Out of 1,517 entries, HLB received one of only 35 Gold awards for its work on surgical tools for the Smith & Nephew JOURNEY™ Bi-Cruciate Stabilized Knee System. The tools are used to make complex, precise cuts in the bone, and to take measurements for the actual implanting of an artificial knee or hip.

In its award-winning design, HLB created surgical instruments with stainless steel handle forms for enhanced comfort, and added Silicone over-molds to improve grip while surgical team members wear latex gloves. This design helps reduce the force and physical strain required to maintain a sure grip. The designs were then tested in the operating room, after which the grip was further tested for wet and oily gloved hands, rather than dry, bare hands.

Next, consideration was given to high temperature autoclaving. Large holes were created in the tools to further improve grip, reduce overall weight, and allow for complete drainage during the autoclave cycle. Finally, HLB created the instruments with orange handles, not only to reinforce the Smith & Nephew brand identity, but easy to spot for re-stock.

“The strong formal language of the voids and handle heads instantly communicated the many ways the individual instruments could be better manipulated in the hand. This Smith & Nephew line represents an impressive challenge to the industry standard,” stated Thomas Garvey, Associate Professor, School of Industrial Design, Carleton University (Canada).

The 2008 IDEA selection committee is comprised of 20 world-renowned designers and design thinkers. Judging criteria for each entry is focused on eight areas of industrial design excellence: design innovation; benefit to the user; benefit to the client/business; benefit to society; ecological responsibility; appropriate aesthetics and appeal; usability testing; rigor and reliability (Design Research category); and internal factors and methods, implementation (Design Strategy category).

IDSA is the voice of industrial design, committed to advancing the profession through education, information, community and advocacy.

Ms. Kauth brings 13 years of research expertise in understanding customers and end-user experiences to her role with HLB. She has helped companies like General Mills, BMW, McDonald’s, Urologix, Johnson & Johnson and Motorola understand their customers’ needs and helped create the stimulus, vision, and messaging for many valued products. Kauth received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Chicago.

Fred Keith, Director of Sales and Business Development, will work out of the Waltham, Massachusetts office. He will contribute to growth at HLB through acquisition of new customers as well as maintaining business relationships with existing customers.

Mr. Keith spent 22 years in sales in the R&D and enterprise software field, working primarily with engineering and product development teams, where he was engaged in product design, development and manufacturing business processes. Most recently, he held regional sales executive positions at Siemens PLM (formerly UGS), the start-up firm Aras Corporation, and Workgroup Technology Corporation. Keith earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University.

Mary Mikelk, Director of Business Strategy & Innovation, will work out of HLB’s Waltham Massachusetts office. With over 20 years of experience in leading businesses through strategic initiatives, Ms. Mikelk will help HLB’s clients formulate and plan their business innovation strategies by placing particular emphasis on achieving design solutions that are meaningful to the end user and relevant to the client brand. This will include market and competitive research, customer behavior studies, life-stage modeling, and customer relationship management strategies and execution.

Before joining HLB, Ms. Mikelk was a client executive at Boston-based Keane, Inc., and also served as Director of Business Consulting and Brand Consulting for Cambridge, MA-based Sapient Corporation, where she helped clients formulate and plan their business and cross-channel strategies. She also owned and operated a marketing company. Mikelk earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Karen Scanlan, Director of Research, will be based out of the firm’s Chicago headquarters. She adds more than 13 years of experience to an already strong HLB research team. Her expertise is in analyzing, synthesizing and translating research findings into actionable new health care and consumer products. She led cross-disciplinary, analysis-driven projects in alignment with project and strategic business objectives. Scanlan has helped companies like Unilever/Dove, Target, Kraft, McDonald Corporation, Motorola, Microsoft, Starbucks, LG, Kohler, BP, Navteq, JC Penny, Philips, General Motors, and the Department of Veteran's Affairs to create valued products and messages.

Before joining HLB, Scanlan was a senior researcher for Avenue A-Razorfish. Her earlier expertise was honed while working with Research International, Doblin Inc. and SonicRim. She also served as an instructor in the Illinois Institute of Technology’s renowned design curriculum. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a Master of Design from the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology.

