Make48: MAKO’s Director of Design Judges National Competition on PBS

Make48: Spearheading Innovation in 48 Hours

Just outside Baltimore, cameras descended on the state-of-the-art 4,500 square-foot Stanley Black & Decker Makerspace for the filming of the third season of PBS’s Make48. When the sawdust finally settled and the last gleaming stage light switched off, twelve new innovations were thought up, designed, constructed, marketed, and pitched – all in a furious 48 hours of innovation.

Make48 is a competition compressing the real-life challenge of taking a product from napkin design to store shelf. The process is filmed in a documentary style for PBS. Teams are given a product challenge and must build an invention and present it, with a website and video, to a panel of judges – all within 48 hours.

The stakes are high and all teams retain their Intellectual Property (IP). However, only the top three teams get a license agreement, and their products will go to market. MAKO, a platinum-level partner of the event, sent our own Director of Design, Tim Uys, to be a judge at this year’s event.

“Make48 is unique. It’s a show that takes regular people and challenges them to innovate within a short time. It proves that everyday people, young and old, men and women, are capable of creating innovation,” says Tim.

Innovation is what we do at MAKO! We make inventions and ideas a reality – and we couldn’t be more honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of bringing our clients’ ideas to life. TriMech Design Solutions (formerly MAKO), along with the other sponsors, including Stanley Black and Decker, QVC, and GoDaddy, are keenly aware of the importance of supporting innovation, the Maker Movement, and initiatives like Make48 that celebrate innovation.

Make48 is a celebration of the Maker Movement. A movement that encourages all of us to do that one thing that humans do best – make things, invent, and innovate. “Innovation and the maker movement are pivotal to our culture,” says Tim when discussing Make48 and the Maker Movement.

“Without innovation, we stagnate. At the moment we decide everything is good enough, essentially nothing will continue to move forward. Our entire economy is based on improving things, making new things, inventing, and innovating. There is almost nothing more human than innovation and the exploration of new ideas and creativity. The Maker Movement is right at the spearhead of it all.”

Not only does Make48 encourage people to innovate, but it also teaches the contestants and the audience about the complex product development process. “The participants learned about the resources that are available in terms of rapid prototyping, intellectual property law, and what matters during marketing and sales. They had to make a promotional video and a one-page website. They learned what it takes to make a successful product.”

The final judging was held in the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Steeped in the history of invention, the atmosphere was crackling with energy, despite that lack of sleep from the frenetic previous 48 hours. We can’t ruin the drama by revealing who won or the top three teams who received licensing deals, but take Tim’s word for it: “It was a truly impressive event.”

Season Three will not air until next year, but Season 2 of Make48 will air on September 8, 2018, on PBS. Check out the innovation for yourself!