At D2M, my first job as principal ID guy was to tackle a redesign of a UV water purifier. The existing product had no name, low sales and it looked pretty bad.

The challenge was to make it look appropriate for the category which was the household kitchen.

 

Originally, I was asked to start fresh and completely re-thinking the product down to the architecture of the main components. The UV light source, the ozone creation device and the filtering system. I did allot of schematic style sketches in this phase to quickly find use level value while keeping in mind the look and feel for the kitchen environment.

 

 

At that point in the the CEO realized that they would need to reuse existing tools due to the high cost of the original tooling not being fully utilized. I was asked to find a way to accomplish the refresh without changing any of the tooling! A very tough task.

 

 

I invented a process where the existing reservoir would be mechanically sanded with a horizontal texture and partially metalized. The result was a look that was exactly like a brushed stainless kitchen appliance.

In addition, the partial retaliation allowed the user to see the UV light in action in the on condition for positive user feedback on device operation.

 

 

The resulting changes to the design allowed Zuvo to be a commercial success and reach nationwide distribution in stores such as Ferguson and Brookstone.