Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Swetal Khaire | nvswetal@gmail.com

Home Inverter for Indian Market

Product Design | PGDPD
Guide: Praveen Nahar
Sponsor: Mahindra Powerol, Mumbai

Keywords
Low-cost product
Electronic feel
Consumer appliance
User-friendly

This project started with the brief to design a home inverter. That was followed by extensive market research which helped me justify the need for a new product for the domestic market and the targeted consumer segment.

After a comprehensive evaluation of user research, I observed that inverter systems were mostly restricted to areas such as attics and storage because they were too ‘technical’ to be kept inside a house. A comprehensive user survey was carried out to determine the characteristics and needs of the user. Distributers and retailers were also interviewed to gauge actual market conditions. The experience of purchasing the inverter was also observed first-hand by visiting retailers who masqueraded as potential customers.

The challenge this project sought to tackle was to achieve both modularity and homely aesthetic appeal in the inverter, while keeping in mind the maintenance issues, manufacturability and assembly of the product and cost. The intent was to design a low-cost, reliable, user-friendly product. The final output is not completely different from the electronic product ‘look’, but at the same time has the aesthetic appeal of a consumer appliance.

This diploma project was a great opportunity to understand the design process followed in the corporate environment of a large company such as Mahindra Powerol. A lot of effort went into making people at the company understand the importance of design and a product designer in a product’s life and successes. The project was a great learning experience for me also because it gave me immense creative freedom.