Monday, October 17, 2011
Monsters of Design Award Winner
The Hy-Vee Hot Zone was to be a built extension of the Hy-Vee brand as a destination
location for fans and has been a huge success.
It starts with brainstorming, collaboration and sketches:
The Hotzone...The concourse ceiling is outfitted with illuminated red ovals and infrared heaters
that connect the space to the sport
The stage and the band that brings you in from the tailgate and into a fan experience
”Mobile Hotzone” - the ultimate tailgating & game viewing experience...
It was a great night and we appreciate the recognition by the Young Architects Forum and the AIA.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
DI Team Supports Trolley Run
Incriminating race photos have not been posted yet...but we're sure they are soon to come!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Dimensional Innovations Downtown Library Book Bindings Featured on MSN Homepage
Monday, February 7, 2011
Jim's Climb 4 SMA
I returned home on January 24th after successfully summiting Aconcagua. Good food, a warm bed, clean clothes and showering had been put on hold for the past 21 days and it was a delight to back among the things we so take for granted.
The trip ended up being a psychological challenge every bit as much as physical. Hiking almost 40 miles in the first three days, and that was just to reach base camp. Then as we began climbing we used a “carry and move” process for ascending the mountain. The first day was the “carry”. We would “carry” approximately half our gear up to the next camp and “cache” it, then descend back down to the camp below. This “climb high and sleep low” was a key component of our acclimatization. The following day we would pack up the remainder of our gear and “move” to the next camp. This process was absolutely necessary because in the beginning our packs would have weighed more than 90 pounds. As it was, 45 lb. packs were plenty heavy at those altitudes. The mental part was having to fight the battle twice to achieve the next camp. The “carry and move” process was repeated three times as we ascended to Camps 1,2 & High Camp. We began the climb at roughly 8,000’ climbing to 22,830’. Since we climbed from Base Camp to High Camp twice, in total we climbed about 21,000 vertical feet.
An average day, we would climb 2,000’ of elevation and do so in 5 or 6 hour long “pitches”. On “carry” days, we then would descend back down in about 1/3 – 1Ž2 the time. It made for 6 – 9 hours per day of extremely vigorous exercise. For me, I didn’t have too much problem climbing. It was descending that really wore me out. It was harder on my joints and muscles. That’s why I grew to like “move” days better. Even though we had to set up our tents and make camp, I preferred it to descending back to the lower camp.
Aconcagua is a very dry, rocky, and completely void of plant or animal life once you get above base camp. You might as well be on Mars. While there are many beautiful views of distant peaks, ridges, glaciers, and the like, most of your day is spent looking at the ground directly below your feet. You spend hours focusing on the climber’s feet ahead of you, mimicking their steps and trying to stay in precise rhythm with them. Physically, you’re pretty much at your “redline”. Your focusing on your breathing and foot placement to not miss a step and fall behind. When the air is that thin, slipping just one step, takes a lot of effort to catch back up. Literally, I would spend an entire “pitch” and only look up two or three times. No way do you have time to stop and take a picture.
We battled four of the nights in very tough windstorms. After working that hard to climb, crawl into you sleeping bag exhausted, and then be greeted by a howling windstorm all night was not fun. At times, we had to sit up and brace the tent to keep it from collapsing. In fact, several tents from other groups did collapse with those folks having to pile in with others in their group. The flapping and whipping of the tent fabric kept us all awake for most of the night during these storms.
After we made our “move” to high camp at just below 20,000’, it was very cold and windy. The weather reports indicated that we were in for another windy night and our prospects for a summit attempt the next morning were looking dim. That meant that we would have to spend another day and night at that altitude. The entire time we were on the mountain, our guide Larry, told us to not put much stock in the weather reports. The jet stream often made it path directly over the mountain and weather was just too unpredictable to count on. I told my tent mates to stay positive and be prepared to climb because I had a good feeling. We were all so exhausted that we would have been happy to just stay in our bags and sleep it out.
Sure enough, about 6 am, we heard our guides telling us to get up and get ready. Already, other groups had started up the mountain. It was so damn cold, that I could not tie the laces on my boots. Aike, the assistant guide had to put on my crampons. But we were on our way. I can tell you from climbing four other mountains, that the first 30 minutes of summit day are filled with anxiety and fear. Your mind is finally waking up to the fact that your physical body has somehow willed itself toward the summit in spite of all of the logical and rational arguments your mind has been making. “Holly shit Batman! We’re really going to do this!” Your heart starts pounding, you can’t catch your breath, you don’t look up. You don’t want to see how far you have to go. “It’s still dark!” “For crying out loud, why am I doing this?” Then after about 30 minutes you calm down, focus on your breathing, focus on your steps, find your rhythm and settle into your groove. You try not to think that you’ve been exhausted climbing six hours a day and now today your going to climb ten hours and atmuch higher altitudes.
