The Quirky Blog

February 11th is often known as Thomas Edison’s birthday, but since 1983, it has doubled as National Inventors’ Day, a holiday dedicated to the influence of invention, and the spirit of progress that Edison wholeheartedly embodied. While his sportsmanship as an inventor can be called into question, the sheer scope of his work cannot: 1,093 total patents, and a formative role in the birth of the lightbulb, the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and countless other quintessential products. That’s quite a lot of hustle.

Edison was also credited with founding the first modern research laboratory, and developing processes for large-scale invention, which changed the way in which scientists collaborate on research and development. Indeed, while it would take volumes to properly distill Edison’s life and career, we recommend checking out Midnight Lunch: The 4 Phases of Team Collaboration Success from Thomas Edison’s Lab, which provides crucial insight into how he changed collaboration, and invention, for the better.

Which brings us to today. While the Monday Design Tip series is mainly an advice column, today’s post is dedicated to the thing Edison did best: getting sh*t done. Instead of discussing some aspect of product design, we’re encouraging you to go out and get your hands dirty, by providing three coupon codes that you can use to submit an idea to the Quirky site for free. That’s three free chances to become a new Edison for the 21st century. Each coupon code can be used once by each account, so don’t hesitate to share and share alike:

“EDISON”

“TINKER”

“LABDAY”

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start sketching! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Past Design Tips:
The Pros and Cons of Telescoping
If You’re Designing For Apple, Design Like Apple
Don’t Just Recognize the Problem, Understand It