One Stop Invention Shop » prototypes

T2 Design Links an Inventive Toy Line with One of the Fastest Growing Companies in the Nation

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:47:46 +0000

Just in time for the toy show, T2 Design of Santa Monica licenses an innovative toy to acclaimed toymaker Wild Creations of Myrtle Beach.

Santa Monica, CA, October 6, 2011 – T2 Design Corporation, an invention, design and prototyping company licenses Rick DeRennaux’s award winning, remote control toy line to the prominent toymaker Wild Creations. Oklahoma educator, Rick DeRennaux, developed HT Racers, the unique, dynamic toy line with T2 Design of Santa Monica. Both T2 Design and Rick DeRennaux were featured on ABC’s hit TV series, “American Inventor”, produced by Freemantle Entertainment.

DeRennaux was recently selected by President Obama as one of the USA’s Champions of Change. The Champions of Change program is part of President Obama’s “Winning the Future” initiative, as the White House strives to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.” DeRennaux’s inspired toy line, HT Racers, combines technology and imagination to create what Paul Berman, president of T2 Design calls “a unique toy that lets kids design, build and create a multitude of customized cars that race, planes that fly and boats that blast through water.”

Wild Creations will soon bring DeRennaux’s remote control toy line to the market place. Wild Creations current products showing at the Fall Toy Preview in Dallas include its Eco-Aquarium line, the popular Roll-Up Roads, the RC Skybird flying toy, and Flipoutz, the kid-invented funwear featured on ABC’s reality TV series, “Shark Tank” and at the “Teen Choice Awards.”

T2 Design has been designing and prototyping inventions for over twenty years. “Thanks to the internet, people have been reaching out to us from all over the world at http://www.T2design.com. We’re happy to provide consultations over the phone or in person.” said President Paul Berman, a University of Michigan graduate.

Wild Creations is proud to have been chosen as a finalist of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Wild Creations is a company dedicated to offering toys that inspire, educate and entertain. They can be found in retail stores nationwide and at http://www.wildcreations.com.

Bringing Your Product to Life Before the Prototype

admin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 06:01:25 +0000

Everything You Need to Know About Product Illustration

We are visual people with a better understanding of what we see rather than what we read or hear about. If you have a brilliant invention idea, you may need to convey its usefulness before the prototype is developed. That means you’ll need some kind of imagery of what it may look like and what it does. Product illustration is the visualization of your idea, a conceptual representation. It is used to show and tell before you have the actual product to demonstrate. Eventually product photography will take its place, but for now illustration will do a great job simplifying the subject, making it easily understood.

The best time for product illustration is right away when you need a visual. You couldn’t send a product developer a flyer full of only letters and words. That would do no justice to the idea. An illustration will generate almost as much interest as a photo, so put it on a brochure to send out if you want to create some buzz early on or if you want to test the waters to see what kind of attention your idea generates. It could even be the drawing that you show to an engineer to help him or her decide on how to produce the prototype. They have to base their calculations off of something.

Different Options

There are multiple ways to illustrate a product: either with a computer or traditionally by hand. Either way works fine.

Computer Illustration

Computer illustration is the most common and can sometimes be quicker with a more realistic look. There are a few different illustration software programs that are the standard in use. Some work strictly in 3 dimensions while others act as more precise drawing tools. They can provide all sorts of textures and effects to make the product look alive.

Rendering By Hand

Rendering by hand can be done with pencils, paints, pen and ink or any art materials. The choice really depends on the product, like a soft and fuzzy stuffed animal, which could get that look through colored chalks. Charcoal will give an aged, hard look while watercolors would create more delicate artwork. Before anything, you’ll need to decide on your product’s branding, or its personality, that you want to convey to your audience. That will help determine the illustration style.

Multiple Viewpoints

Most likely you’ll need at least a couple views of the product to show its dynamics. The basics are front, back, side, top and bottom. There should also be an angled view to show the product more 3 dimensionally, which could also look up or down at the product. The views used just need to make sense with the most important details of the subject at the forefront.

A few more variations to reveal more detail are the cutaway view and the exploded view. If used, a couple basic views should also accompany them.