Summit day for me was like a two-way conversation with the two of me. One of me was determined focused and in the groove. Fearless, calm, & positive. The other me was cooking up creative and clever ways I could call it quits and still save face. Yeah, I probably considered quitting about 50 times that day. My lungs were working at capacity, my legs at times were not placing my feet securely, and I was convincing myself that I would not have enough energy or strength to get “down”. I am not an overly religious person, but I said at least 51 prayers that day. I prayed for God to give me the “strength, courage, lungs, and legs” to make the summit and return. I was on a mission to Climb4SMA. I needed to summit. I reminded myself many times that Jadon spends every day of his life fighting for his breath. And he does it with a smile on his face. I told myself if he can find the strength, I can take one more step. The last 100 meters from the summit, one of our team turned around. As crazy as that seems, I understood and did not judge him. I was taking four breaths per step. It took that many lungful’s of air to get sufficient oxygen to my legs for another step.
Jadon’s spirit was my constant companion in that last hour. Reaching the summit a wave of emotion came over me. I had just summited; a huge personal achievement but more importantly, I was now able to show the banner of all the generous companies and individuals who joined Tony, Kristin, Jadon, and me in raising more than $45,000 to help find a cure forSpinal Muscular Atrophy. I felt good that I was able to keep my promise and deliver a summit and help generate more awareness towards ending SMA. I am deeply appreciative to all the support I received and thank everyone who helped us raise the money.
Climb4SMA is not over. Next June, my partner Tucker, Justin our VP of Sales, Garrett, my son-in-law, and Bill Spillar with JE Dunn will climb Mt. Rainier. Of course, Climb4SMA will be a part of that event and we will extend opportunities for others to contribute.
Jim
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
We have a SUMMIT!!!
World's Largest Hockey Mask Installed for Pittsburgh Penguins
Monday, January 10, 2011
AMC's Cimena Suites Roll Out
Monday, December 27, 2010
Pittsburgh Penguins hockey mask submitted for Guinness Book of World Records
Stay tuned for a larger than life hockey stick that is still in production...
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
CEO Takes SMA Fight to a New Height
Contact Jim Baker or Jennifer Corwin at 913-384-3488-2126 for further questions or opportunities to get involved.
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_kansas/olathe/one-man-will-climb-a-mountain-to-raise-money-for-spinal-muscular-atrophy
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Populous and Dimensional Innovations design for a cause
Friday, April 23, 2010
Dimensional Innovations honored with Most Admired Alumni Award
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sport Business Journal Features DI
Read Article
Congressman Moran Tours DI
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
From Washington
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Dimensional Innovations donates solid surface drink rail to Kemper Crossroads
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Dimensional Innovations wins awards for Signs of the Times
Monday, January 18, 2010
Jim Baker Appointed to MAMTC Board of Directors
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Core77 lists DI in its favorites from 2009
Check it out.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
DI DERBY for SMA
Take a look at last year's Beer Wood Baby (Beer, Pinewood Derby, Baby Shower) event to get a glimpse of what's to come at the DI Derby for SMA Friday, November 13th.
Join us this year for the DI DERBY for SMA.
Tony Burks is a friend and team member of Dimensional Innovations. His son, Jadon, was recently diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type 1. This degenerative neurological disease does not allow the body to produce a certain protein required for muscle production and is the #1 deadliest genetic disease of children under the age of 2. There is no cure for SMA and no proven treatments to help slow the progression of the disease. To look at Jadon, you would never know he had SMA - he always has a smile on his face and loves to "talk" to you.
The DI Pinewood Derby for SMA is a benefit to assist with the uninsured portion of Jadon's medical expenses as well as benefit the Families of SMA organization (fsma.org).
This will be a great event for a great cause. We hope you can join us.
Please contact Jennifer Corwin for more information. 913-744-2126 or jcorwin@dimin.com
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Truck Stop Renovation
Check back to see the final installation.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Because we love donuts?
Eight contestants, five minutes and 144 donuts later -
Jason Rucker- 27 donuts
Jason Heath - 25 donuts
David Ortiz - 20 donuts
Trent Zagorsky - 20 donuts
Chadd Lowderman - 17 donuts
Adam Stevens - 14 donuts
Justin Wood - 11 donuts
Monty Colvin - 10 donuts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
What happens when rock star design goes too far?
