It’s that time of year! Weekends get packed with back-to-back social functions; Families, friend groups, work teams, and entire companies are all hosting their Christmas parties that they’ve tried to plan on some December weekend that works for everyone. And inevitably, all the Christmas parties still end up falling on the same weekend. Talk about Christmas pain points!
Pain point or not, though, we at Sundberg-Ferar couldn’t imagine a December without our annual Christmas party! This is our chance to hang out – industrial designers, engineers, researchers, innovation strategists, and model makers alike – to cut loose, and to enjoy an evening together, free from daily pressures and at leisure to reflect on all our year has brought.
This year, SF went Italian for our party, all gathering at a beautiful authentic restaurant. Conversation flowed like bubbly and the volume increased exponentially as we all arrived – you know how it is! Somehow, after hors d’oeuvres, someone was able to corral the group to sit down for the main meal, and our special Christmas traditions began.
The SF Christmas Poem surely stands as a fan favorite of our traditions. This year, Jeevak took on the poem baton, giving an inspirational reminder of some of the things that really matter in life and of all that the studio has accomplished this year. Grey also shared his thoughts (in prose) recapping some of our most successful projects of the year, and looking forward to a bright 2020.
This time of reflection culminated with our annual “No More Porridge Awards”. These three awards are voted on by the SF team, and bestowed every year to SF project teams to encourage the proliferation of wild, bold, out-of-the-ordinary concepts and designs, to help make sure that we never succumb to the inevitable pressures that result in “me-too,” commodity concepts and products – which we affectionately refer to as “porridge.” One award is for a design that actually went into production this year, one is for a design concept that was presented to a client this year, and the third goes to the winner of the overall cool award, intended to recognize creative output that does not fit into the other two categories.
David Thimm, Joe Ploch, and Dave Wilson, in the Production Category for the Bora Portamate Speedhorse.
Dan Genord, and Sara Dickerson for the Concept category,
And Dan Genord, Grey Parker, and Joe Ploch for the Overall Cool category!
After a drool-worthy dinner and luxurious amounts of conversation, the party continued on to an afterglow at Josiah’s house. There the team was giddy with excitement to explore the original mid-century modern home, down to its hand crafted wood paneling and floor tiles. Finally we hunkered down in the open-concept living room to enjoy each others’ company enwrapped in the spirit of the season and our common bond of designing great products together through human-centric design – products that have made the world a bit better and bit more beautiful for us all here in 2019 and the years to come.
Sundberg-Ferar at a Glance
Sundberg-Ferar, located in Metro – Detroit, is a product innovation studio specializing in innovation strategies, design research, industrial design, user interface, ergonomics, engineering, model making, and packaging. For decades we have spearheaded the cross-category design trend by specializing in multiple categories, namely consumer products, medical equipment, and vehicles of all types.
Sundberg-Ferar’s innovation process cross-references multiple user experiences with competitors’ vulnerabilities to reveal uncontested market spaces for our clients. We exist to help our customers uniquely differentiate their products and experiences increasing their profit margins, market share, and ultimately advancing strong brands.
This creative diversity is our defining strength – a gift that allows us, with each unique project, to improve people’s quality of life and daily experience through impactful “concept–to-completion” product design and development.
Website: www.sundbergferar.com
Contact: hello@sundbergferar.com
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