The cutaway view takes away external areas of the product or makes them transparent in order to see the inner parts. This allows someone to understand the internal workings of the invention in relation to its outward appearance.

The exploded view is literal in the sense that the parts of an object have exploded in an orderly manner. They are floating and separated slightly to show their relationship and how they fit together. This type of drawing shouldn’t ever be the main image to represent the product. It may do a good job explaining how the product works or how it’s constructed, but it doesn’t do an adequate job showing what exactly the subject is.

Technical Illustration

Going beyond product illustration, there is a style that is more complex and technically accurate, hence its name: technical illustration. The two styles are similar and can cross over categories, but they are used differently. Technical illustration includes all of the details, workings and parts drawn in perfect proportion and perspective for precise interpretation. Think more like careful drafting. If needed, it would usually be developed more toward or after engineering. If your brochure is introducing the product, you may not need an overly detailed image, so something more straightforward would do. However, if your brochure is intended to include assembly instructions or all of the product’s working parts, etc., then technical illustration (or an exploded view) could be the way to go. And when the product starts manufacturing and selling, technical illustration may be needed for its instruction manual.

Product Animation

Another step further is animating the product in use. It is an expensive process, but 3D animation does wonders for a demonstration. A good animator can program physics into the moving image creating an accurate representation of how your product would work and move.

Producing your invention’s illustration shouldn’t be difficult. You’ve spent time thinking about what this product looks like and how it works, so you’ll have a strong mental image and probably plenty of rough sketches to work from. You may not be a great artist or you may have no idea what software to work with, but there are professionals to help. They have the listening skills needed to translate your ideas into pictures and ultimately this drawing will translate the product’s ingenuity to your audience with smooth efficiency.

Contact Josh Wallace with any questions on product illustration.

Gel Factors – Part 3: Long Life

“As Seen On TV” is a Key to Success for Inventors at T2 Design

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:01:25 +0000

From “Pitchmen” to QVC – New Products are Being Introduced

Aug 23, 2010 – Santa Monica, CA – T2 Design Corporation (http://www.t2design.com), featured on a Freemantle TV series, has designed and prototyped dozens of new inventions for their clients and several of these products are now being introduced on television.

“Inventors and entrepreneurs find TV to be a powerful tool in making the public aware of their new and innovative products,” says T2 Design President Paul Berman. T2 Design recently licensed a barbecue tool with Chuck Khubani’s company Ontel, a leader in the direct Response and retail business. Ontel is a pioneer in the “As Seen On TV” industry and some of their current products include the “Iron Gym,” “Swivel Sweeper G2″ and the hugely successful “Dryer Balls.” Ontel sells their products, from housewares to hardware, on television, retail and at http://www.ontelproducts.com.

Lit Mitt

Another T2 Design client appeared with their invention on Discovery Channel’s popular TV series, “Pitchmen,” starring Anthony Sullivan and featuring the Young Billy Mays. Inventor Linda Sue Miller launched her product, the Lit Mitt, the grill mitt and oven mitt with lights on the premiere episode of “Pitchmen” season two. The Lit Mitt is a barbecue and kitchen accessory with 3 powerful LED lights that allow you to see what is cooking on the grill or in the oven. The Lit Mitt is a flashlight at your fingertips. The Lit Mitt comes in two sizes; grill mitt with lights and oven mitt with lights. It is available for order in black, red and red with Christmas Print trim at http://www.litmitt.com.

A success on QVC and selling out their product every time it appears, are T2 Design clients, Marc Newberger and Jeffrey Simon. Marc and Jeff’s “Drop Stop” is a car accessory that stops cell phones, jewelry, keys and pens from dropping into the gap between the car seat and the console. It also helps reduce driver distraction by keeping one’s eyes on the road. The Drop Stop is available for order at http://www.buydropstop.com. Inventors Marc and Jeffrey both believe that the key to success is to follow your dreams.