Andrew Macey, HLB chief operating officer and executive vice president, commented that “We are thrilled that seasoned professionals of this depth, experience and caliber, who really understand what is meaningful to our clients and their customers, are joining our already-strong team, and we will continue to build for a great future to accommodate our recent growth.”
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Lehman, who has more than five years of industrial design experience, received the 2008 CES Innovation Honor for Magellan Triton 2000; and the Laptop Magazine Editor’s Choice award. In addition, he was the recipient of RIT School of Design’s Chairperson Award for Design Achievement.

Lehman graduated with Honors from the Rochester Institute of Technology, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

About HLB:
HLB is an award-winning product design consulting firm helping companies in the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces grow organically through innovation. HLB’s approach drives their mission to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac.Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

These were the questions that Kellogg School students discussed with award-winning designer Walter Herbst on Feb. 14. Herbst addressed the Kellogg community at the kick-off event for Form + Function, the new Kellogg design and innovation strategy club. His lecture took place in the Donald P. Jacobs Center.

To read more: http://http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/news/whatsnew/walterherbst.htm

For more information go to http://http://www.chicagolandchamber.org/sub/event_calendar_detail.asp?Print=Y&EVE_ID=989

• Medgenics: A leading medical device company and provider of the Biopump, an implantable medical device, had a successful initial public offering
• Sears Craftsman: Received the Popular Mechanics Editor’s Choice Award for its innovative AXS line of tool chests
• Westell: UltraLine™ Series3 residential gateway has been named an International CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Award honoree in the Home Networking product category
• Epson: New Ensemble HD™ Home Cinema System received the International CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Honoree Award in the Video components product category
• Braun: The Oral-B Triumph™ with SmartGuide toothbrush, designed to provide consumers with a more intelligent tooth brushing experience, was named Best of What’s New 2007 in the Personal Health category by Popular Science

In addition, the Chicago Athenaeum awarded HLB five 2007 Good Design Awards in its annual competition. The International Good Design competition is known as one of the oldest and most important, with participation from such pioneering designers as Charles and Ray Eames and Florence Knoll.

HLB won Good Design awards for consumer, industrial and medical work. Award-winners were Epson’s Accolate Duet Projection Screen; Everest Biomedical’s SNAP II; the VELscope Oral Cancer Screening System; and two awards for Dove packaging featured in the company’s Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.

With offices in Chicago and Boston, HLB creates products of Meaningful Design® that range from everyday consumer necessities to life-saving medical advances.

Mr. Corse has had a wide range of experiences researching, developing and sourcing products from Asia for over 25 years. He is a principle in the Innovation and Ethnography User Research practice at HLB, where his clients have included Hewlett Packard, Samsung, Motorola, Microsoft, Kraft, 3M, Abbott, and Fortune Brands. He’s also an adjunct associate professor of marketing at Kellogg, as well as CEO of Connectables, LLC, a China sourcing and trading company.

China: Promise to Profits, the China Business Forum will inform and educate small and medium-sized businesses about the Chinese business frontier and how businesses may
be able to take part in this growth opportunity. The conference will provide insight into the booming Chinese economy and beneficial business resources on both sides of the Pacific from prominent speakers who have already succeeded in China. This conference, geared toward Presidents, CEO’s and other senior management helps managers understand the balance between opportunity and threat by hands on training and best practices. For more information please contact Amina K. Majeed at amajeed@wtcc.org

About HLB: HLB is an award-winning product design consulting firm helping companies in the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces grow organically through innovation. HLB's Meaningful Design™ approach drives their mission to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Forrest Folsom
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 385
ffolsom@hlb.com

Enter Martha Cotton, Vice President of Research for HLB, who will be offering her expertise as part of the 2007 Computer-Human Interaction Forum of Oregon (CHIFOO) Program Series. Her seminar, entitled, “Making the Invisible Visible: The Problem With Doing Good Work.” will examine these phenomena and offer ways to reclaim some visibility and give voice to the value of research, especially in ways that promote the value of the work in business contexts. The talk takes place Wednesday, June 6th at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland, OR.

“Currently, what I see as being the two main challenges to communicating our value as research practitioners are visibility of the creative process and calculability of outcomes from that process,” stated Cotton. “In my talk at CHIFOO, I hope to continue the interesting dialogue that concerns not just the Human-computer interaction (HCI) community, but the vast umbrella that encompasses the entire creative field.”

