Iconic Outdoor - Clipsal

Design is a journey not a destination. The design process is not clear or linear and not all people involved in design are designers.

Achieving good design requires all elements of a business to unite around the common goal of improving situations for our customers.

Iconic Outdoor is a complete re-imagining of what an outdoor switch can be. Providing a product architecture and aesthetic unmatched in the market.

Iconic Outdoor was developed with a highly user-centric, problem focused design process. Many rounds of investigation, insight and concept refinement were conducted to identify problems and test our solutions. This enabled us to incorporate feedback around robustness, install speed and ergonomics. 498 electricians were surveyed through Club Clipsal. 90 electricians across Australia and New Zealand were involved in live concept selection and feedback events and over 50 consumers were surveyed in our showrooms.

Everything starts with a sketch. Even with access to the latest technology, innovation often starts with the most basic tools. The Industrial Design Team explored hundreds of ideas for shapes, sizes, and ways of interacting with the products before selecting interesting concepts to progress to prototyping.

The use of rapid prototyping technologies such as additive and subtractive manufacturing enabled us to quickly explore new shapes, structure and test the usability and ergonomics of our solutions.The path to a good design is not linear and much trial and error using these rough models helped in selecting the correct design to appeal to our customers.

Digital tools including 3D computer aided design and photo-realistic rendering software enable us to let the customers see conceptual designs without the need for expensive prototypes. It helps to remove the risks associated with new product development by enabling multiple rapid iterations based on market feedback.

To develop the technology in  Iconic Outdoor, 2421 prototypes and rigs were produced. These were required to rapidly explore new ideas and test solutions ensuring the final design would be robust and meet the needs of outdoor environments.4 new patents and 17 design registrations were filed which demonstrates the tremendously innovative nature of the new  Iconic Outdoor.