having a breakfast versus a pre-dinner snack was a welcome change.

Not only does breakfast add a jolt to the morning to help get the creative juices flowing, but it also made this end of month get-together more convenient for Creationeers ready to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Most people will be headed home Wednesday night because they’re getting ready for Thanksgiving travel,” said Creationeer and photographer Michael, better known as “Spicey,” who was the main organizer of the breakfast feast.

“[Product Designer] Sarah came up with the idea that we should do something early, so that’s when I decided we should do a breakfast,” said Spicey.

“To have us all together helps keep the bond that makes Inventionland what it is – a great place to work, largely because of the people that work here,” said Spicey who’s been with Inventionland for over 11 years.

“Food from the beginning has always been one way that people socialize,” said Spicey.

These monthly gatherings are just another example of how Inventionland’s unique environment helps to combat creative burnout. The large morning breakfast was a jumpstart to our Creationeers’ day, “egging them on” to a productive day with creative juices flowing.

How do you combat creative burnout?

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

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Every day, our talented group of Creationeers is inspired and encouraged to dare to invent. Inventionland’s 61,000 square foot facility is not only filled with talented people, but also the amazing things each and every one of them make.

As any maker may attest to, there’s a sense of pride that comes out of creating something new. In a video as part of our Inside Inventionland web series, Creationeer Jon talked about his unique role in building many of the special projects that ultimately become part of our creative space.

Well, Jon was recently at it again with a newly completed project that really helps set the scene at Inventionland. Once he got word from founder and CEO Mr. George Davison, all Jon could say was, “ACTION!”

“Mr. Davison wanted a marquee above the entrance to the theater, so he asked me to come up with some ideas,” said Jon who brought the marquee sign project through the key stages of development.

Ideation Sketches

Sketching ideas is a helpful way to brainstorm. Getting your ideas to flow freely onto paper is a skill in itself, which Jon utilized to figure out the design and dimensions of the new marquee sign before moving forward.

Concept Model

“I know when [Mr. D] wants me to go further with one of his ideas, he wants me to make it into a concept model,” said Jon who mentioned that nothing beats a concept model when it comes to enabling others, and even yourself, to see exactly how a concept will or sometimes will not work.

“It was a challenge to figure out how to make this into a real sign,” said Jon. “It was way harder creating the sign than the concept model because cardboard (used in the concept model creation) is really easy to bend and put together. I just had to rethink how I was going to make this concept and use different materials that would work for a permanent fixture,” said Jon who feels that overcoming the challenges of a project can be frustrating, but fun!

Completed Project

“Once you get it figured out and get past all the stress, it’s super rewarding to see it done and Mr. D was very happy about it, so that’s the ultimate reward right there! That and the fact that it gets to be part of the set,” said Jon.

“That’s my favorite thing about this job. It’s awesome that I get to do stuff that becomes a permanent part of the Inventionland set. When they bring people in on the tours, all of those people get to see my work,” said Jon.

Did you enjoy this piece of “edutainment”? Go even further and schedule your group for an Inventionland tour today to see Jon’s new marquee sign and more!

Copyright Inventionland, 2016

The post A Sneak Preview of a New Addition to the Inventionland Set appeared first on Inventionland.