Ms. Cotton provides leadership in planning and implementing all aspects of HLB’s various research programs. This includes ethnographic and observational research, focus groups, user interface development, and data collection and analysis. She has been featured at numerous conferences and conventions, the most recent being the IDSA Midwest Regional Conference in Kohler, WI, and the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. In addition to her role as VP of Research, Ms. Cotton is also one of the three members of the SEED Group, HLB’s design strategy and innovation team.

The 2007 CHIFOO Program Series addresses different aspects of promoting the organization’s value – whether to management, a client, or a potential employer – and how to have their work recognized and integrated into business practices. Local and national practitioners and researchers will present their tried-and-true methods for effectively selling the HCI discipline and user-centered solutions. For more information, visit the CHIFOO website (http://www.chifoo.org/index.html).

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com

“While most of us recognize the potential of the Chinese market and the growing financial strength of their consumers, very few of us have a handle on the best ways to reach those new consumers,” said Walter Herbst, Chairman and Co-founder of HLB. “This subject, ‘Marketing to the Chinese Consumer,’ is finally being addressed at this new conference, and we’re thrilled that Phil Corse, a well-regarded expert in the field, is moderating the panel.”

Mr. Corse has had a wide range of experiences researching, developing and sourcing products from Asia for over 25 years. He is a principle in the Innovation and Ethnography User Research practice at HLB, where his clients have included Hewlett Packard, Samsung, Motorola, Microsoft, Kraft, 3M, Abbott, and Fortune Brands. He’s also an adjunct associate professor of marketing at Kellogg, as well as CEO of Connectables, LLC, a China sourcing and trading company.

The Greater China Business Conference will bring the latest insights on key issues facing China, while providing a forum for discussion on managing for success. Paired with the strength of Mr. Corse and other member’s of Kellogg’s outstanding academic faculty, global leaders from Greater China will provide distinctive and practical insights on the issues companies face everyday when operating in the region. For more information, visit the conference website (http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/conference/ChineseBusiness/index.htm).

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com

HLB provided the design solution for the SNAP II’s user interface, which conveys ease of use and readability. A color touch screen and minimized controls eliminate the blender effect – controls for the sake of controls – making navigation of features simple. The unit also supplies visual and audible alerts with user definable limits, as well as a crystal-clear high-resolution color display with visibility under all lighting conditions.

“SNAP II’s design marries function and performance with a refreshing aesthetic that replaces the generic and often intimidating ‘beige box’ frequently found in the healthcare industry, Holderfield added. “The successful development of this now award winning product has helped put Everest Biomedical, a medical start up, on the healthcare map.”

Since 1954, the Annual Design Review has recognized the best in product, furniture, graphic and environment design, from the iconic to the obscure. Throughout the years, this annual showcase has chronicled the evolution of design, and highlighted its impact on our material and visual culture. For the 2007 competition, there were over 2000 products entered from around the world.

Each year, the featured work is chosen by a jury of leading practitioners, who, along with I.D.'s editorial team, focus the abundance of submissions into a clear survey of the state of design. The resulting overview is published in the August issue of I.D. magazine — the Annual Design Review issue. For more information, visit the I.D. Magazine website (http://www.id-mag.com/).

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com

An independent panel of three industrial design experts performed judging of the entries. Evaluations were based on four criteria: appearance, human factors, innovation and technical merits. The judges noted that Revolution’s designers demonstrated that they are serious about industrial design and showed that seriousness by attention to details and innovative approaches that sharply differentiated the product from its competitors. Another element found was the ability to make technology more accessible to the user.

“The purpose of Appliance Design’s annual EID competition is to honor designers like HLB and products like the Bionaire Revolution that have excelled in meeting the modern challenge of harmoniously melding technology and industrial design,” said Richard Babyak, editor.

Photos and descriptions of winners will appear in the June 2007 issue of Appliance Design magazine, in both the print, digital and online versions at www.appliancedesign.com. Appliance Design is a publication of BNP Media, Troy, Mich.

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for countless diverse and widely recognized products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com

Ms. Cotton’s workshop is designed to provide attendees with the tools needed to make ethnography worthy of its “buzz” by illustrating the best reasons and ways to do it, as well as the most efficient and cost effective implementation strategies. As ethnography moves mainstream, clients desire to utilize the practice more than ever before, but this increases the risk that it won’t be executed correctly, resulting in misleading findings.

“What concerns me about the growing ‘buzz’ around ethnography is the un-meaningful choices practitioners make for the reasons to do it, and the outputs to expect from it, “ stated Cotton. “What I say to them is: think about what you want from ethnography, and then expect more from it.”

