W COLLECTION GAS COOKTOPS
EMEA | Senior Industrial Designer
The project consisted of translating Whirlpool's first global brand language into a family of twenty-three different gas cooktops for EMEA.
The W Collection line went on to receive a number of IF Awards in 2018.
Challenge
The main complexity of the project lay in creating design alignment between a large number of SKUs of different materials, and dimensions, and aligning them to the rest of the kitchen suite.
From a design standpoint, my focus was on achieving edge-to-edge grate design, tight radii on cast Iron and plastic (knobs), and an overall more minimal aesthetic.
I was the only non-Italian member of the project team, and this was one of the company's first projects as a global versus local organization, which were added challenges.
Grate section form detailing
The assumption of a universally-fitting design language was soon proved shortcoming as the new design language started being designed and tested globally. Differing regional marketing team expectations, market characteristics, and home configurations based on cooking and culture, all pushed this single global design language to adapt, rather than be forced, into our various global markets, to best serve our consumers.
EXPECTATIONS
My role in the project was to understand the regional demands of the EMEA user and markets while integrating this range of products as part of the rest of the kitchen suite. A good deal of internal politics management was also necessary to reach a healthy compromise between usability, feasibility, and design language integration. Further challenges also included CMF adaptations and rapid supplier development during the project's execution.
REALITY
W Collection Kitchen Suite
