This “designers notebook” features the first in a selection of photographs we shot while touring the first day of the show. You can find several sites that are covering the news and events of the show- we’re posting imagery that we’ve noted as interesting purely from a designers perspective.

Enjoy.

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From our second-story balcony office, the ROBRADY team was at the center of the event with interviews being filmed outside our window, while hundreds of invited guests toured our satellite studio. It was a great unveiling for the Innovation Hub and a fantastic introduction for ROBRADY to the Gainesville community.

Already this year, ROBRADY has had a chance to work with a number of companies from the Innovation Hub or associated with the Office of Technology Licensing (UF OTL), which also has its offices on the ground floor of the Hub. As a leading Product Development firm, ROBRADY works with a diverse client base in a wide range of industries. Our office at the UF Hub is no different with clients in the following areas:
Medical – development of discrete medical devices/systems for everyday patient use
Industrial – commercialization of analytical measurement equipment with a breakthrough technology
Consumer – design and engineering of a modular storage system
Branding – graphics and packaging for a food/beverage company

Our association with the Innovation Hub has provided ROBRADY with the opportunity to participate in some very exciting events over the past few months. We have been working closely with the Sid Martin Biotech Incubator as part of our effort to expand our expertise into the Florida Biotech community. ROBRADY has already been working with Medical and Biotech companies in both Tampa and Miami, and we are looking to help connect those areas to the Gainesville initiative. We were also fortunate enough to be invited to the opening of the Cade Museum, named after Dr. Robert Cade, the inventor of Gatorade. It was a wonderful event hosted by several of Dr. Cade’s children and members of Dr. Cade’s original team.

As more tenants move into the Innovation Hub, the excitement and electricity continues to build. The inevitable “collisions” that were supposed to be created are happening and a critical mass for innovation continues to build. 2012 looks to be a great year for ROBRADY and our friends at the UF Innovation Hub.

Q. Where do entrepreneurs find investors?
Depending on the type of investor whether it is a singular accredited investor acting alone, angel investor group or venture capital group, they can all be found in the usual venues that interested parties, who love innovation and technology, can interact with the creators of it. This can include but is not limited to:
• University technology hubs, such as the Office of Technology and Licensing at the universities of Florida or Miami.
• Venture capital association meetings such as the Gulf Coast Venture Forum and the Florida Venture Forum.
• Various local technology incubators.
• Angel groups typically have a system for fielding ideas and then hold scheduled meetings to review and qualify them.
• Accredited and singular angel investors can be found through wealth managers, accountants and attorneys who have a large rolodex of deal makers and investors.

Q. What do you do next when an investor says no or not now?
You thank them for their time, making you better and ask, “what would it take to make you a believer and then investor in my company?” Also ask them who in their network may have an interest in such an idea and company. Investors have different asset class preferences and their rejection of your investment is probably not personal. They may have a rule that high risk, high return investing is not in their long term wealth creation strategy. The key to this process is to talk to a lot of potential investors and realize that your conversion ratio will be close to 2% to 5%. So if you talk to 50 people an outstanding conversion ratio would be 3 investors.

Q. What is the most important activity an entrepreneur should do to succeed in raising capital?
Build a rock solid plan for execution and have very realistic assumptions in your plan. You never get a second chance to make a first impression and a well explained and realistic plan will help overcome doubts. Investors who can afford an investment of this type have likely learned through their own success how to separate blue sky and an achievable plan. Spend time creating an Executive Summary, a ten Page Power Point, and a five year financial forecast and carefully and honestly call out the strengths, opportunities , weaknesses and threats.

Q. Are there pitfalls to avoid in accepting an investment?
Use a securities attorney to draft your investment materials and don’t take just anyone’s capital. The capital you bring in should be from a savvy investors who understands the risks and can ride out the storm if things get bumpy. Most of all find investors who bring more to the table than capital. Find strategic investors who can take your company to the next level; make sure you have good rapport with them from the beginning. It is common for start-ups to fall apart over personality issues.

Q. What is your favorite part of the deal making process?
Seeing all the hard work of the team professionals come to reality and then finally sell or get a purchase and ship and deliver the product.

