WhiteBoard Product Solutions
| Formerly | Leisure Design |
|---|---|
| Industry | Product development consultancy |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Rick Polk |
| Headquarters | Eden Prairie, Minnesota |
| Website | whiteboardps |
WhiteBoard Product Solutions is a United States product development consultancy (previously known as Leisure Design) based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota that helps clients develop and launch new products.[1] WhiteBoard product development services include industrial design, engineering, prototyping, packaging, and graphic design.[2]
History
WhiteBoard was founded by Rick Polk in 1986 as Leisure Design.[3][1] The original name was derived from the assets that Polk purchased from the toy company Leisure Dynamics, where Polk was Vice President of R&D, when it was sold to Coleco Industries, the maker of the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls.[4] In 1991, Leisure was commissioned by George Plimpton to design a gag gift for President George H. W. Bush. President Bush was so pleased with the gift that he called owner Rick Polk to thank him and commission Leisure to create a gag gift for First Lady Barbara Bush.[5] In 2007, the business was renamed WhiteBoard Product Solutions to reflect that clients were increasingly bringing it into the front end of projects so that it could bring a holistic approach to designing solutions. The company often plays a silent partner, helping clients develop and refine new products so that they are commercially viable.[6]
WhiteBoard won its first design award in 1991 for the FM 320 Ski Exerciser, making it the first fitness product to win the best consumer product award.[7] In 1993 and 1997 WhiteBoard was awarded International Design Excellence Awards, juried by the Industrial Designers Society of America and previously co-sponsored by Business Week Magazine.[8][9]
Clients
WhiteBoard has helped many large and small companies develop and launch new products, including Toro, Mattel, Fisher-Price, Aveda, Nike, Ecolab, Medtronic, Arctic Cat, Wagner, Hasbro, and Spalding.[10]
References
- 1 2 "Whiteboard Product Solutions Inc. is a product genie". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ↑ Steiner, Andy. "Out of the toybox", Twin Cities Business Monthly, July 2005.
- ↑ Briggs, Scott. "Making a business out of Leisure", Twin Cities Business Monthly, April 1997.
- ↑ "Coleco will Purchase Leisure Dynamics Inc.", Schenectady Gazette, December 19, 1985.
- ↑ Youngblood, Dick. "Product design proves to be a rewarding game", Star Tribune, May 7, 1995.
- ↑ DePass, Dee. "Whiteboard Product Solutions Inc. is a product genie", Star Tribune, April 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Best of Category, Consumer Products", I.D. Magazine, July/August 1991.
- ↑ "1993 Idea Winners", Business Week, June 7, 1993.
- ↑ "1997 Idea Winners", Business Week, June 2, 1997.
- ↑ Kantra Kirschner, Suzanne. "What's New", Popular Science, May 2001.