Inventionland

Facilities and History

Inventionland is a 61,000-square-foot (5,700 m²) design facility that houses 16 themed sets, including a mockup pirate ship, tree house and giant robot. According to George Davison, his intention in building Inventionland was to provide a creative work environment in which Davison’s employees—artists, graphic designers, industrial designers and others—design, develop and create prototypes of and packaging for new products and inventions.

Inventionland officially opened in 2006, having taken 18 months from design to construction. The interior renovation took one year at a cost of $5 million.

Purpose of Inventionland

Inventionland is where Davison brainstorms new ideas and works with his team members on laying out the process of tackling new product ideas, including product and patent research, sketches and packaging considerations, building prototypes and pitching products to manufacturers. Davison does business in North America, Europe and Australia. "Creative use of space motivates and inspires creativity among employees. And I never want to get stale or to get bored looking at a computer screen", George Davison said in an interview with the Daily Mail.

In 2006, Davison Design & Development (then called Davison & Associates) and several related entities and people were ordered to pay $26 million in consumer redress for misrepresenting invention development services to inventors, in what was described by the Federal Trade Commission as a typical Invention Promotion scam.

Honors and Awards

The January/February 2008 issue of I.D. Magazine recognized Inventionland as one of "40 Amazing-Looking Design Offices". Inventionland was also featured in the 2008 Ripley's Believe It or Not Annual, "The Remarkable Revealed".

In 2011 Inventionland was the recipient of a Creative Rooms in Business Award, a regional Pittsburgh award given annually and sponsored by Pittsburgh Design, Art and Technology (DATA).

Inventionland TV Special

On December 24, 2011, the History Channel aired Inventionland, a reality television special shot on location at Inventionland and starring Davison Design CEO and founder George Davison. According to a company press release, Inventionland was produced for History by JWM Productions, and Jonathan Wyche served as the producer. Patrice Shannon edited the show, and the online editor was Brian Newell.

The Inventionland TV debut featured three inventors, Milton Branch, Curt Whiteside and Jason Ramsey, who each developed a prototype for a new consumer product. The one-hour reality show explored whether the inventors' product designs would function in a usable manner and/or be suitable for licensing and merchandising. In the show, George Davison and five of his employees tested various designs of each of the three inventions in a variety of settings, including a NASCAR auto shop. Five Davison designers and builders were featured in the show (Jason Rogge, Jarrod Campbell, Clay Carlino, Lucky Swartz, and Curtis Wierman).

Themed sets

Within Inventionland lie 16 themed sets, named and designed to reflect the new-product invention activity within. For example, within the giant robot, also called Inventron 54, consumer electronics are the specialty. Within the Motor Speedway, automotive products are developed. At the Inventalot Castle, decorated with George Davison's family coat of arms, novelty and holiday gift items are the focus; it also serves as the daily meetingplace for employees. The Creation Cavern hosts designers of outdoor apparel, hunting, fishing and hiking goods, survival tools and the like. Within the Pet Shack, all manner of pets and their needs are conceived.