INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Science and Technology
The term originated during WWII, when Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects Division worked in a closely guarded incubator – a
circus tent – to design the P-80 Shooting Star.
The tent was set up next to a plastics factory in
Burbank, CA, and gave off a strong, foul smell
that inspired workers to think of the ‘Skunk
Works’ factory from the Li’l Abner comic strip.
With all the innovation – sans the foul smell – the
term ‘skunk works’ could easily apply to pioneering
companies in the North Texas area who are not letting traditional corporate roadblocks slow them on
a path toward innovation. These highly trained and
skilled teams work on projects that might never get
done otherwise, bringing ingenuity to R&D projects
at other large organizations, with an exceptional
amount of freedom to create and innovate.
to
ART
Bringing those projects across the finish line is
what excites Scott Goodwin, creative director of
IDEAS, a concept development group in Farmers Branch that prides itself on turning the abstract into the tangible. IDEAS is a small group
of talented technicians – engineers, designers,
distribution experts and more – who specialize
in fields so diverse they could only be included
under the one umbrella of “innovation.”
Another corporate client, HKG Duty Free, based in
Florida, turned to IDEAS to find a way to achieve
a high-end luxury look for duty-free merchandise
in border town crossings between the U.S. and
Mexico. The challenge? Design store fixtures that
required minimal contractor finish-out, could be installed in three days – and could fit an entire store
in one 53-foot trailer.
Departs Terminal A
Greyscale
No problem, said Jon Yamamoto, director of engineering for IDEAS.
Trip planning and
easy payment
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“Our process, set of disciplines and balance of perspectives provides a framework to analyze ideas
and challenges in the abstract, providing clarity of
SM
Blackline
NTX Pub DART
to Art 2.416” x 9.75”
76 161-095-515
www.ntc-dfw.org
FALL/WINTER 2015
CMYK • Built 100% • May 18, 2015
161-095-515 NTX Pub_Dart_Art_2.416 w x 9.75h_Ad.indd 1
vision by revealing unforeseen obstacles and opportunities,” Yamamoto said. “Because we know
how things are made, we deliver solutions with
amazing speed and velocity.”
Out-of-the-box thinking is what led Connecticut-based commercial furnishings and architectural products company ICF to begin a partnership
with IDEAS to turn-key design, manufacturing and
distribution of acoustic panels to be used in today’s
commercial environments. When architects and
designers needed to use ICF products in unique
ways, IDEAS would create the specialty products
for the custom applications. Out of that grew a
need for a line of decorative, off-the-shelf acoustic
products, which ICF asked IDEAS to create. IDEAS
developed the products and also created a DFWbased manufacturing and distribution solution
Corporate entities from around the world call on
this North Texas company to find solutions. Cosentino, a company from Spain, asked IDEAS to solve
the problem of how to showcase architectural and
design products in-store in a cost-effective way
that would allow products like quartz, marble and
granite to shine in a high-touch environment. The
challenge to engineering was to marry an enticing
design aesthetic with a high-value function, implement it and ensure ease of installation in stores
around the world.
DART Rail serves the
major downtown hotels,
shops, restaurants
and attractions.
Full color
Scott
Goodwin
with
IDEAS
5/19/15 4:18 PM
Photography: Barbara Berry