Pillar Product Design / Articles posted by zT12BqW8EK
MTN Approach Product in Final Testing Phase
May 11, 2011 In blog

MTN approach final finishing touches

MTN Approach testing At Pillar Product Design we are so excited for Cory Smith to be growing MTN Approach line of product. In the true spirit of product innovation, Cory is learning and understanding the energy and persistence needed to effectively launch an innovative product to market. He has spent incredible time and resources testing and re-testing his product continually trying to increase the over-all quality, functionality and value of his product. A big cheers to his efforts on making this a spectacular and innovative product.

Pillar Product Design Team Adds Engineer
May 11, 2011 In blog

Growing the Pillar Product Design team!

Pillar Product Design is bringing on a new talented individual on the 20th of this month. He is a recent graduate from San Francisco School of Arts. His experience includes industrial design, concept development, 3D modelling and new product development. Dan has a strong background in audio, electronics and action sports. We are very excited that he will be joining our small team and his skill sets and experience will be a great addition to the services that Pillar Product Design offers. Dan will be working closely with Tyler on up and coming projects.

Vintage Old School Snowboards SIA 2011
April 29, 2011 In blog

Vintage old school snowboards SIA 2011

So I was looking through some old digital pics and came across some skull candy booth pictures. Boards of the past. I used to own some of these boards and was blown away what some of these old sticks are worth. It was a blast I was checking out some of the Barfoot boards and who was hanging out was Chuck Barfoot. I had the chance to make turns with Chuck back in the late 80’s in Tahoe. He frequently hit Boreal and Donner Ski Pass. back in the day Chuck had a big ol Red beard that was like

April 14, 2011 In blog

Bugatti product design inspiration

At Pillar Product Design we do a fair amount of product and over-all random research in the early stages of the product development cycle. I am always looking for random examples of how designs marry materials, color, textures, shapes and forms together into a design and a product that is time-less. I basically geek out on this stuff and really love to see creative who can really push the edge of where form meets practical design and functionality. When I come across a design that is minimalistic but fuses multiple functions, materials to meet a given form and performance, It shows that the product that has gone thru

April 13, 2011 In blog

Ipad2 in the house

The Ipad2 is wonderful piece of electronics. I recently had sometime to play with one and the larger work area is really enjoyable especially for Internet surfing and picture viewing. Watching movies is pretty good as well. I had a difficult time typing, but maybe it is just me learning to type on a flat touch sensitive surface. I really like the glass they are using, it seems to be very durable and doesn’t scratch as easy as the previous model. Plus it is now at the somewhat affordable cost starting at or around $499. At Pillar Design I have been getting surge of folks wanting to

March 11, 2011 In blog

DGA Zipbuds on the Ellen show

DGA Zipbuds marketing machine in action shown on the Ellen Show. Check it out! http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2011/01/win_an_ipod_nano_with_zipbuds_earphones_0104.php

March 11, 2011 In blog

Pillar Product Design working with HO Hyperlite team on new projects

Pillar Product Design is working with the HO Hyperlite team to develop some new products. Can’t tell you anything about what we are doing, but what ever it is, you know it is going to be fun. HO has lead the industry in innovation and performance for the wake and ski industry for years. High performance and innovative products is the core of HO and Pillar Design.  They have survived thru tough times and flourished in good economies. Pillar is excited about the opportunity of working with such a world class proven business.

Backcountry Product Developed and Engineered by Pillar Product Design
January 13, 2011 In blog

MTN Approach Ski

Pillar Product Design team in Seattle, WA recently had the opportunity to work with Cory Smith form BC Garage on a new back country ski product. This innovative product of folding skis and collapsible binding mechanism is truly and innovative concept to minimizing your mass and volume on your back county expeditions. Each ski folds up into 2 small packages that can easily be placed in a regular size back pack. Some of the innovative features include: folding tip and tail section on the skis, light weight, super strong adjustable low profile binding mechanism, innovative ankle strap placement so that strap pull out of the way when

Lotus Revolutions Product Release by Pillar Product Design
January 13, 2011 In blog

