Industrial Design at the CNE Innovation Garage

Innovation and change are the disruptive agents that make our industry interesting and exciting. Staying ahead of emerging trends and industry shifts allows us, as an industrial design firm, to continually engineer products at a world-class level for our MAKO clients.

That’s why the executive from the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) asked MAKO to be front and center as the leading industrial design firm at the inaugural CNE Innovation Garage. The event showcased innovations in consumer products and technologies to the public with the goal of creating awareness and educating attendees as to what’s new and what’s next in industrial design.

This Marquis event featured a three-day Emerging Innovators Pitch Competition where Canada’s most innovative young entrepreneurs competed in 5 categories for $50,000 in total. The first-place prize earned the winners a handsome $30,000. These rounds of competition and the final showdown saw our Founder and President, Kevin Mako, as one of the judges.

The MAKO team speaking with The Canadian Space Agency’s Astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

With the industrial, mechanical and electrical design and engineering teams in full force, we were ready to inspire. Attendees would learn about new innovations used in our industry, as well as inspiring works from our engineering and industrial design firm’s clients. But, the road to the Innovation Garage called for all hands on deck in the weeks prior to the event.

Our generous partners at AutoDesk even had Fusion 360 team members from both the USA and UK offices come out to support the event. Over the course of the event, we proudly featured AutoDesk Fusion 360 software for 3D CAD modelling as well as available consumer innovations. These include 3D printers from our friends at MakerBot and Printrbot, as well as new generation composite 3D Printers capable of building parts in carbon fibre from our friends at MarkForged.

Educating Others on our Industrial Design Firm’s Product Innovations

Given that so much of our industry is built on the successes of trailblazers past and present, the team’s goal at this event was to educate thousands of visitors on what is possible. We wanted to inspire others to explore their product innovation ideas and educate them on what it means to be a leading industrial design firm.

“One of the most memorable moments of the weekend for me was seeing the interaction between parents and children learning together how 3D printers work,” said Kevin Mako, President of MAKO Invent. “Innovation is something that excites us all. Being able to inspire anyone, regardless of age, and allowing their imaginations to ask ‘what if’ was really special.”

A young girl playing around with MAKO’s product design software.

For the team as a whole, it was moving to not only educate the public on their work but also to see the work they’ve done for others come to fruition in other parts of the Innovation Playground. One of their recent clients, PINCH, displayed their child-safe protective outlets – a project that MAKO successfully took from ideation to industrial design and engineering.

Now, MAKO is supporting this innovative concept through production and taking it to market. Of those pitching in the competition, MAKO Invent provided engineering or industrial design services to over half of the innovators.

Shout out to the MAKO Industrial Design Firm, our Partners and all Future Innovators

When all was said and done, the Grand Prize was awarded, the displays were taken down, and the garage cleared out, it was time to reflect. At the end of every week at beer o’clock (also known as 5:00 pm on a Friday), the team enjoys a much-deserved drink together after this particularly busy week.

While hanging out, each person will share their win of the week and shout out to those who helped them accomplish it – the traditional MAKO way of recognizing and appreciating your peers’ hard work. In keeping with tradition, the win of the CNE Innovation Garage week (end) was the MAKO Invent team inspiring and educating the community, validating that innovation is alive and thriving.

Shout out goes to all the MAKO staff and AutoDesk Team Fusion 360 for making it all possible and inspiring the next generation of inventors, innovators and game changers!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!