Fireball
Product development of a top-selling fireplace.
- Company: Berlin Brands Group (Brand: Blumfeldt)
- Project time: 2018–2019
- My role: Resarch and development in close teamwork with product and quality managers, as well as supplier
- My tools: Illustrator, Solid Works (CAD), Spreadsheets, Sharepoint
- Status: On sale since 2019
1. Intro
1.1 Background
There are certain typologies of products that represent a kind of archetype and experience corresponding popularity. In this case, this applies to a hemispherical fire bowl.
1.2 Challenge
The challenge is to create a product similar in appearance to the typology described, in order to generate the aforementioned popular recognition value, but still find a way to differentiate it from comparable products through special features.
1.3 Opportunity
The chance to create a successful product is seen in the following attributes, e.g.
- A healthy relation of price compared to the market and a decent quality, which generates accordingly positive ratings and thus a sustainable saleable product.
- By the option with the same tooling form not only one, but several designs to generate.
- And – above all – to generate added value through a sophisticated technical feature or solution.
2. Research
For research purposes, the following sources were used for the most part:
- Company data of similar products on sales, complaints and customer service.
- Knowledge and experience of employees
- Customer reviews on sales platforms
- Competitor research
3. Development Process
3.1 Design
The features and characteristics that emerged from the research were to be implemented in a way that was as elegant, easy to use and inexpensive to produce as possible.
The design iterations required for this were processed in 2D (sketch, Illustrator) or 3D (Solid Works), or in the later stage as a real prototype, and went through feedback loops within the team.
3.2 Realization
Based on our specifications, initial prototypes were created in close exchange with the producer, tested for appearance and function, and further developed in an iterative process to “drop-shippable” market readiness.
4. Result and Success
In addition to the extremely high sales figures, the positive success of the product can be seen in many ways. It can be seen from the prominent presentation on the company’s own platforms, as well as the listing and positive reviews on the Amazon sales channel.
“What makes the product really special is the almost invisible detail and its simplicity, which allows the bowl to be tilted in a safe and defined manner.”
5. Learnings
Existing structures
There is great potential in taking existing structures or forms and improving or simplifying them with an unexpected solution. This can be applied to one’s own existing products or processes as well as to generally valid and proven forms, norms or habits and offers scope for innovation.
Less is often more
On the one hand, a well-designed product is often more successful and economically and ecologically sustainable than several less well-designed or of inferior quality.
On the other hand, it is also reflected that the simpler product Fireball, in contrast to the more complex product Orbit, which includes several functions (fire bowl, grill, table), is more positively received by customers, which can be seen in the reviews (number and rating) on Amazon.