Lotus Revolutions at AEE

Lotus Revolutions and Seattle WA based Pillar Product Design recently had the premier release of the new product Lotus Revolutions at AEE (Adult Entertainment Expo) In Vegas this last week. This is a unique and discreet product for adult novelty Markets. This mature discreet high-end product is getting a lot of interest and momentum in the adult novelty markets. It is being recognized as a high-end item that is setting the look, feel and  quality of this market. The Pillar Product team and Lotus Revolution group spent a considerable amount of time and energy focusing on industrial design, ergonomics and including the user in the

Pillar Product Design at CES 2011
January 8, 2011 In blog

Pillar Product Design at CES 2011

The Seattle, WA based design firm  Pillar Product Design has spent the last week at CES (consumer electronics show). CES is an amazing show that over 160K attendants over 4 days in the Las Vegas. The Pillar Team came across some interesting and innovative products and designs. Some of the highlights included the improvements to 3D TV and LED and LCD flat screen technology. This technology is getting more affordable better quality and less energy usage in most cases. The 3D TV without glasses was really fairly good. as compared to the prototype technology shown at last years show. The problem with 3D TV one is that the depth

November 29, 2010 In blog

Developing New Bicycle Components

Pillar Product Design has a long history working on road bike and mountain bike components. The team has worked with amazing bike companies like Girvin, Noleen and K2 Bikes. We are currently are working on a new design for components used on commuter and travel bikes for a local outfit. It is exciting to be back working and developing bike components. If we are riding or designing bikes components, It truly is a passion for the Pillar team. Some of the main challenges we face with the current project in the product development cycle an ability to create a system that works with standard established

Zipbuds tangle Free Earbuds by Pillar Product Design
November 9, 2010 In blog

World Release of Zipbuds Tangle Free Audio Earbuds System

Pillar Product Design worked directly with DGA to develop the Zipbuds product. We started with an idea and a napkin sketch idea and took it from there. We spent almost 4  to 6 months developing this idea and another 6 months product testing and working out the production bugs. This amount of sweat equity and effort is worth it once you see the final finished product. We are excited to see how this new product will be received by the audio market. DGA has done an excellent job on viral marketing in the high-end audio markets. They have excellent distribution and have spent wisely in the over-all development of

November 8, 2010 In blog

Proof of concept to rapid prototypes

The proof is in the pudding. At Pillar Product Design we stand out from many other product design studios for the the fact that we back what we design and submit to our clients. With over 85% of our clients that are looking for product design, prototype and production assistance services we are often faced with the challenges of proving the concept and making physical units functional, cost effective and manufacturable. We pride our selves for our ability to address and take responsibility for the manufacturability, materials, production cost constraints up front early in the product development process, before our clients make the big spend

October 23, 2010 In blog

JP Enterprises

Seattle based new development business JP Enterprises has asked Pillar Product Design to develop a unique ergonomically friendly and practical blue tooth system that will offer the end user a compact, comfortable light weight sleek and stylish alternative. Blue Tooth Technology is growing at rapid pace in the communication industry.  Processing chips are becoming smaller and more efficient with power usage. The un-comfortable, heavy , poor sound quality will soon be a thing of the past. The Pillar Product team is focused and working diligently to re-invent this amazing interface in wireless communication. We are excited that JP enterprises has asked us to work on this venture.

October 23, 2010 In blog

Photon Manufacturing Home of Laser Fantasy

Pillar Product Design has been working with Bothell based Electronics guru Alex Hay who owns Photon Manufacturing. His modest shop and lab is one of the premier high-end laser builders in North America. Pillar Product Design has had the amazing opportunity to work with Alex on the Lotus Revolution project with required his expertise in chip programming design and construction. His amazing team truly brought to the table the necessary expertise to miniaturize the chip design and optimize the functionality and performance of the product. Together with compact efficient electronics and world class design and ID we have an amazing prototype and future product. www.photonmanufacturing.com

October 5, 2010 In blog

Chuggington trains project back from the rapid prototype house

The complex 3D models that Pillar Product Design recently created for a local client just came back from the rapid prototype house. The client was very excited at the results and attention to detail as well as the results of Pillar’s 3D CAD and advanced surfacing work. These samples will now go to Disney Licensing for review and final buy-off. We built these complex models straight from the Disney / Pixar Style guide. The client requested the scale and we built the project from this information.Fun stuff for sure.