Q. Is there any particular aspect of a deal that appeal to accredited investors or angel investors?
As we have mentioned, accredited investors like certainty, although they will understand this is a higher risk opportunity. They want to see a credible management team. They know that a qualified management team is as important as a great idea.

Q. What is the difference between an angel investor and an accredited investor?
The best way to a make this distinction is by thinking of the accredited investor as a term to explain the investors net worth and standing vis a vis SEC regulation as it relates to financial strength. Accredited is a term defined by its meaning in SEC regulation. Those rules change from time to time so make sure you are up to date on the latest qualifications. The “Frank/Dodd” Bill came into effect last year and made this hurdle much higher. Angel groups are usually made up of accredited investors, but don’t have to be in all cases. The term “angel” is used to explain what role they play in the investing timing of a company. Angels are early stage and act as a life line to a company’s growth and typically command a larger stake in the company with more protections within their investment than later investors.

At ROBRADY, we love to foster an atmosphere of learning into our studio and encourage the growth of creativity and innovation within our community. In early August, ROBRADY participated in a job shadowing program with the STEM program at Booker High School. Samuel Hicks, a math teacher participating in the program, spent a week working with the ROBRADY team learning about our creative process. He shadowed our Mechanical Design, Industrial Design, CNC, and Rapid Prototyping teams to learn how each discipline adds to the creative process. Mr. Hicks is hoping to take what he learned at our studio back to his classroom and help his students implement workplace skills into their school projects. Below is a letter from Samuel Hicks about his experience at ROBRADY:

Dear Mr. Brady,

I was impressed with the world-class performance of your company. Etched in my mind are the flawless presentations and detailed explanations of basic company operations. The employees were very accommodating and genuinely hospitable. It was rewarding to meet well informed professionals who took time to skillfully share their craft with a public school instructor.

Thank you for your time and willingness to host me as a teacher extern. I observed a variety of skills and job competencies that many of the students in my STEM Math class can easily attain. This intriguing experience with ROBRADY will enable me to relate other relevant real-world examples to help students understand the connection between the classroom and the workplace skills necessary for success.  The current industry knowledge I obtained last week and the project-based learning model we are implementing will assist students as they prepare to make a smooth transition to college and future careers.

The impact of what you do was evident in the eyes of students I saw touring your facility. What an inspiration! I appreciate the role ROBRADY is playing to insure bright futures for both students of Booker High School and the citizens here in the local Sarasota community. We anticipate positive interaction with your representative who will sit on our advisory committee. The committee will speak to project teams, offer advice for projects, serve as judges, and coordinate plant field trips. As the school year approaches expect to hear from us.

Sincerely

Samuel Hicks
STEM Math Teacher
Booker High School

Historically inventors have had limited options to develop an idea into an invention.  They either have to purchase the necessary equipment and materials and possess the technical know-how to build their invention, or they have to hire an individual or company to do the work for them. These options will take time, energy and resources that they may not have.

GWIZ in Sarasota is now revolutionizing the innovation process. They have launched a global, state-of-the-art personal fabrication lab that is open to the public.. The Fab Lab gives inventors access to bring their creations to life, opening the door so anyone, even a child, can bypass the traditional barriers to see an idea become an invention.

Molly Morgan, the director of GWIZ shares with us the latest and greatest addition to GWIZ along with her background and plans for the Faulhaber Fab Lab:

Q: What drew you to G-WIZ and subsequently the Fab Lab?
I have always loved science and the non-profit sector. After switching from the path of veterinarian medicine to the arts I pursued a career in non-profit management. That track led me to Sarasota and in turn to the opportunity of being the director of GWIZ.

The opportunity of combining both of my passions to run a science center is what drew me to GWIZ. When the most frequent assessment of your organization is “that’s really cool,” you know you’re in the right business. The mission of GWIZ – The Science Museum is to be the gateway for lifelong adventures in science but the overriding agenda behind the mission is to ignite imaginations… to show that the world around us is amazing, breathtaking and full of unanswered questions. My personal mission is to make geeks the cool kids in school and informal education facilities can make that happen. The idea of the Fab Lab was one that I was introduced to by Dr. Faulhaber. We share the passion of hands-on science education and what better way to expose people to science than empowering our community through personal fabrication.

