Smart Design: Life Is In the Details

When you peel a potato or run your pizza cutter through to cut a slice, it's likely that you only notice the tool you are using if it doesn't work-if it sticks or snags, gouges the potato or tears the pizza crust. The team at Smart Design doesn't mind not being noticed. They operate quietly behind the scenes, developing a wide range of designs for products made and sold by companies around the world. They come up with designs that make everything from toothbrushes to automobiles function better in human hands. Smart Design engineers developed the popular OXO Good Grips line of kitchen utensils as well as the Smart Gauge instrument cluster for the Ford Fusion Hybrid. "Smart Design is about designing products for people in their everyday life," explains Richard Whitehall, vice president of industrial design for Smart Design. "There are little things you might see in a product that you'd think, 'I wish I'd thought of that-it's a great idea.'" Sometimes it's the simplest or smallest detail in the engineering of a product that makes a difference in whether consumers will continue to use the product or purchase it again. Smart Design tries to make products that work well universally for a wide range of people in different situations. This is where the global challenge comes in-differences in cultural preferences, product use, language, and other factors can make universal product development difficult. But Smart Design has offices in both the U.S. and abroad, with testing locations in Europe and Asia, and employees representing more than 20 different countries.Ted Booth, director of interactive design says, "Interactive design is anything with a 'chip' in it. I can't imagine approaching interactive design without a global perspective." Booth explains how Smart Design develops the design for a mobile phone. "The way people use it varies from country to country," he notes. "So what might look like a new feature in one country is really old hat in another." Booth observes that it is very common for consumers in Finland and South Korea to pay for most goods and services from their mobile phones, whereas this is not a common practice among U.S. consumers. Some of this practice is driven by industry standards, but much of it has to do with cultural expectations. "It's important to have a global perspective [in design] so you know the trends in other countries. You need to design and shape the experience to hit the market and bring something new to the market, but also adapt to individual markets," concludes Booth.

Booth describes his company's work on the "Q" control for HP-a single navigation controller that can be used across all HP products, ranging from TV remotes to printers to cameras. Smart Design tested the Q control in the U.S., Germany, Spain, and South Korea. Researchers discovered that, while a few local adaptations were necessary, there was one universal preference among all consumers: everyone needed a "back" button in order to go forward. Booth explains that there is a universal need for people to know that there is an escape, undo-or back for every function in order for users to feel comfortable completing an interactive task.

Smart Design has an impressive list of worldwide clients, including Ford, Bell Canada, ESPN, World Kitchen, Microsoft, Samsung, and Kellogg's among many others. The firm has won many accolades, including nationally recognized design awards. But Smart Design remains focused on the details. The firm recently developed the Reach Wonder grip children's toothbrush for Johnson & Johnson when it became apparent that traditional children's toothbrushes were just scaled down from the adult models. Kids couldn't hold them easily and were less likely to brush their teeth. The new Wondergrip children's model changed the industry standard for children's toothbrushes-and brushing habits. Smart Design also developed a women's sports watch for Nike-based on needs and preferences of women runners. And there's that line of kitchen tools that make food preparation and cooking just a little bit easier and more fun. Richard Whitehall, who actually began his career working for a firm that manufactured mountaineering gear, describes the importance of design in every product used by consumers. "We were trying to think of a situation people were in and trying to design a product in a way that people from different countries-whether they were stuck in the Alps or on a boat-could use in all these different situations." Whether you are climbing a mountain in Switzerland or cutting your pizza in Boston, you want your gear to work flawlessly-and that is the goal of Smart Design.

Do you believe it is possible to develop truly universal products? Why or why not?