ENHANCE INNOVATIONS BLOG

Helpful articles for inventors and entrepreneurs on product design and invention licensing. Sponsored by the team at Enhance Innovations.

Enhance Innovations Featured on Shark Tank with VaBroom!

Sep 2, 2022

Trevor Lambert (CEO of Enhance Innovations) and John Vadnais appear on Shark Tank with our hit product VaBroom!! Will we accept a deal with Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary?? Watch the full episode here and find out!!

Originally aired on January 14, 2022 (Season 13, Episode 11), Copyright Sony Pictures Television.

Watch Shark Tank Episode

What Your Logo SHOULD Do—And Should NOT Do

July 12, 2022

“Well designed” simply means that it looks good and functions well.

This especially applies to logo design. So, when designing a logo, what are some crucial things your logo should do? And equally important, should not do?

Your logo SHOULD: Identify Your Brand

This is really the main function of your logo…

Hacking Creativity – Finding Ideas in Relaxation

May 7, 2022

Many of history’s best thinkers espoused the notion that their best ideas came to them when they were in their most relaxed states when they arrived at their most potent and innovative concepts.

For years, scientists have theorized that many ideas are born from the brain’s release of dopamine. Dopamine is the chemical that the human brain makes that generates pleasure and satisfaction. This chemical reaction is the opposite of what occurs when humans are put in tense or high-stress scenarios…

5 Tips to Design a Functional Website

February 1, 2022

Before you start placing images and text haphazardly onto your website, stop and think about the best possible way to organize your content. Below are a few tips and tricks on how to do just that!

Website Grid

A website grid is a system for organizing the content of a product on a webpage and creating alignment and order. Website grids are great for creating a cohesive, functional, and aesthetically pleasing website…

6 Steps to Preventing Inventor’s Block

November 2, 2021

We have all heard of writer’s block, but inventors can experience the same thing while developing a new product. Recently, most people have been working from home either full-time or hybrid, but trying to stay creative while working from home can be difficult. Here are some to help keep those creative juices flowing.

Step One: Creating a Work Space

Make sure you don’t work from the places that you usually dedicate to relaxation or sleep. Set up a section of your home that is dedicated to work, even if it is your kitchen table…

Enhance’s Growing Presense in the Toy and Game Industry

August 3, 2021

Enhance will be attending the 2021 ASTRA (American Specialty Toy Retailing Association) toy fair at the Minneapolis convention center to show case its most successful game release of 2020—Migration Mars.

Migration Mars is a thematic board game of planetary exploration. Four factions race to migrate citizens from Earth to build the first city on Mars. It shares some traditional game mechanics with several unique aspects that include surviving meteorite strikes, discovering crystal filled ruins, and unlocking ancient alien structures!

We Are Headed Back to the National Hardware Show!

May 22, 2021

After almost a year and a half, Enhance will finally be returning the Hardware show in Las Vegas this October. Trade shows are crucial for licensing as you develop face-to-face connections with potential licensees.

Being able to show products to manufacturers in person and developing a relationship with their decision makers not only helps existing clients, but also future clients that are in their product market…

It’s All About that Color Psychology

March 11, 2021

Ever wonder why someone decided to make their packaging different shades of purple and red? Or why they choose orange for their product? Well, they did it for a very specific reason. That reason was made based on Color Psychology.

What is Color Psychology?

Color psychology is the study of colors as a determinant of human behavior. Color can influence our perceptions and guild us to make decisions and marketing firms across the world know all about that…

Just How Important is Product Placement in Stores?

January 8, 2021

Being mindful about where you stock and place your products in a store can be the difference between selling only a few units and selling a couple hundred. The competition is tough out there and a strong understanding of in-store product placement is important.

What is In-Store Product Placement?

In-store product placement is a merchandising technique in which products are placed thoughtfully throughout the store to draw attention to them. There are multiple ways to look at the planning/strategy behind it but the major factors are considering where the majority of the foot traffic is in the store. How big is the store? What shelving is available?

9 Keys to Developing a Successful Board Game on Kickstarter

November 2, 2020

What wonderful times we live in where board games are bigger and better than ever. They have evolved into their own culture—a lifestyle—a universe of limitless gateways to explore and challenge your mettle whilst battling sorcerers, the undead, taking over planets, or appeasing kitty cats. You could play for days—nay, years without sleep and never play the same one twice!

With such a library of endless choices, sub-genres, and generations of meeples to lead, humankind can certainly sit back and be proud of the empire we have created. With that said, those who aspire to create and join the ranks of board game developers have a daunting task of parting the seas to get their feet wet without becoming consumed and lost among the waves…

Enhance Innovations Has Quietly Become Vendor to Top Major Retailers

August 12, 2020

Enhance Innovations was founded in 2010 with the mission of offering professional product development and industrial design services to our clients. From independent entrepreneurs, to established manufacturers, first-timers to experienced patent holders and innovators, Enhance has sought to provide meaningful, and intrinsically valuable product development portfolios to our clientele as a means of pursuing successful market rollouts.