Q: What is your vision for the future?
My vision is quality, quality, quality. I see the name GWIZ being synonymous with science, technology, engineering and math education throughout Sarasota County and the state of Florida.

Q: How did the Fab Lab come about?
A lot of hard work, creative thinking and generosity. We re-purposed our east wing from being the admin section of our building to a state of the art fabrication lab open to the public.

Q: What is the mission of the Fab Lab?
The Faulhaber Fab Lab’s mission is to spark innovation, collaboration, and creative problem-solving through alternative, ‘hands-on,’ learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering, design, and math.

Q: Do you have plans to join the global Fab Lab community? If so, how would you interact with other Fab Labs around the world?
The Faulhaber Fab Lab is currently connected with the global community of Fab Labs as well as the United States network. There are several conferences each year for Fab Labbers and we make sure that GWIZ is represented at the conf. We also participate on the web network and share best practices.

Q: As a huge asset to the educational community, do you plan to partner with local schools and universities? What would that look like?
YES! We are working with the Sarasota and Manatee school districts to provide access to students through our area through field trips and after-school activities in the Lab. We are also partnering with universities and colleges in the area to make the lab available for all students whether studying architecture at USF Tampa or art at Ringling College. The more the merrier!

As a product development studio we look forward to the fantastic innovation that will come from local talented and imaginative individuals!

ROBRADY design stresses a comprehensive speed-to-market plan by collaborating to identify the greatest areas of opportunity and producing profitable product solutions.

ROBRADY delivers design, production, and capital solutions to its clients in support of their research-to-reality philosophy.Chaos Group provides state of the art rendering solutions for architectural, VFX, film, media and entertainment, automotive design, television and other industries.

What more can you tell us about the ROBRADY work environment? Do you work as a team or individually? Do you work in a big open space or in separate offices ? Is ROBRADY a fun place to work?
ROBRADY is an incredible place to work, and a lot of that comes from the open environment. There are no walls between the departments, industrial designers work across the aisle from the mechanical designers, which promotes the collaborative process. All projects are worked on as a team, with industrial and mechanical designers contributing at all design stages.

THE INSPIRATION
Who worked on the DBO Electric Folding Bicycle project and what is their experience in both the industry and with ROBRADY?
The concept work was a collaboration between the Design Director Rob Brady, Senior Industrial Designer Erik Holmen, Industrial Designers Andre Minoli and Antonio Molinari, and Senior Mechanical Designer David Poirier. Each designer has extensive experience in the transportation and power sports industries and has been with ROBRADY for several years. While ROBRADY has been active in this market space for decades, this was the first complete bicycle project for the team. Once the concept level 3D models were completed, they were handed off to partner DK City’s team of production engineers for the next phase.

How did the DBO Electric Folding Bicycle idea originate ? Why was it chosen as a project for ROBRADY? And how/why did DK City and ROBRADY team up for this project?
The relationship between DK City and ROBRADY was put together by an expert in the electric bicycle field – he believed that the two companies would make a great team. The DBO bike project simply started out as an exercise to design a new folding electric bicycle DK’s expanding lineup of products.

From idea to physical product, how long did this project take to create?
The industrial design phase for ROBRADY starting in May 2009, and completed in August of 2009. There were some production design modifications that took place through January 2010.

THE BACKSTAGE EXPERIENCE
How did ROBRADY use V-Ray for Rhino in this project? Why did you choose V-Ray to visualize this project? And how did V-Ray help in the production?
ROBRADY uses V-Ray for Rhino in all rendering animation applications. The quality level of the renderings is a huge asset when communicating a design to the client. Once of the nicest features of V-Ray is the ability to launch DRSpawner on multiple networked machines in the studio, drastically cutting down on render time.

What was the biggest challenge in creating the DBO Electric Folding Bicycle?
The biggest challenge centered around the folding aspect of the folding bicycle. We wanted to make a design that, at a distance, looked like a folding bike. But you have to work very carefully to make the design function and articulate correctly. It took close collaboration between ID and MD to make sure the concept was groundbreaking but feasible for production.

