Luxury Product Design Innovation enhances the Spa experience

We were approached by Jane Scrivner as she needed help to bring her idea to market and fill, what she believed was, a gap in the health and beauty sector.

Jane wanted a gorgeous-looking, portable, hand-held device which could be used as a heat chamber for warming skincare products such as waxes, clays and mud. “When interacting with clients you want them to feel as warm and relaxed as possible and so it is important that these skincare products are at an acceptable temperature when applied” she said. Not only do warmed products enhance the client experience, they also make the product more effective. The reality however, is that ‘warmed’ product applications rarely give constant temperatures; they usually start from being too warm on the first application, and cool rapidly.

Faced with the prospect of having to endure beauty treatments first-hand at a luxury spa in Stratford, the girls in the Smallfry team got excited. (And secretly the boys did too.) As one would expect, the ambience and interior decor of the spa had been well considered and really added to that whole ‘spa experience’. But it was during the hot stone massages and facials that the Product Designers fully appreciated Jane’s dilemma first-hand. A discord between the seamless spa interior and the appliances designed to fit within them was obvious, as some of the products being used to heat the stones and oils looked totally out of place.

It also quickly became apparent that the therapist was frequently distracted and physically drawn away from us by having to fuss-around reheating the oils.  All agreed that the experience was definitely made less relaxing because of this. This insight helped the team to understand why Jane wanted to develop a product that was centred around both client and therapists needs, rather than the therapist being driven by the product.

Renowned for our expertise in Product Design innovation, the team began by investigating ways of heating the product. Batteries or a docking station were the obvious areas to consider, but neither of these options could retain the temperature. Then, after lots of research and musing, the breakthrough moment came when an innovative technology which retained heat was discovered. The latest developments in rapid prototyping were utilised to prove the technology before a commitment to expensive tooling costs were undertaken.

The technology enabled the temperature inside the product to heat to 70/80 degrees yet still be safe to hold in the hand. The technology allows the product to heat in 15 minutes and allows it to stay at the desired temperature for up to 1 hour. It was perfect for Jane’s product and so The ORB was born.

Knowing of Jane’s love for a pure and relaxing contemporary spa interior, we had strong ideas on the appropriate aesthetic for The ORB. A mood-enhancing glow was also incorporated, which, as well as being visually appealing and sympathetic to the environment, introduced a feedback interface for the therapist. The glow allows the therapist to know when the product is ready to use or when it needs reheating, whilst being totally unobtrusive to the client.

Launched in February 2011 at Professional Beauty (EXCEL), The ORB had an outstanding reception. Smallfry are extremely proud to have been part of the development team that took this product to market and look forward to seeing how The ORB is received globally over the coming weeks.