What kind of product design is cool?

"Distance has disappeared, either innovate or die," said Thomas Peters, an American management guru. This wise saying shows the new trend of current consumption. With the improvement of people's living standards, innovative and personalized boutiques have become the choice of more people, especially in the gift and home furnishing industry.

Global Sources 2017 Autumn Gifts and Household Products Fair officially opened not long ago at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. Here, you can observe the most cutting-edge trends from the careful work of hundreds of suppliers in Greater China. During the exhibition, the "Global Cool Awards" hosted by Global Sources was officially held here. With the theme of "cool products", this awards ceremony selected ten outstanding enterprises among the exhibits, and gave awards and commendations to them one by one.

At the award ceremony, Craig Pepples, CEO of Global Sources, talked about the significance of the award in his speech: "By selecting gifts and home furnishings that are excellent in design, function, appearance, etc. Excellent products, to set an example and stimulate the innovation and development of 'Made in China'."

In order to have a deeper understanding of the meaning behind the award and the stories behind the award-winning companies, a reporter from "CEConline" interviewed Global Sources Home Furnishing and Cameron Walker, president of the hardware industry, Tobia Repossi, a well-known Italian industrial designer ranked No. 25 in the world for DAC electronic equipment designers, Tommaso Masera, a design star of Italian innovative watch AttoVerticale, and Luo Luo, founder of Shenzhen Shengbang Design Consulting Agency Huan, and 4 representative award-winning entrepreneurs or executives, they are Ouyang Changjun, Director of R&D Department of Shenzhen Yongjiecheng Industry Co., Ltd., Lian Shuning, CEO and founder of Hangzhou Wuwei Pet Products Co., Ltd., Beijing Wuwei Li Pan, General Manager of Fifteen Degrees Technology Co., Ltd., and Liu Jianghua, General Manager of Shenzhen Eighteen Point Fashion Technology Co., Ltd.

Focusing on the future

CEConline: What do you think is the significance of Global Sources holding this award ceremony?

Cameron: This is the first time we have invited overseas designers to speak at the exhibition. We hope that through their sharing, suppliers can form a more accurate understanding of design trends, so that they can have a better understanding of their future design trends. Development would also help.

Nowadays, many suppliers have started to emerge from the price war, and it is the design that helps them make the transition successfully. However, there are also many people who have the concept of design, but do not know how to start the next step. So we hope to give them some reference through this link. This is something we find very valuable.

"CEConline": What trends and characteristics of product design have you observed from the award-winning companies?

Kemailon: Unlike smart products, the gift and home furnishing industry is a traditional industry. In this industry, many people will ask me: Will there be any new changes in this industry? In fact, as long as traditional products are designed with great ingenuity, it is enough to let them walk in front of the market and increase added value. Sometimes, changing just a little bit, such as product features, packaging, or colors, can change the entire outcome. We awarded these ten companies because they represent the design trends in this industry: innovation, environmental protection. We hope to guide the entire industry towards the next step of Made in China.

"CEConline": What kind of products do you think can be called "cool design"?

Tobia Repossi: I think a good product combines aesthetics, practicality and environmental protection.

Luo Huan: First, it is practical; second, it can be called "cool" by applying some advanced technologies; third, the use of materials is environmentally friendly, and it is necessary to consider how to recycle the product after use , do not burden the earth. On top of these points, we should also pursue some spiritual aspects, such as what changes this design will bring to the industry, etc. This is the feeling that an entrepreneur should have.

CEConline: How to design products that are more popular with consumers?

Tobia Repossi: There are a lot of things that can be changed in the things we use now. For example, the function of the table is very simple, but by integrating other functions, it can attract more consumers.

Tommaso Masera: First, take risks and break the rules. Your product must be a product that can lead the trend. In addition to taking care of the needs of current consumers, we must also see future trends and create new needs. Second, we must be very honest with our customers, communicate with them in a timely manner, and improve our credibility. In addition, Chinese design should not forget its own historical traditions, and product production can emphasize that only China can manufacture, such as innovating some unique production materials.

Luo Huan: The product must conform to the set consumer group. It must be empathetic and empathetic. From his point of view, ask what products they like. Not just to meet demand, the key is to surprise consumers in addition to satisfying demand. Such things, consumers will prefer.

"CEConline": In your opinion, under the background of the current industrial design in China, what is the design level of this award-winning company?

Luo Huan: The core of this award review is also the development direction of future buyers. It can be seen that these award-winning companies have begun to put some thought into product innovation, and they are no longer blind market followers like before.

However, the revolution has not yet succeeded, and efforts are still needed. One question everyone should keep asking: Can I not do this? What else can I do? See if you can make the product a little more playful with newer materials and shapes. In addition, the usage scenario also needs to be considered, and remember not to only stand on the item itself to conceive the design.

