Fredricks Announces the Addition of Dave Miller to Our Team!

Fredricks Announces the Addition of Dave Miller to Our Team!

by | Feb 21, 2018 | Company News

Dave Miller

On February 19, 2018, Fredricks Design, Inc. welcomed Dave Miller, BSME, to our team.

Dave graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He spent the last few years as an engineer in the manufacturing environment at Gentex Corporation in Zeeland, MI. His true passion is in new product development, design, and engineering. He brings a strong skill sets in 3D CAD modeling, prototyping, testing, design for manufacturability and understanding of the manufacturing process. Dave will be a tremendous asset to the design and engineering team at Fredricks Design and our Clients. He will be based in our Grand Haven, Michigan studio.

Please join us with an enthusiastic welcome for Dave!

Maury Fredricks

CEO

Fredricks Design, Inc.

Fredricks Design, Inc. is a full-service design and engineering firm based in Grand Haven, Michigan. The firm specializes in working as an extension of the client studio and engineering team to identify the right problems and accelerate development of solutions from early ideation, feasibility, concept development and production of mock-ups, prototypes and show properties. Fredricks works with key Clients in the automotive interiors and seating industries, advanced rides and show action projects for themed attractions, furniture, and consumer products markets.

fredricks.com

 

Furniture and Work Space Insights

Furniture and Work Space Insights

by | Jun 29, 2017 | Case Studies, Furniture Design

City planning for the work space.

We commissioned a research and ideation project to explore the correlation between city planning and the design of work environments. The findings from this study supported our premise that any work environment is a landscape of unique environments and spaces designed to meet different types of activities and work styles. This connection is a powerful concept that can be leveraged on space planning and furniture design. Collaborative partnerships with the customer, A+D firms and product designers from diverse backgrounds will drive new thinking and dramatic improvements in the work place.

The work space continues to evolve and the next several years will be a challenging time for many furniture brands. The overall market is flat and there are simply a lot of companies competing for market share. Ongoing uncertainty in the market will require agility and responsiveness to customer demands for new thinking and solutions.

A recent day trip to Neocon in Chicago highlighted the trends that will shape the furniture market over the next several years and beyond.

(more…)

Neocon 2014: Beanbags and Phone-booths

Neocon 2014: Beanbags and Phone-booths

by | Jun 12, 2014 | Events, Furniture Design

cartoon phone booth and beanbag

A brief recap of our visit to Neocon 2014…

For those who are not familiar, Neocon is an annualexposition for commercial interiors; the industry leaders (and followers) come to Chicago to showcase their latest furniture, fixtures, and materials. It can be quite a party, but we’re usually there to uncover trends, be inspired, and admire the great design work that many of the companies are continuing to produce. We saw a shift in the respect for individual needs and designing spaces that accommodate them. We’d like to share what we saw and wherewe see it going… (more…)

Fredricks Design, Inc. 30 Years

Fredricks Design, Inc. 30 Years

by | May 29, 2014 | Company News, Events

Our story…

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Fredricks Design, Inc. The story of our 2nd generation, family run product development business is a case study in big dreams realized through hard work, good luck, and our commitment to doing things really well.

Fredricks was founded in 1984 in a little cottage on the north bank of the Grand River in Grand Haven, Michigan. The startup was based on the shared vision of two brothers, Maury (myself) and Bruce Fredricks. We developed the framework of our vision for the new company over wine and tapas while living and working in Andalucia, Spain. I returned to Michigan in 1984 and Bruce returned stateside to join the startup the following year. (more…)

Indiana Furniture + Fredricks Case Study

Indiana Furniture + Fredricks Case Study

by | May 6, 2014 | Case Studies, Furniture Design

We partnered with Indiana Furniture in Q4 2012 to develop Felix, a new offering to expand their seating line.

Our case study tells the story of our collaborative development from early exploration of the problem statement, design brief development, ideation, concept development, and production release.

We leveraged our complementary capabilities to accelerate the development of a new product to raise the bar for Indiana Furniture in the seating category. Felix is the first offering in a series of seating products based on intelligent product planning and execution of our combined talents.

Please check out the chair development case study and contact us to discuss your future product challenges. Thanks!