Product development of small kitchen appliances: Implementing the Scandinavian design language into a unit product series

Typ
Examensarbete på grundnivå
Program
Design och produktutveckling 180 hp (högskoleingenjör)
Publicerad
2019
Författare
Sköld, Sandra
Thorsson, Frida
Modellbyggare
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Sammanfattning
Abstract The culinary interest in Scandinavia has been increasing during the last couple of years. People spend large amounts of money in high-quality kitchens, and at the same time there are possibilities to various different design choices. It follows that there is an arising customer need for kitchen appliances that complement and raise the kitchen architecture as a whole. Thereby, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how a unit series of small kitchen appliances could be designed to interact with the architecture of the Scandinavian kitchen. Also, one main focus is to find a mutual design language that could be implemented in all products within the series. The thesis will be presented with a concept proposal of two products, with three main functions, that are visualized one by one as well as together as a series. However, a limitation has been to not present specific mechanical details. To collect information regarding the users perspective, the project started with a general survey where the most used appliances where determined. The result from the survey could tell that coffee machine, water boiler and immersion blender were among the most used. Also, the coffee machine and water boiler happens to be the kitchen appliances that extensively were left visible at the worktop, why a good design becomes even more important. Another interesting aspect was that only a few persons left their immersion blender visible, with the argument that it was too ugly designed. Furthermore, interviews with potential users and a kitchen architect from the Scandinavian company Ballingslöv were carried out. The interviews indicated that material choices were an important aspect to enable the series to complement and interact with the kitchen architecture. In order for the products to stay durable, long-lived trends were identified in dialogue with the kitchen architect. Later on, the information was summarized into a function analysis as well as a requirement specification, which then were used as a basis for further product development. The final concept series, BOHUS, is a series of two products with three main functions. BOHUS consists of a coffee brewer with integrated water boiler and a wireless immersion blender with charging storage box. The product materials, dark stainless steel and white pigmented oak, are chosen carefully to complement the modern Scandinavian kitchen. The series is designed to promote the user to leave the products visible, even when the products are not in use.
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Produktion , Innovation och entreprenörskap (nyttiggörande) , Annan teknik , Production , Innovation & Entrepreneurship , Other Engineering and Technologies
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