How long has the team at ROBRADY been using V-Ray for Rhino?
The V-Ray software has been the sole render engine at ROBRADY for about 4 years.

CUSTOMER BENEFITS
Will you share some of the V-Ray settings you used in the DBO Electric Folding Bicycle studio images?
Absolutely, the settings we use are actually very simple. We start with the standard high quality setting, and set the lighting and reflection maps to a studio HDRI environment. This is the regular setup for most renderings the studio does. We will sometimes change the lighting/reflection map depending on the subject matter, but when rendering products and vehicles, I rarely have to change the core settings.

What V-Ray features did you find most useful when rendering the DBO Electric Folding Bicycle?
The ability to map reflections and lighting is extremely useful, but the distributed rendering has to be the best feature as it has saved us countless hours of render time. The ability to use the engine with the Bongo animation plug-in was huge in communicating the folding qualities of the bike.

What are some upcoming projects in which you will rely on V-Ray for rendering?
Every project that enters the studio requiring a 3D model will be rendered with V-Ray.

As seen on the Chaos Group website. Chaos Group provides state of the art rendering solutions for architectural, VFX, film, media and entertainment, automotive design, television and other industries.

I decided to look into it further and had a an initial glance at the business summary and thought this looks pretty interesting on the basis it does what it says on the tin.  I also thought it must be a phenomenal bunch of women that had gone through this pain to understand how to develop the product.  Can you imagine my surprise when I was told the team was entirely male?  Not only was the team all male, but they were involved with the Marines, and designing motorbikes!  Now my interest was really piqued, how could a team of men come up with such an inherently female product?  As I got to know the team I began to understand why.

ROBRADY is a design company, not just a normal design company, but one that really thinks outside the box.  When Dr Stephen Lee approached them with what is now the Ziivaa belt, he had the technique but no real concept of how to design the device to be the most effective in capturing the technology and also allow ease of use.  ROBRADY’s team of designers, engineers, and visualists not only conceptualized the technology into a product but created something that would be easy to use and really effective; they refer to it as “humanizing”.

I had several meetings with the team, and as I got to know Rob Brady and Dr Stephen Lee, I also began to understand that these guys were pretty special, and it struck me that these men had really thought about the product, how a woman could most effectively use the product and how best to look at it from a design perspective.  Initially I thought I would be embarrassed talking to a group of men about something quite personal like menstrual cycles and the level of pain etc., but there was absolutely no awkwardness and the conversation was not only matter of fact, but refreshing in its content.

I was hooked!  I wanted to try this for myself; I haven’t suffered from really severe cramps, but enough on a monthly basis to feel uncomfortable, lethargic and unproductive.  I got one of the first prototypes and it really does work.  Simple and easy to follow instructions, no chemicals, no wires, and really effective technology that creates a solution to an age-old problem.  Yay!  I no longer need to take painkillers, try herbal medicines that tasted vile, or sit for hours with a hot water bottle feeling sorry for myself.  Wearing the belt for 15 minutes, I was ready to take on the world again!

I liked Ziivaa as a company and the people behind it so much that I wanted to be involved and be able to contribute my international and start-up experience to the company and the team.  In July 2010 I became an advisor to the company, the first female to be involved with Ziivaa at that level, and was proud to be working with such forward thinking men.  We all frequently encounter the chauvinistic male dominated culture in the corporate, venture capital and technology space, so to see this new company taking a novel approach in developing a great product was very refreshing.  More than that I love working with a group that is so open and forward thinking in trying to fill a gap in the market where no such solution exists.

What is even more intriguing is that Ziivaa has developed a product that solves an age-old problem and is in a very unique position to bring women of many ages and cultures together on a platform that has a single common denominator.  At the same time it can become so much more in terms of connecting with others around the world, sharing opinions and knowledge on culture, politics, health, and lifestyle.  The community element of Ziivaa is an exciting piece of the story that is unfolding as we speak.

