Interview about Lavazza Classy Plus Coffee Machine, winner of the A' Home Appliances Design Award 2022
Classy Plus is an all in one espresso and coffee brewer designed for the North American market, offering the complete experience of Italian coffee culture from espresso to cappuccino or latte. In addition, the machine also has a filter coffee selection and a double shot function to cater for specific preferences of this market. Classy Plus is Ideal for small offices and conference rooms. Its slim design is building on Lavazza's established form language in this segment. It is characterised by a contrasting exterior shell enveloping the main body and embossed Lavazza logos on the sides.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsIn the beginning of the project we really tried to understand the user needs and the specific preferences of the North American market. We then set out to integrate and weave these findings into our own development process and make sure the actual product resonates with the users. That's how we were able to balance the market needs with our own Italian identity.
Classy Plus has a compact footprint and a very elegant, well structured volume. The form language is very much in line with other Lavazza products developed previously for the European market. Especially elements like the embossed logos on the sides and the chrome ring around the user interface link Inovy Plus to the rest of the product family.
The great advantage of this unique feature is the preparation of all the espresso based beverages like cappuccino or caffè latte directly in the dedicated glass mug. There is no extra chiller that takes space or milk container that someone would actually need to clean afterwards. In the office you can just get a series of extra mugs and they can just be put into the dishwasher.
We already had strong evidence from the North American market that a feature like this would bring a lot of added value to the product. So once we had identified this need we had a clear direction. During the following product development process we just had to find a way to make it work from a technical side as well.
From a formal point of view the circular user interface was very important as it is a super iconic design element we had already used on several other products before. The interface itself is capacitive and the layout of the selections and the icons have a clear visual hierarchy to enable a truly intuitive user experience.
Well, this is what we do, isn't it? As designers, here at Lavazza Group, we always have to make sure our products can handle the proper preparation of really excellent coffee on a professional level, while also guaranteeing that the products are widely accessible and extremely easy to use. I'd say, i's simply our job. Wouldn't you agree?
Having a clear vision and a shared idea of what you want to achieve certainly helps. Communication and collaboration within the team is key. You'll have to have a certain flexibility in interpreting the circumstances and adapting to immediate technical needs or requirements. Always while keeping the bigger picture in mind and steering the overall outcome in the right direction to make sure the original design intent remains intact.
We use differences in surface finishes partly for functional reasons like cleanability and also to visually guide the user and structure the product. In this particular case the main body is textured and the side panels are glossy. Then inside the cup area we applied a precise horizontal pattern, as we do on all our products.We use the metal accents to emphasise areas of direct user interaction, like the user interface, the lever or the cuprest.
Small offices have one thing in common: they are small. So, "kitchen counter real estate", if you will, is rather limited. This is the reason why a compact footprint is such an important requirement for small appliances in this context. Other than that it's all about an intuitive user experience and reliability, easy serviceability and maintenance.
With Classy Plus we have a great and innovative new product available on the North American market. This is also a great learning opportunity for us and we'll be able to better understand what works there and if there are any critical points. Each specialized market has its peculiarities and every future product development needs to take this into account.
Dive into a world of design excellence with our curated highlights. Each feature showcases outstanding creativity, innovation, and impact from the design world. Discover inspiration and learn more about these incredible achievements.