Soon this will look like it fits in as well, after all Stark designed it.
On the other hand when you see something that needed some help and it turned out just right you also know it....
Monday, July 20, 2009
DI’s CEO Jim Baker Climbs Kilimanjaro
We then spent five days on a photo safari touring Lake Manyara, The Serengeti, and Ngorongoro crater. We were able to get up close and personal with lions, cheetas, leopards, elephants, hippos, giraffes, and just about every other African animal you can imagine.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Royals Hall of Fame Opens Today
Here's a sneak peak of the No. 5 display as it was installed this week at the Royals Hall of Fame. The ribbon cutting is this afternoon at 4pm. Check back to see final installation photos.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Premium Innovation Award
Monday, July 6, 2009
Royals Hall of Fame Blog
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A Shift in Value
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Value of Design?
“The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine, why not do it with some style?”
Ok…so if you don’t know where these quotes came from, you need to zoom back to 1985 and watch ‘Back to the Future’ (again). Being an 11-year-old boy at the time, it was one of those amazing films that molded me into the industrial designer I am today. Even then, I understood that ‘style’ helped influence the experience of the film. Imagine how boring it would be if the time machine looked like a hot-wired lunch box? Marty McFly would not have crashed into the barn claiming to be Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan. The DeLorean set the pace, and it was one of the key reasons the film was a success.
So it’s obvious that design influences the ‘cool’ factor, but does it contain measure able value on other levels? It’s a question that continues to stump designers and big business alike. Most designers claim that you can’t, at least not in any standardized way. No one seems to agree weather design metrics are meaningful, and if so, which ones to use. The hard part is explaining what design is (and what it is worth) in terms executive management can understand. It can be frustrating for everyone involved. Designers see themselves as true visionaries, or problem-solvers, not cubical-dwelling mathematicians. Yet management finds it hard to justify something they can’t formulate. We would all love to say, “Great design equals this much profit.” In order to bridge this gap, it’s important for designers to educate themselves about business issues.
With this in mind, it’s very important to have a clear design strategy. It’s not good enough to expect clients to believe that a great design will shoot unbelievable amounts of cash into their wallets. It’s important to constantly use the growing body of data that shows how design can have a positive impact on business. I have found that the best way to communicate this is by example. Being a big fan of 3D animation, I always like to use the example of Monsters Vs. Aliens. In a highly competitive 3D movie market, Dreamworks invested an additional 13 million to make their latest 3D film ‘3-D’, complete with 3-D glasses to improve the moviegoers’ experience. The 3D experience had a ticket price of $3-$5 more than a traditional ticket, and 56% of their total ticket sales were for 3-D tickets. Does this mean moviegoers were willing to pay more for a special experience that they could not get at home?....absolutely.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Inspiring Students
The engineering and manufacturing team ran a half day session where students and teachers from schools in the Shawnee Mission School District came in to try their hands at manufacturing. Students and teachers alike had the opportunity to make a small assembly using DI engineering CAD software and the manufacturing computer controlled routers. The aim of the session was to show students how they could be successful in whatever career they choose by developing their soft skills alongside technical skills.
The day was a great success and we are hoping to do more in the future.
Check out the article written by the Overland Park Economic Development Council about Dimensional Innovations partnership with the Shawnee Mission Schools (p.11) http://www.opchamber.org/upload/file/April2009.pdf
Friday, April 24, 2009
Intelligent manufacturing in Architecture
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
KCP&L Clock Tower Receives Sign Contest Award
Unique Signs - Second Place
Designer: 360 Architecter - Bill Johnson
Fabricator: Dimensional Innovations
http://signweb.com/index.php/channel/7/id/3815
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
BEER WOOD BABY
For the second year in a row, DI will be having its employee Pine Wood Derby; this year with a “Traditional Regulations” race and the new “Open Division” race. In the Open Division anything goes!!!!!!! (almost).
Same as last year, the expert chefs within each department will be suiting up in the early morning hours to face off on who makes the best BBQ. Same as last year there will be two categories “Pork” and “Not Pork”.
Also, we are planning a baby shower for Trent Zagorsky – Project Manager, Tony Burks – Project Manager, Ben Brown – Engineering Manger, and Brian Georgie – Production Supervisor; all key members of the DI team; all who have additions to their family on the way this summer-ish.