Mr. Pannozzo’s panel discussion on Design in Asia is comprised of him and two other industrial design experts: Bruce Ancona of A2 Design and Uday Dandavate of Sonic Rim. The discussion focuses on the conference theme of “Shift”; specifically how design is shifting to Asia and its global impact. Participants will gain a better understanding of the opportunities that this shift presents and how to best take advantage of them.

The IDSA Midwest Conference, “Shape,” will bring together an unparallel group of professionals to discuss their perspective on this new element in the design field: how the use of analysis and visualization skills now not only create products, but also creatively tell the stories about how consumers, products and markets might interact. The Northeast District Conference will hit the pulse of industrial design through Mr. Pannozzo and other experts’ examples of notable “shifts” in the industry. For more information visit the conference websites (http://www.idsa-midwest.org/index.html and http://www.idsa-ned.org/index.htm).

About HLB: HLB is one of the largest privately held product design consulting firms in the world with expertise in strategy and realization for the consumer, medical and industrial marketplaces. HLB leverages a unique approach called Meaningful Design™ to create products and services that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them. HLB is responsible for numerous breakthrough products, including the Johnson & Johnson Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com

Mr. Herbst will offer his expertise on two different subjects during the conference: Introduction to Product Development, and Good Design Practices. The first topic examines the 50% failure rate of new products entering the U.S. market while conveying what accomplished product development leaders understand that allows them to have a greater opportunity for success. The second area furthers this by examining the methodologies behind successful designers’ ability to continuously deliver high value products.

Both topics are intended for executives and managers involved in the development and management of new products, processes and strategy. Through the use of real life examples, testimonials and visual aids, participants will gain a better understanding of the key essentials for a successful product design and development process.

Widely recognized as one of the leaders in the product development industry, Mr. Herbst holds over 85 patents in hardware, household and medical products. In addition to his many accolades at HLB, he serves as a faculty member at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management as well as their McCormick School of Applied Science and Engineering, where he is a clinical professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He is also the Director of McCormick’s Master of Product Development (MPD) program.

The Strategic Innovation, Technology and Intellectual Property Management Conference is a UN sponsored, four-day intensive program designed for middle to senior level executives from around the world who wish to learn how to fuel innovation, maximize return on investment in R&D and move their firm up the technology ladder. The program includes the essentials of product design and development, technology assessment and forecasting. For more information, visit the conference website (http://www.wipo.int/academy/en/execed/siipm/gva_apr_07/#overview).

About WIPO: The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest. WIPO administers 24 international treaties and carries out a rich and varied program of work with over 183 member States.

About Herbst LaZar Bell: Herbst LaZar Bell Inc. (HLB) is an internationally recognized, multidisciplinary product design and consulting firm that specializes in the consumer and medical marketplaces. HLB offers turnkey innovation and select services in creating products that make lives more enjoyable, more convenient and more fulfilling for those who use them, a process known as “Meaningful Design TM.” HLB is responsible for numerous breakthrough products, including the Embrace Heart Stabilizer, the Motorola NFL Coaches Headset, and the iRobot Roomba Discovery Floorvac. Offices are located in Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles. Visit www.hlb.com for more information.

Contact:
Lewis Berkover
Herbst LaZar Bell
312-454-1116 ext. 255
lberkover@hlb.com

Mr. Herbst and other leading faculty members from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science will team with industry experts, using real world case studies and group workshops to illustrate the main concepts of the three-day program. His Introduction to Product Development course will provide attendees with an understanding of the product development process as a whole, as well as a phase gate process to promote and enhance creativity.

The Managing Product Design and Development Seminar is an intense three-day executive program designed for professionals in the field of product development that recognize the need for fine-tuning. According to Herbst, “This need is driven by the reality that about 25% of all products that enter the retail market reach their viable profitable scale and remain in the market.” The program runs from March 18-21 at the Kellogg School of Management on Northwestern’s Chicago campus.

During the 3-Day MPD Executive Program, the eleven core classes are presented including Mr. Herbst’s Introduction to Product Development course, Essentials in Industrial Design, Scenario Planning, and Strategy in Design. Participants will gain skills in a multitude of areas including managing the product development phase-gate process, product performance metrics, and understanding the value of design as a strategy. For more information, visit the Northwestern MPD website (www.mpd.northwestern.edu).