“No matter what anyone says about it, if you believe in it and put your passion and heart into it, no one can stop you and you will make it happen, however it plays out,” said Jeffrey Simon. Marc Newburger adds, “We discovered Paul Berman of T2 Design while watching the ABC’s hit TV show, ‘American Inventor’. He had several designs that made the top 10 and seemed like a pleasure to work with. He was. He really gets excited about a project and makes the whole experience a fun, collaborative process. His pricing was more than fair and he helped get our little invention ready for the marketplace. I highly recommend taking a meeting with Mr. Berman – you won’t be sorry.”

T2 Design has been designing and prototyping inventions for over twenty years and works with inventors from idea, to design and prototyping to manufacturing. ”Consultations are done over the phone or in person,” said President Paul Berman. “Inventors find us from all over the world at http://www.t2design.com.”

T2 Design was featured on ABC’s hit show American Inventor. Services include product design, prototype construction, patent search, engineering for production, and manufacturing sourcing and liaison. T2 Design is rated “A” by the Better Business Bureau.

T2 Design Celebrates October Women’s Small Business Month with the Launch of Several Products by Female Inventors

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:56:37 +0000

T2 Design Corporation, featured on ABC’s hit TV series “American Inventor,” has designed and prototyped several more inventions for women in the past few years than a decade ago, and many of these inventions are now in the market place or launching soon. President of T2 Design, Paul Berman, has noticed a dramatic increase of women inventors and entrepreneurs and is proud that clients are debuting new products at Macworld and other conventions nationwide this year and next.

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau report, the number of women-owned businesses grew 20 percent between 1997 and 2002, twice the national average for all businesses. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states that in 2002, the most recent year in which they have data for, women invented 10.9% of the inventions patented. In the past three years, T2 Design has noticed a substantial increase in female inventor clients and female entrepreneurs. Women inventors and entrepreneurs now account for approximately 30% of T2 Design’s clients.

T2 Design was hired by inventor Marion Kohte and her husband Hans, to develop their invention the “In Your Face viewbase” ™ for iPods and any PSP. This clever invention is a portable viewing device which allows the user to view videos or movies, hands-free and at eye level. It has a unique clamp base that attaches onto anything up to two inches thick and the viewbase is sturdy enough to enjoy steady viewing on an airplane ride. The “In Your Face viewbase” ™ was designed and prototyped by T2 Design and launched at Macworld 2009 in San Francisco . The product generated excitement and orders and is available on the web at www.InYourFaceUSA.com.

From Macworld to home furnishings, T2 Design’s inventions are drawing enthusiasm at conventions and are on the shelves in the marketplace. Kim Laney, a travel agent from, Warren , Ohio , came to T2 Design with an invention idea to make a versatile, adjustable purse and hat rack. T2 Design designed and created a 3D computer model of the product, often known as a 3D CAD model. The next step involved generating several photo-realistic renderings from the model. T2 Design’s process of virtual prototyping was so impressive, that when Kim personally shopped her patented invention with buyers at the Chicago Housewares Trade Show, she immediately closed a license deal with the Whitmor Company for her “Adjustable Hat Rack” and the “Adjustable Helmet Rack.” Kim received a healthy monetary advance and a standard royalty. The Whitmor “Adjustable Hat Rack” and the “Adjustable Helmet Rack” are now being manufactured and sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Space-Savers retail stores and on the web, as well as Amazon.com and others worldwide.

Cindy Forest, owner and head designer of Wisteria Jewelry just hired T2 Design to enhance her marketing. Wisteria Jewelry has been in business handcrafting unique gold and silver earrings, bracelets and necklaces in Northern California for 22 years. Wisteria Jewelry is sold in boutiques and galleries across the country, including D. Cole Jewelers in Portland , Maine , New Morning Gallery in Asheville , North Carolina and Geoclassics in Boston , Massachusetts . With more and more jewelry sold on the web or via QVC and Home Shopping Network, Ms. Forest decided it was time to expand her business to other sectors. She hired T2 Design to market her merchandize in particular to catalogues and possibly television, through electronic retailing, home shopping and infomercials. Wisteria Jewelry will soon be available on the web at www.wisteriajewelrydesigns.com.