Based on yourself

"CEConline": What is the inspiration for your company's design of this award-winning product? What process did you go through from design to product launch?

Ouyang Changjun: At the beginning, we thought about making a scooter, but after gradually extending, this product has added the entertainment function with audio.

The landing process of this product is definitely not smooth. First of all, unlike traditional scooters, this product has a cylindrical shape after being folded, and this shape determines that all parts must be in the inner cavity. It is very small in size, but the components it contains are all necessary. How to make a reasonable layout in such a small space and achieve normal riding is the biggest test for our design.

After a series of drawing, proofing, and data collection, more than ten layout tests are carried out to confirm that there is no problem before assembly; from front to back, the structural strength of each component has been After hundreds of tests, after the strength reaches the standard, the whole is assembled. It took almost a year and a half from each small part to the assembled part to the whole vehicle. According to the development product cycle, one and a half years is a long time, but for us, what we value is product quality. The results are also very satisfactory, the product is very good-looking, light in weight, and versatile in functionality.

Lian Shuning: For products like cat litter, there are direct users and indirect users. The direct user is the cat, and the indirect user is us. The latter is easily overlooked by many pet products. In design, we avoid cat hair from increasing the sanitation risk of human living environment. The silicone brush on the curved surface of the product can scrape off the cat hair attached to the felt. After we have the design, the next step is to consider the material. We have two main considerations: the material must meet or even exceed the absolute safety standard for pets; the combination of materials must be integrated with the home environment.

Li Pan: Our background is a design company, which is the largest design company in the world in terms of the number of people or the scale of works, and even the number of awards. We have served the world's top 500 entity enterprises, such as domestic Lenovo, Huawei, etc.

Later, we found out that the company has served so many top 500 companies and made so many good products, but no consumers knew about us, so we started to make our own products and hoped that it would be valuable. of. Combined with this, there is just an opportunity. Our chairman and founder of the group has a story. When his daughter was very young, she accidentally overturned a glass of boiling water and was scalded. So, we made this 55-degree mug, a mug that will never let children get scalded. This cup is filled with boiling water of 100 degrees, and it becomes 55 degrees when shaken, so adults and children will no longer be scalded, which solves the pain points of many people and exerts the greatest value. The mug has won many design awards, including the International Red Dot Design Award.

We believe that good design should be close to the public and life, rather than being high and low. The designers of this product also had interactivity in mind. From boiling water to 55 degrees, this magical process is not created by the designer himself, but by the consumer by shaking it. We bring good products to consumers through good experience, good design, and good interactive participation.

We went through a lot of stages when designing this product. The most difficult thing is product definition, not just drawing a picture, but how you want to realize this idea. To solve the problem of children being scalded, we can make the product into a cup, or into pots, bowls, etc.

Later, we decided to make a cup because it is the most practical and has the widest application scenarios. Then, whether to make a very large cup or a very small cup, round or square, it requires a lot of user research and analysis and demonstration, and finally a correct decision can be made.

After this step is completed, it is necessary to continue to demonstrate, such as the feasibility of process materials, cost control, etc. The whole cup took about half a year to make. Research, demonstration, supply chain cooperation, continuous research and development, etc. It looks like a small cup, but there are hundreds of details that need to be polished. This is a process of continuous trial and improvement.

Liu Jianghua: In 2007, when I rented a house in Beijing, the furniture was owned by others, so I wanted to make some of my own furniture, especially the paper furniture, which was convenient and portable, and the price was not high, so I made my own furniture. Start doing research in your spare time.

The traditional cardboard furniture I made at the beginning was different from the current one, and the aesthetics and effects were not very ideal. Subsequently, I saw this honeycomb structure product in the market, and learned that this structure has a history of hundreds of years. At that time, paper furniture had not been developed further, so I decided to make products with this structure.

First, turn the paper into imported long-fiber virgin pulp paper, so that the toughness and strength will be higher; second, it will become richer in color, not only pure in color, but also non-fading; third Third, improve the aperture, the bearing capacity is related to this, the denser the stronger.

I started making basic shapes, and it took two or three years to make stools, sofas, etc. There are also many difficulties encountered. For example, such a thick paper cannot be formed at one time. I was in Beijing at the time, and I looked for dozens of manufacturers, but the results were not satisfactory. Later, it was made in two or three steps. The processing method is also one of our technical barriers. Bonding, cutting, grinding, etc., the process is more complicated, but this method can be made well and fast.

We don't control the cost too much, in fact, we are increasing the cost now, and the price will increase in the future. Our positioning is in the mid-to-high-end market. We hope that the quality will become better and better, and the packaging method will also be improved. We hope to provide customers with a better experience.

Photo/Global Sources