Beyond Design, Inc.
Beyond Design, Inc. is a multi-disciplinary product development firm based in Chicago. The firm assists companies in multiple stages of product development—specializing in research, design strategy, industrial design, user interface, prototyping, engineering for manufacturing, structural packaging, and graphic identity. Beyond Design has grown to become one of the leading industrial design firms in Chicago .
History
Beyond Design, Inc. was formed in 1994 by Michael Prince, the President of the company . A graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in Industrial Design, Prince worked for independent design consulting firms and corporations, including Anderson Design, Sony, Thomson/RCA, Joss Design, and he had two summer internships at IBM, before starting his own company .
Prince’s goal with Beyond Design was to bring an innovative process to product development. The technology available to designers and engineers was beginning to expand with the increased use of Pro/ENGINEER and the development of Solidworks in 1993 , and he believed it created the perfect opportunity to start a new firm—focusing on young talent with strong potential. The company name, Beyond Design, was chosen in part because of the new millennium, but also because the firm goes “beyond” the basics in all areas of product development. Prince wanted a timeless name that would clearly define the vision he had for his company.
Beyond Design’s first location was in a small, office located near Chicago and Halsted. In the beginning, it was Prince and one intern. The team grew to five people shortly after moving to their first office. The initial product designed under Beyond Design, Inc. was a First Alert fire safe for Center Manufacturing. From the start, the company focused on the U.S. market and developed products with the intent to mass produce.
In 2000, the company had grown to ten employees and moved to a larger office located on Wacker Drive, in the heart of downtown Chicago. Five years later, in 2006, Beyond Design began to outgrow their downtown location and moved into a new office in the Ravenswood, Chicago Corridor, a previous industrial area in the northern part of the city. Michael Prince located a former lighting parts warehouse that was in size, with an additional vacant lot next door that was sculpted into a garden to accompany the studio.
Prince’s idea behind creating the garden was to create a “Zen-like” atmosphere away from the noise of the metropolis. The building was completely renovated to represent the company’s work style and core values .
Process
When Beyond Design first began, they were focused more on the industrial design and engineering aspect of product development. Over the past few years, Beyond Design’s in-depth research and strategy have become a vital part of their process.
They use an approach of Discover, Define, Design, and Develop, also known as 4XD. This encompasses all areas of the product development process—from research, problem identification, and analysis to ideation and implementation. The company uses its own Strategic Design Process (SDP) that combines brainstorming with lifestyle trends. Sketches and various mock-ups are produced to explore design concepts. The Beyond Design team conducts foam core wars where both the designers and the clients work together to create the best concept out of foam core. Their research, design, and engineering teams build off of each other’s ideas and creativity to get to the end product.
Entrepreneur Ventures
In 1996, with his entrepreneur spirit, Prince launched a line of consumer storage and organization products made out of recycled material under the name "Ultimate Hanger®", which later went on to win a Silver IDEA Award. Other Ultimate Hanger® products were created to complement the product line and include the Ultimate Belt Hanger and Ultimate Tie Hanger. In 1998, Prince sold the brand to St. Louis based Contico International, now part of Katy Industries, Inc.
This entrepreneur adventure was followed shortly by the collaboration with Eitan Weiner-Kaplow to found Way Beyond, LLC and introduce the Da Vinci Writer™ Stationery Set, which allowed the user to create the same mirror writing style of left-handed Leonardo da Vinci.
Awards
In 1997, the "Ultimate Hanger®" that Prince launched won a Silver IDEA Award . It was recognized for its functional design and innovative style. The uniquely shaped hanger can support twelve times the weight of a standard hanger.
In 1999, Beyond Design won a Silver IDEA Award for their design of the ACCO Swingline 2-60 Stapler . The next year, in 2000, they won a Good Design Award for the Fisher Price Portable Tape Player . In 2002, their design of the Cobotics iLift system was awarded both a Good Design Award and a Design Distinction Award from I.D. Magazine . At the time, the Cobotics iLift system was a revolutionary device that fast became the new standard for moving heavy or awkward loads in material handling and assembly environments.
A year later, in 2003, appliance DESIGN awarded the Beyond Design team two Excellence in Design (EID) Awards for the design of the Liftmaster multi-door garage door opener and the Ray Charles Animatronics Doll . The Ray Charles doll was designed in co-operation with Design Integrity and Cosmodog of Chicago. It was taken from initial concept to stores in only seven months . In 2005, Beyond Design won a Bronze IDEA Award for their design of the Rubbermaid Paint Buddy. A few years later, in 2009, the Paint Buddy was presented in Businessweek as one of “The 50 Coolest Products of the 21st Century” .
Appliance DESIGN awarded Beyond Design a a Silver EID Award for the TRANE CleanEffects, a Bronze EID Award for their design of the Remington Clean XChange, and a Silver EID Award for the Oster Iced Tea Maker in 2007, 2008, and 2010, respectively . In addition, their design of the Aero PakMat was awarded a 2010 Bronze PentAward for packaging design.
Today
The Beyond Design team consists of industrial designers, engineers, graphic designers, research specialists, project managers, and graphic user interface design experts. Beyond Design works on projects for clients in the houseware, hardware, electronics, medical, industrial, office, toy, sporting equipment, user interface, and furniture industries . Focusing on the U.S. market, they develop products with the intent to mass produce. The firm has experience across diverse markets including work for Trane, Dremel, Rayovac, Remington, Motorola, Sony, and Culligan .
In January 2010, their design of the PakMat™ was introduced by Aero International, LLC . This product is aimed at campers and backpackers and is the first air pump that is specifically designed to act as a clean storage unit for the airbed it is designed to inflate. Wanting to focus on environmentally friendly materials, Beyond Design decided on the use of phthalate-free materials for the design. The PakMat™ has received great reviews since being featured at the Outdoor Retailer Show in July .
Most recently, the firm designed the first rail speaker system that is mounted to and powered by a low-voltage track lighting system for Encompass Lighting Group (ELG) . Beyond Design’s objective was to design a fully backward and forward compatible speaker that integrates with two different brands under the client. It entered the market in June 2010.
Beyond Design supports the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) and mentors design students from around the world . Their interns have come from France, Sweden, Turkey, England, Italy, and the United States. Each year, the company offers internship scholarships for qualified students. They believe in giving students “real-world” experience to help them in their future careers. In 2008 and 2010, Beyond Design has hosted the Purdue University Industrial Design Senior Show .