The DuluxPaintPod has been named alongside recognized greats such as the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Sinclair Sovereign and Executive Calculators, (the world’s first true pocket calculators), and the Tetra Police Radio.
The PaintPod was launched into the market in 2008 following an extensive period of collaboration between Dulux (AkzoNobel) and Cambridge Design Partnership. Since the invention of the paint roller more than 40 years ago there had been little innovation in paint application technology for the DIY decorator. Many gadgets had been launched but none had generated mainstream commercial success.
Cambridge Design Partnership were asked by AkzoNobel to create an innovation which would boost paint sales in their largest customer group. Analysis of the issues surrounding painting for these consumers identified key unmet needs within preparation, speed and clean up. Market research suggested that meeting these needs was potentially a valuable opportunity to create more painting events.
Cambridge Design Partnership applied its creative interdisciplinary approach to develop patentable technical solutions to meet these needs. The team then integrated them into an easy to use product that could be manufactured at a competitive price in China. Named PaintPod, it offered customers a significantly better painting experience with the Dulux brand.
“To have our design listed among such a prestigious collection of products is an amazing tribute to the skills of the team that put so much dedication into the project,” commented Mike Cane, founding partner at Cambridge Design Partnership. “PaintPod is a great example of some of the pioneering work undertaken by Cambridge Design Partnership and perfectly showcases what can be achieved through our market driven innovative process. We’re proud of our free-thinking and interdisciplinary approach to product innovation, and you can see the results here.”
A panel of judges made up of design and industry experts chose the final 20 products based on criteria including innovation, market success and pure design aesthetics.
This is not the first time the innovation behind PaintPod has been recognised. Shortly after its launch it was nominated in gadget magazine, T3’s “Greatest Gadgets of 2008” achieving runner-up in their “Innovation of the Year” as well as runner up in “Home Gadget of the Year”.
The PaintPod will be displayed from the 8th February at the interactive Design Icons exhibition, organised by Creative Front Cambridgeshire and staged at the Ruskin Gallery on Anglia Ruskin’s Cambridge campus. It will be showcased alongside 19 remaining products to include; the Easi-Breathe asthma inhaler, Evian Action Water Bottle, Kenwood Juice Extractor, Proprio Foot (prosthetic foot), Hayter Spirit Lawnmower, Prestige Traditional Kettle, Meridan Audio M80, DuoFertility (fertility monitor), Sinclair C5 and many more fantastic designs.
Creative Front Cambridgeshire, based within Anglia Ruskin, was chosen by the Design Council to lead Design Icons: Cambridge Innovation Festival, which will feed into a national series of design events during 2012.
John Ord, Senior Design Engineer, Cambridge Design Partnership will also be speaking during the exhibition at a masterclass designed to help educate graduates and start-up businesses on the value of design in innovation and how to communicate externally to your clients and prospective businesses.
Title: Masterclass Communicating the Value of Design
Date: 29th February 2012, Time: 6-9pm
More information: http://www.creativefront.org/news-and-events/events/camdesignicons