Like most motorists, I’ve been in the unfortunate position of being stranded along the side of the road, forced to change a flat tire. The problem with the issue is that most cars come equipped with these small, unwieldy scissor jacks that aren’t tuned for use on uneven roads. This is especially true if you don’t have jack stands.

It’s those types of moments that present the opportunity to solve a serious and potentially fatal problem. This issue was the basic premise behind the Jack ‘N Stand — an innovation out of the Davison automotive design team, that combines a scissor jack with a jack stand to minimize risk when changing a tire. In this month’s issue of I.D. Magazine, the Jack ‘N Stand earned an honorable mention among other prestigious designs in their 53rd Annual Design Review, the longest-running industrial design awards.

Of course, we’re proud of our work, but it’s interesting to note some of the comments from the magazine, both from artists who combine industrial design with artist vision. It appears they were debating whether or not this innovation deserved recognition. I found it an intriguing dialogue, one that I read through the filter of the magazine’s editor via the July/August issue. Natalie Jeremijenko, one of MIT Technology Review’s Top 100 young innovators, said, “This takes on a profound mechanical problem, combines storage and deployment, and stabilizes what has been a rickety system.” Sounds great, because that is exactly what we were out to do. However, Tobias Wong, an artist/designer, didn’t necessarily disagree, but suggested that jury look to commend larger ideas, rather than innovations on existing products.

Wong makes an interesting point. Unfortunately, I think going back and making something better out of something that is flawed — fatally flawed and believed to be the standard in its design — will win out over large, over-the-top ideas. Apparently Jeremijenko agreed when she said, “It’s harder to say, ‘Let’s take on a well-developed system and innovate it.’”

And while the product has been well received, already licensed to Whiteside Manufacturing, we think the real winner is the consumer who will have a better, safer product.