Stay tuned to this blog for video feeds documenting this historic event and breaking developments as they happen!!!!!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Viva Las Vegas
This week saw five of the DI crew going to ShoWest in Las Vegas. It’s an annual conference and trade show for the theatre industry and it’s the first time we have exhibited there in some years, so it was exciting (and a little nerve racking) for us. On reflection, we had a great show. We saw lots of familiar faces and lots of new ones too. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to talk to us at the DI booth.
The emphasis on new products from other exhibitors seemed to be almost entirely on 3D visuals. There were quite a few offerings including some from big names. All require you to don a goofy pair of spectacles while watching a large screen. The effect is very impressive and in some situations really added to the experience. But some of the extreme examples were a little disorientating. I especially didn’t like the part where a snakes tongue whipped just past my nose, but I suppose that was the desired effect! I want to post some links here so you can go and experience this for yourself, but it would be like trying to show you color on a black and white TV.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The joke was on us
Late on Monday afternoon a small group of rogues at DI (who shall remain anonymous) began a very exciting internal project. Tuesday marked the birthday of Jason Grove, our VP of Operations (Happy Birthday Jason!), and in preparation, Project Baked Potato began!
The result of the project was a new-look non-stick office:
As you can see, Jason was a big fan, so the new interior remained.
Meanwhile frustrations elsewhere in the office mounted as the wifi network malfunctioned. No one could quite work out why we couldn't connect to the web. Then came a bolt from the blue... maybe it was something to do with the radiation proof cell that had been erected the night before.
D'oh
Friday, March 20, 2009
Set your DVR
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Adapting to a new environment
But... I am sure you have heard enough about the economy, so I would like to tell you about a completely different situation where innovation has conquered constraints.
In Dover, KS there is a truly unique place. Home to Ed and Dianna Peden, Subterra Castle is a nuclear missile launch station that they have converted into their home! I am going to quote from their website because I don't think I can describe it more effectively: "Once, an Atlas E intercontinental ballistic missile with a 4 megaton warhead was housed in the protective underground cavern. Now the missile is gone and the launch control structure is converted into spacious living space with an eclectic spirit of peace."
Here are a couple of pictures:
War:
Peace:
Who would have thought you could house a New Age drum den in a Cold War missile bunker?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Turning on a Dime
This entry isn’t intended to be about the use of SIPs on architectural installations, but more about the excitement of the opportunities in our industry to be agile and adaptive. My very favorite part of my job can be summed up by that meeting: just having the chance to sit around a table full of a bunch of men and women, all brilliant at their jobs, and come up with solutions that are new, and are a stretch, and that keep us excited to come to work each morning. Last week it was SIP panels, next week it will be something else, but the recipe of collaboration and the final outcome of a good solution are always the same.
Even though I said this isn’t about SIPs; if you would like to learn more, check out their webiste @ www.sips.org
Check back and we promise to show you our actual fabrication process for this project.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Dimensional Innovations Uses Flexible Thin Film Solar Panels to Create a First-of-its-Kind Application for Standalone Off the Grid Solar Signage
“This application is a breakthrough in solar signage. We are now able to construct signs, while keeping the original design intent intact and providing our clients with the optimal green alternative to their signage needs,” said Curtis Shaddox, research and development specialist for Dimensional Innovations.
By implementing this solar solution into the design of a sign, the costs of installing and operating a sign become significantly reduced; eliminating utility bills, qualifying for tax credits and energy grants and reducing the users’ carbon footprint. A Federal Government investment tax credit allows users to receive an automatic 30% tax incentive off of the sale price.
Rather than dig trenches, add a new breaker and get an electrical permit to run wires to distant signs, a solar sign is a cost-effective and green solution. A solar sign is a self-contained system which powers the sign directly from the sun, stores the power in batteries and disperses it, to power the highly efficient LED lights on a controlled basis. The sign is powered by a standalone off the grid solar system.
The thin film solar panel array charges the battery during daylight hours and the battery supplies power to the loads when needed. The charge controller terminates the charging when the battery reaches full charge. The system will maintain a reserve capacity for up to three days with little to no direct sunlight. At times the thin film panels can double the amount of electricity-producing hours.
These thin film solar panels are the most reliable, durable, and lightweight of its kind on the market. The thin film solar panels are made with professional marine-grade components and rugged UV-stabilized materials and perform well in diverse environments.
“Dimensional Innovations has always been a leader in innovative design. We are proud to be on the cutting-edge of developing this application of flexible thin film solar panels for the signage industry,” said Jim Baker, CEO of Dimensional Innovations.
Visit our solar web page for pictures and more information.