Another female businesswoman, Barbara Barry, now residing in Idaho, introduced her innovative product at a knitting and needlecraft convention in San Diego. Ms. Barry invented the “ The Knit Kit,” a tool kit for knitters. Her unique gadget captured the attention of buyers at the TNNA convention and orders for thousands were placed on the spot, with thousands more Knit Kits ordered within weeks. Ms. Barry’s invention was designed and prototyped by T2 Design and this innovative product is available in knitting stores across the country and on the web at www.TheKnitKit.com. T2 Design also found Ms. Barry a manufacturer for her product. Inventor Barbara Barry says, “The Knit Kit is as essential for knitters, as the Swiss Army Knife is for campers.”

Maribeth Nickell came to T2 Design looking for a company to develop the design and prototype a historically inspired Yankee Dooley doll line. Ms. Nickell’s great grandfather, the acclaimed artist, F. Luis Mora, whose portrait of President Warren Harding still hangs in the White House today, painted a series of children’s characters for Ms. Nickell’s father when he was a child. These paintings were the inspiration for Ms. Nickell to create a line of action dolls and The Jacabee Code interactive website game, as well as unique, personalized online book publishing. T2 Design worked with Ms. Nickell and her partner Jaclyn Cannon and transformed the two-dimensional paintings into three dimensional dolls. Ms. Nickell’s game website www.JacabeeCode.com was launched this month and the Jacabee Code interactive online book publishing takes the adventures of history into a new and entertaining venue.

“Working with T2 Design was an easy choice for us,” said inventor Maribeth Nickell. “They produce high quality work with an incredible attention to detail. Their team really worked with us to understand our exact needs and maximize our dollars spent to produce our dolls.” She continued, “They are great partners who work hard to deliver beyond your expectations.”

Many inventors are inspired and are taking advantage of the onslaught of reality TV shows to develop and debut their invention ideas. Featured on the first season of ABC’s “American Inventor” TV series, produced by Freemantle Media and executive produced by the infamous Simon Cowell, Minnesota inventor Jodi Pliszka was paired up with T2 Design during production of the TV show. After filming, Jodi continued to work directly with T2 Design to find the right manufacturer for her hat, helmet and wig liner product and she now has achieved success with her award winning invention the “Headline It!” At the Beijing Olympics while competing on horseback, Sheila Taormina wore the Headline It! under her helmet and won the riding event of the pentathlon.

The “Headline It!” is now available at Walgreens.com, Target.com, Wilshire Wigs and several other venues including www.HeadlineItStore.com. Jodi Pliszka exclaimed, “T2 Design is amazing! They are professional and on top of everything from patent searches to high tech prototyping and have a vast knowledge of the marketplace. Paul Berman is fair, objective and will tell you like it is. Plus, he is a genius engineer by trade…amazing to work with.”

T2 Design has been designing and prototyping inventions for over twenty years. “Often clients find out about T2 Design on the internet. Consultations are done over the phone or in person,” said President Paul Berman, a University of Michigan graduate. “Inventors find us from around the world at www.T2design.com.”

TV Reality Series Inspire More Women Inventors To Launch New Products

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:56:06 +0000

T2 Design and Prototype, featured on ABC’s hit TV series “American Inventor,” has designed and prototyped hundreds of inventions over the past fifteen years. In the past few years, there has been a tremendous increase in reality TV series and a popularity of invention television shows. There has also been an increase in the number of patents filed annually since these shows started airing and many more woman are now patenting, prototyping, licensing and manufacturing new inventions as well. President of T2 Design, Paul Berman, has seen a dramatic increase of women inventors and believes the trend could be inspired by reality TV shows.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states that in 2002, the most recent year in which they have data for, women invented 10.9% of the inventions patented. In the past three years, since the debut of ABC’s “American Inventor” TV series, Paul Berman, a University of Michigan graduate, noted that women inventors now account for approximately 30% of T2 Design’s clients and many are launching new products at Macworld and other conventions nationwide.

"American Inventor" finalist, Jodi Pliszka proudly displays her product the Headline It! for hats, helmets and wigs.

Numerous inventors are inspired and thousands are taking advantage of the popularity of invention television shows to debut or develop their invention ideas. “Between thirty five to fifty percent of the inventors chosen to be filmed and featured on these reality TV shows are women, which is disproportionately higher than the percentage of individual patents filed annually by women,” said Linda Shayne, a TV and film, writer and director. “And in turn the media attention on women inventors seems to be inspiring more women to pursue their inventions. It’s terrific.”

