MAKO Design Wins Gold in Muse Awards for the ROVER Packhopper!

About the Muse Awards Picking the Best Product Development Studio, MAKO Design

The definition of a muse is given to someone who is thought of as a source of artistic inspiration. This is why the word Muse fits best for the Muse Awards! The Muse Awards is an honorary award that is given to design professionals for their work in different areas of design that help create a path forward in the future of innovation and creation for our life and a mark in history.

The Muse Awards help to shine a light and inspire the design community around the world by showcasing top designs from all over the world. Design categories include fashion, architecture, product, concept design, and many more. The jury is made up of a collection of senior-level and experienced creatives and art directors from international agencies, designers, and educators.

With such prestige, MAKO Design + Invent is proud to announce that as one of the best product development studios in North America, we won gold for our work on the ROVER Packhopper!

About the ROVER Packhopper

The ROVER Packhopper is a sport, fitness and recreational product invention introduced to us by our client, Eric Coffman, who saw MAKO Design + Invent as the best product development studio fit to bring his idea to life. Made for tennis players and fans everywhere, Eric’s inspiration for the ROVER pack hopper was to create a way to make it easier to carry everything you need to practice and play a great and efficient session of tennis. The ROVER Pack Hopper is a backpack specially made for tennis that is able to hold up to 85 tennis balls, as well as a large pocket for racquets, numerous small pockets for accessories, and mesh pockets for water bottles. The backpack is easy to carry and can be wheeled around easily around tennis courts and other terrains.

With extendable legs, the ROVER Packhopper can raise tennis balls to the exact height that you need to help feed tennis balls to help work and practice on your service. If you want to watch yourself serve and practice, the ROVER Packhopper can hold your phone through a handy compartment and film you while you practice, making it possible to monitor and watch your progress. The ROVER Packhopper is the perfect example of how the best product development studio, such as MAKO, can put together a multifunctional product that improves both efficiency and skill in one sport or activity.

Check out the Kickstarter for the ROVER Packhopper here!

How the Best Product Development Studio worked on the ROVER Packhopper

For this project, the ROVER Packhopper was designed by our team at the best product development studio in Austin, Texas, who worked on the mechanical concept of the ROVER Packhopper. Our director of design, Tim Uys, helped create the internal and external 2D and 3D CAD files and schematics for the design, and after reviewing the design concept, material and product execution with Eric, the MAKO team immediately began to work on outsourcing the right material in order to make the first prototype for the Packhopper!

After some prototyping and a final review of the product, MAKO Design + Invent was able to accommodate and find the right material, colour, and measurement changes to find a satisfactory look and design for the project. Thus, being the best product development studio that we are, we were able to create a fully functioning tennis sports equipment product with all of its multifunctional capabilities, all packed within a durable and aesthetically pleasing design, available in different colours!

If you have a great new invention idea and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO today, and we can set you up on a call with our product strategist!

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!