Ziivaa launches commercially in the fall of 2011, it’s a company that has the adrenaline and power of the electric superbikes that ROBRADY designs, but the elegance and charisma of the women that will become the company’s powerful foundation.  One thing is certain, we all subscribe to the “25/8/366” philosophy, and Ziivaa will be a name to watch out for in the very near future.

Shimi Shah is the Executive Director of Ziivaa, LLC. She has been actively involved in fund management and venture capital for nearly 15 years. Shimi has spent over 10 years in venture capital in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. She has managed significant investments and portfolios, with several board seats. Shimi worked as a director at Partnerships UK plc (PUK), a UK Treasury entity in London for over three years. Prior to this, Shimi was Chief Investment Officer at Hanson Capital, managing an Anglo-American technology fund of over $100m, which focused on making investments in Silicon Valley and across Europe. Shimi is an active member of the Young President’s Organisation (YPO).

When Dr. Stephen Lee first approached ROBRADY design with his concept for a product that eliminates menstrual discomfort within minutes, we knew we were on the verge of something unprecedented. Dr. Lee’s concept was radically different from typical ROBRADY projects like the Vectrix Electric Superbike, the Segway or Xtools. These, and other projects for companies like Parker-Hannifin, Mercedes and Dell had a certain level of…well, testosterone. We did not let that intimidate us. In fact, we were intrigued by the challenge. We saw the spark of something great in Dr. Lee’s idea and we wanted to create something amazing from that spark.

We believe we have done that with Ziivaa.

After speaking with Stephen and seeing his original mockup, ROBRADY Founder Rob Brady knew there was more to Ziivaa than just another woman’s product. “Ziivaa goes beyond replacing pills or eliminating side effects, it puts control of a woman’s life back in her own hands,” says Brady.

Brady realized his vision was bigger than a single product concept. A passionate, focused team collaborated at the ROBRADY studio to develop the state-of-the-art product and much, much more. The development of Ziivaa grew into the design of a progressive company—dedicated to creating a dynamic solution for empowering women to live their best lives.

A Capital Idea
Firmly convinced of Ziivaa’s commercial and consumer potential, Brady also decided to make the venture a cornerstone of the newly formed ROBRADY capital division.

In a demonstration of their commitment to Ziivaa, ROBRADY capital has put the full force of its time and resources behind Ziivaa in order to guarantee that Ziivaa is brought to market by capable hands. Very soon, women around the world will be able to live better lives, free from the limitations of menstrual discomfort.

The Innovative Edge
The ROBRADY team is enthusiastic about innovative ideas that improve lives through imagination and execution. “Ziivaa is a perfect case study for what our group does,” says Brady. “We design fantastic companies that produce fantastic products.”

Achieving a great fit sometimes means stepping beyond one’s comfort zone. Rob Brady is a man with the right experience and expertise, educated at Auburn University and the Art Center College of Design. He has two decades of hands-on, integrative experience, where he has honed his design skills and the ability to create and deliver the “Innovative Edge,” time and time again.

The Ziivaa challenge, however, required something more of us. “With Ziivaa, I had to look beyond my usual design instincts and open myself to a different voice… an exclusively female voice.” Consulting with female employees, focus groups and women in his own household, Brady realized these new voices were blending to form a unique and ultimately perfect result.

“At the time, Ziivaa was a real challenge, a real departure,” reflects Brady. “But that’s what innovation is all about.”

Stay tuned. This story is just beginning.

Q. Of the experience you have gained managing different projects and teams, how does that contribute to managing a diverse team like ROBRADY?

Q. What do you think is the most important part of the design process?
In the last question I spoke a lot about making mistakes. I think failure is a hugely underrated part of the design process. The key is “failing early and often” and then building upon those failures to generate a positive outcome. The key is not making the same mistakes twice. This sounds really negative, but in practice its how design gets done. You try something, it doesn’t work/fit/feel/look right, and so you make an adjustment and try again. Soon you have a solution that has been proven out during the design process. Then, when you implement this solution your chances of success are far greater than if you didn’t go through this iterative design process. The biggest challenge is understanding that this is not a linear process. Many times an early failure sends you off on a completely different track. Most designers understand this intuitively but most business people want to know why we didn’t just do that the first time?