During our years as a top shelf designer and developer, we have also sought to assist in the facilitation of effective market rollouts to large retailers. As such, we are pleased and excited to announce that over the course of the past 12 months, Enhance Innovations has officially become a vendor to Target, Walmart, Lowe’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Amazon…

Product Licensing in the Time of COVID

June 2, 2020

Although many industries have slowed down since the realities of the pandemic began to take hold in mid-March of 2020, Enhance Innovations continues to see a steady rise in the engagement that we receive from manufacturers to whom we pitch products.

As Enhance represents products from all categories, we keep our fingers on the pulse of trends across a large swath of industries and marketplaces. We have been pleased to report that conversations and interest in our existing product licensing portfolio has not only continued to be strong, but has actually risen as the pandemic months have gone on…

Statement on COVID-19 By CEO of Enhance Innovations

March 22, 2020

We at Enhance Innovations wish you and the broader global inventor community health and safety during these unprecedented and challenging times. In an effort to socially distance and stop the spread of COVID-19, our team has transitioned to working remotely. However, due to the nature of our business, we remain diligently hard at work on the development of new products, and there has been no impact to our clients.

It is without question that the novel coronavirus is incredibly serious, and we are very concerned for those who have been affected…

Enhance Launches Six-Figure Successful Kickstarter For New Board Game

February 20, 2020

Bring the thrill of Mars exploration to your home!

Migration Mars is a competitive, sci-fi strategy game of resource collecting, colony building, disaster management, decision making, dire trades, and devious betrayal.

Race your friends to colonize Mars in our brand new tabletop game!

Visit Kickstarter

Four Things To Know About Industrial Design

December 20, 2019

1. Industrial Design Is All Around You
You might not realize it, but every object you interact with on a daily basis, such as your phone, the car dashboard, or computer have all been painstakingly researched and designed by an Industrial Designer (and the broader team). Their goal is to make decisions for the user, helping them understand the product and have a better experience during its use…

Nine Ways to Create Better Product Prototypes

October 1, 2019

Coming up with a new product idea is exciting. Yet before you manufacture a product en masse, it’s essential to ensure all the parts work and your customer base needs the product. Prototypes are designed to determine the functionality of a product and the costs associated with manufacturing.

Each day, millions of entrepreneurs around the world register their new companies. Competition is fierce, especially on a global level. The only way for non-service brands to get ahead is to test, refine and release new products…

Enhance is Launching VaBroom on Kickstarter!

February 21, 2019

Dustpans are dirty, ineffective and frustrating. Everybody has one and nobody likes it. To us, they are the enemy. That’s why we invented VaBroom.

At Enhance we have a passion and drive to develop meaningful solutions that resonate with our customers… For nearly a decade, Enhance has been designing, developing, and licensing products. As we move into 2019 we have added an additional goal to that mission: bring products to market, direct to consumer…

The Most Popular Animals Used in Company Logos…and Why

October 18, 2018

In nearly every culture and industry, at any age and walk of life, you’ll find a reverence for our fury, scaly, cuddly, and sometimes creepy earthly companions―animals! From cute little kitties to five headed dragons, marketers, designers, and story tellers have taken advantage of mankind’s admiration for an entire kingdom of these noble creatures. Magical mice, ninja reptiles―heck, even rampaging dinosaurs and have filled our books, screens, and cereal boxes since we can remember…

7 Ingredients to Creating Successful As Seen on TV Products

August 28, 2018

With the rising level of customer sophistication and the widespread use of Amazon reviews, the days of huge profits for subpar products in direct response is quickly coming to an end. Gimmicks are quickly identified as such and once exposed these products rarely make it to retail. If they do, they are doomed to fail quickly, afflicted by the weight of returns and a negative reputation…

5 Common Design Mistakes and Misconceptions

July 16, 2018

A Good Idea = A Good Product. Not necessarily. To generalize it in saying all good ideas make good products is false. While it is important to start out with an idea, either good or bad, it is not until you get through the development of it that you soon realize whether it makes a good or bad product.

Overalls: 100+ Patents but Still a Questionable Fashion Statement

June 21, 2018

After a few good runs throughout fashion history, overalls took another well-deserved hiatus in the post-Backstreet 2000s. But they’re making another comeback—like it or not. You might not think much of the distinctive one-piece garment but there are over 100 overall-related patents registered with the US Patent Office…

Have a Little Fun: Inventing Toys and Games

May 28, 2018

As inventors, we are often asking ourselves what problem a new product solves. How does it fit in to the life of an average human being? How will it make that person’s life easier? This mindset can be exhausting as we’re mired in the negative thought-cycle of asking “what is the problem?” But it can distract us from one of my most fun and enjoyable aspects of inventing: creating items for the sole enjoyment of the user!