ABC’s hit TV series “American Inventor” produced by Freemantle Media and executive produced by Simon Cowell and Peter Jones, was very popular in the U.S., premiering with 14 million viewers. Two seasons aired in the U.S. and recently both seasons of “American Inventor” TV series recently aired on Virgin 1 television in England and is currently airing in Sweden. The first season of the series followed the development of twelve finalist inventions, of which four were invented by women and one was co-invented by a woman.

At the Beijing Olylmpics, Sheila Taormina won the riding event of the pentathlon while using the Headline It!

One of the twelve finalist inventors featured on the first season of ABC’s “American Inventor” was Minnesota inventor Jodi Pliszka, who during production of the show was paired up with T2 Design. After filming, Jodi continued to work directly with T2 Design to find the right manufacturer for her hat, helmet and wig liner product and she now has achieved success with her award winning invention the “Headline It!” At the recent Beijing Olympics, while competing on horseback, Sheila Taormina wore the Headline It! under her helmet and won the riding event of the pentathlon.

The “Headline It!” is now available at Walgreens.com, Target.com, Wilshire Wigs and several other venues including www.HeadlineItStore.com. The “Headline It!” will also soon be available via the UK’s QVC television channel. Jodi Pliszka exclaimed, “Being on “American Inventor” was an incredible opportunity and T2 Design is amazing! T2 Design is professional and on top of everything from patent searches to high tech prototyping and they have a vast knowledge of the marketplace. Paul Berman is fair, objective and will tell you like it is. Plus, he is a genius engineer by trade…amazing to work with.”

Another popular TV series that inspires inventors is “Everyday Edisons” on PBS television. It is a terrific informative invention competition show that is gaining momentum on TV and on the web. CNBC’s “The Big Idea” with Donny Deutsch also impacted and motivated many inventors and entrepreneurs. Donny’s show highlighted successful entrepreneurs, as well as beginners seeking advice along the way. Many inventors often credit Donny Deutsch’s show as giving them inspiration to develop and prototype their products.

"The Knit Kit" incorporates 8 essential knitting tools in an all in one compact device.

One of the most internationally successful invention television shows is the Sony format-owned “Dragons’ Den.” This TV series has been produced in Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland and recently in Nigeria. The British version of “Dragons’ Den,” featuring billionaire judge, Peter Jones, who also was a judge on “American Inventor,” is now airing in the U.S. on BBC America. “Dragons’ Den” features inventors seeking backers from wealthy industrial titans. An American version of the TV show, to be titled “Shark’s Tank” is currently being developed by ABC television and “Survivor” reality TV producer, Mark Burnett. This TV series will provide an opportunity for American inventors and entrepreneurs to pair up with financiers and billionaire backers.

Barbara Barry launches her invention, "The Knit Kit" , at the TNNA convention.

Thousand of inventors pursue the Hollywood route to debut their products. Many inventors achieve success launching their products at conventions and industry trade shows. At a knitting and needlecraft convention in San Diego, entrepreneur Barbara Barry introduced her invention, ” The Knit Kit,” a tool kit for knitters Her unique gadget captured the attention of buyers at the TNNA Convention and orders for thousands were placed on the spot, with thousands more Knit Kits ordered within weeks. Ms. Barry’s invention was designed and prototyped by T2 Design and this innovative product will be available in knitting stores across the country in April and on the web at www.TheKnitKit.com. T2 Design also found Ms. Barry a manufacturer for her outstanding product. Inventor Barbara Barry says, “The Knit Kit is as essential for knitters, as the Swiss Army Knife is for campers.”

Marion Kohte's clever invention "In Your Face viewbase"T allows a user to hold iPods and PSP's hands-free at eye level, even on an airplane.

