Interview about Lavazza Desea Coffee Machine, winner of the A' Home Appliances Design Award 2020
A friendly machine designed to offer the complete package of Italian coffee culture: from espresso to authentic cappuccino or latte. The touch interface arranges the selections in two seperate groups – one for coffee and one for milk. The drinks can be personalized with boost functions for temperature and milk foam. Necessary service is indicated in the center with illuminated icons. The machine comes with a dedicated glass mug and applies Lavazza’s form language with controlled surfacing, refined details and special attention to colors, materials & finish.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsI think every user interface should have some sort of visual hierarchy in order to facilitate user interaction. The user interface of Deséa is quite complex for a coffee machine and it really seemed quite natural to arrange the selections into two distinct groups: one for coffee and one for milk based beverages.
We were looking for inspiration in many different areas when designing this product. The pronounced shoulder line is indeed inspired by a vase that I came across during the design process. I realized how the specific section would help us to achieve a lower perceived height. While the automotive controls have been an important reference for the development of the user interface.
I think it is important to design a new product in a way that it remains an expression of the values, the identity and the established form language of a brand while evolving in order to stay relevant and contemporary. Every new product should be part of the family, but still have it's very own personality and soul. This is not easy. A tricky thing.
The great thing about this special feature is the ability to foam milk directly within a dedicated glass mug. A unique and super elegant way to prepare milk based coffee beverages. The technology allows for a premium user experience and was developed by our own in-house engineering department. I use it almost every day and it works very well.
Developing a new product is always challenging. Even more so if you're working on two related products at the same time with a lot of carry over. You need to guarantee that everything works out perfectly on both sides. For both products. At the same time. This is not easy. But these obstacles can be overcome by working together across all the different functions in the development team. This is the key.
The inspiration for this exact profile section came actually from a small vase. It had a very specific shape that was also particularly elegant and inspired the final shape of Deséa's main shell.
Naturally we dedicate a lot of attention to CMF or colours, materials and finishes. On all our products. They are important aspects in product design that reflect our vision and allow an immediate and tangible expression of our values. But still, the decision making processes in product design can be tricky sometimes. Therefore it is important that the team has a shared general vision and a common understanding.
We wanted to create a premium product experience with a solid glass mug that would work from a functional point of view, but also echoes the shape of the iconic Lavazza espresso cup. In hindsight this actually seems to be the obvious choice, doesn't it?
Acoustic feedback is actually part of our wider aim for accessible, universal design. It plays an important part and we're working hard to integrate this where possible, User tests are an integral part of our development process in general and they also allowed us to refine the general user experience and the acoustic feedback.
Deséa has a lot of character and is a very important part of our current product portfolio. We already know that the design will inform and inspire a balanced vision for the future and our upcoming product development.
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