How Did Design Department Start?

The story of Design Department, Inc. is a testament to resilience, partnership, and a passion for innovative design. It began not in the medical field, but with outboard engines and a friendship forged in the early days of a career.

Founders Brian and Patrick met at Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), a nearly 100-year-old company known for Evinrude and Johnson engine brands. As a designer and a mechanical engineer, they collaborated on exciting projects right out of college. However, their early careers took an unexpected turn when OMC declared bankruptcy. This was a disheartening experience, but their shared passion and expertise wouldn't be sidelined.

When Bombardier acquired OMC’s engine assets, Brian and Alex were brought back to help restart the business. They played a key role in the rapid and impressive transformation of a book factory into an engine production plant. Their collaboration deepened while working on the highly innovative Evinrude E-TEC engine technology, a project that showcased their complementary skills.

The pivotal moment for what would become Design Department, Inc. arrived when Brian was presented with an opportunity to do consulting work for Cardinal Health, a major medical company. He took the chance, founding Design Department in 2004 with a single client and a young family to support. He successfully ran the business on his own for seven years, building a strong reputation for high-quality design.

In 2011, Alex joined as a partner, bringing his expertise in project management and engineering to complement Brian’s exceptional design skills. This powerful combination of talents allowed the company to expand and thrive.

Today, Design Department, Inc. has grown into a respected product development firm, leveraging their shared history of overcoming challenges and a deep foundation in mechanical design to innovate in the medical sector and beyond. Their story is a powerful example of how a strong partnership and a commitment to innovation can lead to a successful revolution—your revolution awaits.

Transcript of Video:

Our history together at Design Department really goes back to Brian and I working together in our first jobs out of college. We were working for a company called Outboard Marine Corporation. Outboard Marine was mostly known for the Evinrude and Johnson engine brands.

So we started there right out of school, doing outboard engine design and concept development. Brian was a designer; I was a mechanical engineer. We had the chance to work together on some really interesting projects. Then, within two years of us joining—this is right out of school—Outboard Marine Corporation goes bankrupt. This is a nearly 100-year-old company that went bankrupt. We were early in our careers, and it was disheartening because we were really passionate about what we were doing. When you're working for a company that's in distress, but also has this really amazing technology, we all thought we were just this close to turning the corner and saving the company. So when the doors closed, it was really disheartening.

Not long after the bankruptcy, Bombardier out of Canada bought up the engine assets of Outboard Marine Corporation. Brian and I both came back as part of our early team to help get the business restarted. Bombardier ended up buying a plant in Sturtevant, right here in town. They bought the old Golden Books plant. It was actually a new building that Golden Books had made in the Renaissance Industrial Park. They turned a book-producing factory into an outboard engine-producing factory in a few months. It was a pretty amazing turnaround.

So that's a bit of our backstory. Brian and I both worked on the Evinrude E-TEC technology, which was a really innovative, direct-injection, clean-burning engine technology for two-stroke outboard engines. That went well; we launched an engine. We were working on a second engine together with Brian being the lead designer. So that's when you were... that's after you started... this is all still... I'm just giving you backstory here to work with.

In the middle of our second engine project together while still with Bombardier, still working for Evinrude, Brian had an opportunity to just get an introduction with a potential customer. There was a consulting firm that was breaking up, and some of their clients still needed help. Brian got an introduction to Cardinal Health, which is one of the larger medical companies in the U.S. He had an opportunity to do some consulting work for them, some design work, and he took it.

So he started Design Department in '04 by himself with one client. At the time, he also had a young family. I joined in 2011. For seven years, Brian ran Design Department by himself. He grew the business and established a reputation for good-quality design work. As he grew, though, he was recognizing it would be really great to partner up with somebody. We have complementing skill sets: Brian's an excellent designer, and I know project management and engineering. So we combined our talents together in 2011 and have grown the business since.