workin’ hard…

Today I went to some retail stores (William Sonoma, Macy’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate & Barrel) and interviewed the sales staff. I asked questions about how people choose the products they’re going to buy, and I got some interesting answers. One of the more surprising ones was from the guy at Crate & Barrel, who said the more “sophisticated” customers tend to think that multi-task appliances (read: the foundation of my concepts) are gimmicky and lower in quality. That made me start thinking–I know these “kitchen machines” exist. I’ve even used one. I believe. But I’ve never seen one in a store. The closest I’ve seen are combination blenders/food processors. So, I started investigating. Apparently, they’re mostly popular in Europe. Here in the U.S., there’s a very cult-ish following for them. Health nuts and people who do a lot of baking are really into them. These are people who cook all of their meals at home. If they’re dedicated to these products, that means they’re good. They work. So, how can I prove to everyone else that they’re good machines? I was starting to feel like I should give up. If people don’t know about it, they won’t want to buy it. However, now I’m starting to feel like I may have stumbled upon a Mr. Coffee moment. Maybe…

Also, I’ve been researching patents. Lots and lots of line drawings and fine print. I figure if these appliances have been mostly the same for 50-60 years, there has to be a pretty good reason why. So, maybe I can learn a thing or two about motors and gears and how these things work. Nifty.

Pringle Patent

Did you know Pringles were patented in the late 70’s? I didn’t…

Until now.weirdness

I’m tired.

soooo tired.

I’m posting today because I need to post by the deadline.

I promise to amend this with something relevant and not lame in the near future, as in, tomorrow.

Sleep time…activate.

…in progress

So, I’m about knee-deep in Amazon reviews. I’ve been looking up products which are similar to what I want to design (they’re called “kitchen machines”) and checking out what people like and dislike about them. It’s given me some ideas. First of all, I think it helped me find my target demographic. I think I’m going to aim this toward housewives. Not necessarily Mrs. Cleaver types, but women who do the cooking in their families and enjoy it. In the spirit of feminism, I’d like to steer clear of perpetuating stereotypes, but I think there are still plenty of people who fit into my target demographic without having to force them into it. From the reviews I’ve read, one thing that absolutely must not be sacrificed in order for my design to succeed is the functionality. It seems like the thing that makes people satisfied with their kitchen machine over another product is that it gets the job done. It’s a powerful and well-designed machine, so I need to put an emphasis on communicating that. However, people also seem to value quietness during operation.

Anyway, I’ve got some work cut out for me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to sell these concepts by Wednesday!