Q. What do you like and dislike about your design related education? Was it worth it?
My educational experience is a bit unique. I entered Industrial Design school right out of high school in 1990. The first two years of my education were a blast. I was like a sponge soaking up everything I was being taught. But by my third year I was starting to struggle with figuring out how all of this stuff was going to come together and create a meaningful career for me. Right about that time I landed a summer job that turned into a 16 year career. In 2009 I returned to ID school to finish my last year and get my diploma. That was a terrific experience! I really enjoyed sharing classes with the up and coming generation of designers and learning about the way they view the World. My biggest frustration was how little real world experience design school provides towards preparing students to enter the workplace. So yes, it was worth it but not for the obvious reasons. The skills I learned in school have more to do with what I took out of the experience than what was on the curriculum. I just wish I had had that revelation 18 years ago!

As Design Manager at ROBRADY, Donovan manages the daily activities of the studio. He came to ROBRADY from Techtronic Industries, where he was the brand manager for the Ryobi TEK4 line of electronic tools. Prior to that he built and managed the in-house design team at Griffin Technology, the world’s largest Apple accessory brand. Donovan has an Industrial Design degree from Auburn University and has spent the last 18 years building and managing award winning design teams.

Fun Fact: During a school assembly in 4th grade I was misbehaving with some friends by making chicken clucking sounds while the Principal was talking. She heard me and called me up on stage to make my sounds for the whole school in hopes of embarrassing me and teaching me a lesson. Armed with a microphone, I went to town and the whole assembly quickly degenerated into a cacophony of barnyard sounds and laughing. After spending the rest of the day in the Principal’s office I was then assigned the lead role in the upcoming Christmas play.

Q. What do you think is the most important skill to have in order to compete in the graphic design field?

There are a few other skills I think are extremely important, and also help you in your collaboration. Time management is key, if you can’t juggle multiple projects, and stay on deadline, then neither can your team. Communication can be the difference between a client making a good decision and a bad decision, or your design team hitting the mark, you have to be able to say why you did what you did, or communicate the needs of the project to other designers in order to succeed. And, finally, their is the ability to adapt your style to needs of the client or project. A product geared towards women fifty-five and older shouldn’t look like it was designed for 18 year old men. Sometimes compromises need to be made in your personal style to create a successful design.

Q. What do you take inspiration from?
Everything. But no seriously, everything. Whether it be a color palette from a photograph to a design style used for a product package, I find it everywhere. It tends to really get influenced based on projects I am currently working on, but I am constantly on the lookout for interesting designs, interfaces and user experiences that work and that don’t work. I have also found that I have been learning more from things that fail than from things that succeed. Sure, everyone knows the experience of un-boxing an Apple product is clean, simple and well designed, but what about their competitors, how do they do it and what makes them as successful, or less successful, this generally leads to better ideas on how to succeed, but not just be another ‘me too’ product. The other thing I like to do when looking for inspiration for a specific project is look at things in a completely different market space, designing for print? Look for inspiration in the digital realm, and vice versa. Competitive (same market space) and comparative (different market space or medium) research can lead to more differentiated concepts.

Q. What products or designs have really impressed you lately?
Well, we have been doing a lot of packaging recently, and I have seen some really sweet designs during our research. One of the ones that sticks out to me is the Beats line of headphones by Monster. I think the branding is well done, and very consistent across the products, from the packaging to the in store POP. Also the packaging fits the price points of the product. The expensive Pros package feels like a $400 product belongs in it while the lower end $100 tours maintain the feel of high end even though they use different materials. Also they didn’t miss any details in the product that ties it all together, from the red cables to the laser etching its all a cohesive brand experience. I think they really hit the mark.

I was born in Silver Springs Maryland in ‘78. I have lived in Oklahoma, Maryland, Delaware and Florida. I am a Graduate of the Ringling School of Art and Design with a BA in Graphic and Interactive Communication, with a minor in Photography. I have been a member of the ROBRADY team for almost eight years and am currently the Graphic Design Director.

Fun Fact: I was taught to throw a football and play chess by a midshipmen in the Navy that my family sponsored when we lived in Maryland. I throw a decent football and I have a terrible late game in chess.