Three Reasons Why Inventors Should Go to a Trade Show

Apr 12, 2018

Trade shows can be incredibly useful events for businesses trying to drum up new business or for trending an industry or market sector. They are where the players of an industry display all the newest and best for all to see. That said, trade shows can get fairly expensive, which can deter many from exhibiting or even attending. However, attending a trade show can have some substantial benefits for you and your product.

Four Inventions Inspired by Nature

Mar 7, 2018

The evolution of the world around us is a great source of inspiration for many. Rather than beginning with a totally new model, countless modern-day inventors have relied on nature’s own innovative solutions to spark their ideas.

Five (and a half) Reasons the Twin Cities is a Utopia for Innovators

Jan 29, 2018

Artists, innovators, musicians, inventors… can all reach their maximum potential under the right set of environmental circumstances. A community of support, inspiration, and a culture of perpetual growth and ingenuity. So what makes Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota so special?

New Inventions by Enhance Featured by Our President on the News

Dec 19, 2017

Our president and founder, Trevor Lambert, shows off some gift ideas of products invented by inventors and designed and launched by Enhance Innovations.

Watch Video

Design Grades for each NFL Team Logo

Dec 2, 2017

32 NFL logos are proudly worn, stuck, pinned, and painted on by die hard fanatics all over the world. There have even been several fun and interesting series of parodies of each logo from hilarious to vulgar. Despite the reason why one might find themselves routing for a team and rocking their logo, I will objectively examine…

4 Traits of a Successful TV Product

Nov 14, 2017

Everyone wants their product on to be sold on television. For many years—the As Seen On TV (ASOTV) marketplace has been rife with gadgets, gizmos, and doo-dads that look to make life a little bit easier for the average American household…

10 Principles of Good Design

Oct 30, 2017

Good design can be a subjective matter, but if you peel back the layers to the core, there are a handful of principles and ideologies that we can all agree. This is according to Dieter Rams, a German Industrial Designer well known for his unobtrusive approach to design and his belief in ‘less but better’….

Learn About Design: Engineering Software

Oct 19, 2017

Design/Engineering Software The software we use at Enhance Product Development is the most popular 2D/3D design software in the industry. All of our designers have extensive experience working with this program and its many features. Below is an overview in how the CAD software works…

Top 5 Factors that Make a Company a Good Licensee

Sep 29, 2017

So many inventors begin the licensing phase of their journey and want to license their product to a company who isn’t an ideal fit for their product. Before you start to pitch your idea to a company to get your product on the shelves, make sure to remember these five things…

By Inventors, For Inventors

Sep 21, 2017

We at Enhance get to chat with people from all over the world. People who have dreams, ideas, and concepts that they are excited about and eager to get started. Frankly, we love it. We are so keyed into the excitement and high that one gets when they are in pursuit of their next big idea…

Designing with Type

Aug 20, 2017

Typography is a crucial element of good design. It is the visual voice that directly communicates to the reader and bridges imagery and meaning together. Three points to consider when incorporating text are Relevance, Readability, and Placement…

Keys to the Capitals Make Positive Impact

Jun 16, 2017

A dream nearly 25 years in the making. What started as a basic idea with a simplistic prototype grew into a successfully launched board game, and is helping spread an important message: no matter the circumstances or obstacles in life, inventing a new concept is a real possibility for everyone…

Enhance Finalist For Two Housewares Awards

Apr 21, 2017

Enhance Innovations, a Minneapolis-based design firm serving brand-name consumer product companies, start-ups and inventors alike, is turning heads in the housewares industry. Known for developing “smart solutions to real problems” on behalf of their clientele…

Design for Licensing vs. Design For Manufacturing

Mar 21, 2017

One of the most common questions we get is “What is the difference between Design for Licensing and Design for Manufacturing?” In regards to our process at in Enhance, we recommend Design for Licensing first! Design for Licensing is where we develop a concept, which can range from a napkin sketch…

Am I An Inventor?

Feb 24, 2017

There are common questions that arise when you tell people that you’re an inventor: “Like Ron Popeil?” “Like Doc Brown?” “Like The Nutty Professor?” “Like that J-Law movie?” There are so many film and television portrayals of inventors, and a number of cliches that pop up from time to time…

Photo-Realistic Rendering or Virtual Prototyping

Jan 5, 2017

end – er – ing: a work of visual art, especially a detailed process drawing which uses color and shading to make it appear solid and three dimensional. For most, this is not a familiar term, despite the fact that we observe renderings on a regular basis. Renderings are the photo-realistic images…

Prototyping and 3D Printing Options

Dec 3, 2016

3D printing is a manufacturing process that allows for the construction of a three dimensional solid object from a digital file. A 3D printer works by laying out successive layers of material, one on top of the other, until the entire form is constructed. 3D printing can be a great and economical resource…

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