Nerf (Sports and N-Strike)
In 1969, Nerf brand launched with one product, a simple orange polyurethane foam ball. It was introduced as the "world's first official indoor ball". Marketed that one can "Throw it indoors without damaging lamps or breaking windows." The ball filled a strong consumer need and by the year's end, they sold more than four million Nerf balls
Today the sports segment is still a large portion of Nerf's business. From 2007-2012, I have been fortunate enough to be the lead designer on everything sports related here at Hasbro. I am a decent athlete and all around sports fan, I found that I really enjoy designing sports equipment. I had a lot of creative freedom to bring new innovative ideas to the table. Things like clip on flags for flag football, to the swerve pitch baseball which allows anyone to curve a ball any direction they want without risking an arm injury, and to making footballs balls so durable that they can be played with in any element including water.