Photographer and visual artist, Danny Johananoff is recognized for his unique photographic flair that has graced exhibits around the world. Danny was compelled to reassess his passions when his eyesight came under threat in 2017. His love of driving through the scenic winding roads of the U.S. and Europe was hampered by the debilitating headaches caused by glaring sunlight.
Driving with harsh sun glare obstructing their view is a painful situation many drivers experience daily. It is both an annoyance and a safety risk. Sun-impaired vision causes accidents and makes them more serious. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Library of Medicine found sun glare was the second highest “critical reason” for environment-related accidents, beaten only by slick roads, and that the risk of a life-threatening crash is 16% higher during bright sunlight than in normal conditions.
As Danny drove, he experienced this bright glare that changed position as the roads curved. He, too, found the constant need to flip the car’s visor from front to side and back again infuriating and distracting.
Searching for a solution, he experimented with clip-on sun visor extenders, which ultimately turned out to be more of a problem than a solution. They were mostly flimsy, ineffective pieces of plastic clamped to the vehicle’s built-in visor. Despite seeing dual-visor-equipped luxury cars, Danny believed firmly in the need for a solution that is accessible to virtually every driver, no matter what make of vehicle they drive.
Danny started working on his own solution, independent of the standard car visor. Two years later, after many designs, he had a viable concept. That’s when he met Greg Tucker, an American product manager who shared Danny’s experience and frustration with sun glare. It took three more years of extensive research, partner sourcing, and prototype testing for them to be ready for manufacturing. These years of effort led to the birth of The ADDVISOR®.
In 2022, they were ready to launch the innovative ADDVISOR® Plus. Their efforts are acknowledged and appreciated by the increasing number of customers who enjoy an improved, and more importantly, lower-stress driving experience. Not stopping there, they introduced The ADDVISOR® Shade in November 2023, which offered Two Direction Sun Protection™ in a more affordable way.
Gary W, a satisfied customer, commended the ADDVISOR®, stating, “This is a very well-made product, and I have been able to find nothing else like it. Driving a winding road, flipping the visor back and forth is not only annoying, it’s dangerous. Even the packaging [it] came in showed a lot of thought and care.”
Danny and Greg named the company SmartAdditions with a mission to create useful, high-quality products that add safety and comfort to the lives of drivers everywhere and become an emblem of high-quality and truly beneficial products. They also wanted to establish a connection with the customers. They established social media pages to collect and share advice and tips to enhance driving skills, improve road safety, share spectacular trip ideas, and more with people everywhere.
Emerging from the personal experience of the founders, SmartAdditions offers a solution for the daily frustration facing drivers everywhere. The ADDVISOR fits into virtually any vehicle, shielding drivers and passengers from the pain of sun-glare-induced headaches and impending road risk. As someone commuting regularly or simply enjoying a road trip, adding SmartAdditions’ ADDVISOR® to your vehicle promises a more comfortable and worry-free driving experience.
The founders’ vision for SmartAdditions extends further as they continue to develop other innovative inventions, aiming to improve more aspects of people’s driving experience. Their journey, grounded in their commitment to adding safety and comfort to the lives of drivers everywhere, promises more imaginative products that, like The ADDVISOR®, will likely become indispensable to drivers globally.
Published by: Martin De Juan