Inventor Marion Kohte and her husband Hans launched their invention at Macworld 2009 in San Francisco. Marion and Hans Kohte hired T2 Design of Santa Monica to develop and prototype their invention the “In Your Face viewbase”T for iPods and any PSP. This clever invention is a portable viewing device which allows the user to view videos or movies, hands-free and at eye level. It has a unique clamp base that attaches onto anything up to two inches thick and the viewbase is sturdy enough to enjoy steady viewing on an airplane ride. The “In Your Face viewbase”T product generated excitement and orders at Macworld and will soon be in stores and is available on the web at www.InYourFaceUSA.com.

Virtual prototype of inventor Kim Laney's "Adjustable Hat Rack."

From Macworld to home furnishings shows, many women first-time inventors are achieving success at conventions, and their products are now being sold in the marketplace. Kim Laney, a travel agent from, Warren, Ohio, came to T2 Design with an invention idea to make a versatile, adjustable purse and hat rack. T2 Design designed and created a 3D computer model of the product, often known as a 3D CAD model. Then they generated several photo-realistic renderings from the model. T2 Design’s process of virtual prototyping was so impressive, that when Kim personally shopped her patented invention with buyers at the Chicago Housewares Trade Show, she immediately closed a license deal with the Whitmor Company for her “Adjustable Hat Rack” and the “Adjustable Helmet Rack.”

Ms. Laney received a healthy monetary advance and a standard royalty for her invention. The Whitmor “Adjustable Hat Rack” and the “Adjustable Helmet Rack” are now being manufactured and sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Space-Savers retail stores and on the web, as well as Amazon.com and others worldwide.

Maribeth Nickell came to T2 Design looking for a company to develop the design and prototype a historically inspired Yankee Dooley doll line . Ms. Nickell’s great grandfather, the acclaimed artist, F. Luis Mora, whose portrait of President Warren Harding still hangs in the White House today, painted a series of children’s characters for Ms. Nickell’s father when he was a child. These paintings were the inspiration for Ms. Nickell to create a line of action dolls and The Jacabee Code interactive website game, as well as unique, personalized online book publishing.

Maribeth Nickell's Yankee Dooley doll line was inspired by historical paintings made by her great grandfather, presidential portrait artist, F. Luis Mora.

Ms. Nickell and her partner Jaclyn Cannon hired T2 Design to work with them and transform the historic two-dimensional paintings into three dimensional dolls. The Jacabee Code product line was presented at the New York TIA Toy Fair in January of this year. The game website www.JacabeeCode.com was launched this month and the Jacabee Code interactive online book publishing takes the adventures of history into a new and entertaining venue.

Jeannie Hartman and her young daughter, Haley, approached T2 Design with a toy they co-invented, looking for marketing assistance. T2 Design takes on very few inventions for marketing, but was so impressed by the mother and daughter invention, that T2 Design took on the project. T2 Design brought in a major toy company and currently Ms. Hartman and T2 Design are working with this top toy company and fully developing a complete product line, with plans to launch next year.

T2 Design has been designing and prototyping inventions for over twenty years. “Often clients find out about T2 Design on the internet. Consultations are done over the phone or in person,” said President Paul Berman. “Inventors find us from around the world at www.T2design.com.”

T2 Design and Prototype
1238 7th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: 310-656-9922
Website: http://www.t2design.com
Email: info@t2design.com

Introducing Our Third Associate, T2 Design!

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:44:56 +0000

T2 Design Corporation, featured on ABC’s hit TV series “American Inventor,” designed and prototyped dozens of new inventions for their clients and at least five of these inventions are going to production this year.

President of T2 Design, Paul Berman, a University of Michigan graduate, is proud of his American Inventor first season finalist, Jodi Pliszka and her award winning invention the “Headline It!” After filming the TV show, Jodi continued to work directly with T2 Design to find the right manufacturer for her hat, helmet and wig liner product.

The “Headline It!” is now available at Walgreens.com, Target.com, Wilshire Wigs and several other venues. Jodi Pliszka exclaimed, “T2 Design is amazing! They are professional and on top of everything from patent searches to high tech prototyping and have a vast knowledge of the marketplace. Paul Berman is fair, objective and will tell you like it is. Plus, he is a genius engineer by trade…amazing to work with.”

To find out more about T2 Design, click here.

To see some of T2 Design’s services, click here.