BlueSky Creative

 


Victa Tornado, designed by BlueSky
Creative and Victa Lawncare, 2004.
Courtesy Victa Lawncare.

We are always designing for people in the end.
- Henri Spaile, Associate Design Director, BlueSky Creative

BlueSky Creative, the company that made headlines when it was selected to design the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch, was founded by Mark Armstrong in 1984. The group consists of industrial, graphic and environmental designers with offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

The 12 designers in the Sydney studio create products for local and international companies including Victa, Sunbeam, Electrolux, and Philips (Mark's former employer and part-owner of BlueSky until 2003). Recently the group worked with a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer on a new scooter design.

Video interview - Henri Spaile, Associate Design
Director, BlueSky Creative talks about the Victa project. Requires Quicktime 7 plugin
get Quicktime

 

We want to improve people’s quality of life, and that can be through making something more functional or easy to use but it can be through adding emotional content to a design so there is a sense of well being.
- Henri Spaile, Associate Design Director, BlueSky Creative

Victa lawnmowers: researching the customer

We wanted to bring the lawnmower into the modern product age.
- Henri Spaile, Associate Design Director, BlueSky Creative


Still image from 3-D CAD model.
Courtesy Victa Lawncare.

Design consultants like BlueSky can't be an expert in every type of product. For this reason, extensive research is an essential part of the design process. BlueSky designers work with the client and other experts to research both the product and user requirements. They also identify and analyse design trends to understand the market. This research process is repeated for each new product they design.

BlueSky collaborated with the Australian company Victa to design their latest range of lawnmowers. The result was a number of different models for home and professional users, with modifications to the same basic design to suit the needs of the different users.


This full-size prototype was
repeatedly tested and modified
by hand to find the most efficient
shape for inside the deck. The
internal shape for the deck was
essential for the catcher to work
effectively. Courtesy Victa Lawncare.

As part of the research process BlueSky investigated different types of customers and their needs. They found that professional users, garden lovers and 'price rational' customers look for different features in a mower – such as speed and durability, extra features or value for money. But they all have the common need for an ergonomic lightweight mower that cuts and picks up grass. The designers worked with ergonomic experts, engineers and mower sales staff over the two-year development phase.

It's not only how it looks, but how it feels, its weight… looking across the board at all aspects of the product that really brings the full response from the user and makes it something that people are proud to own and enjoy to use and overall increases the quality of life of the user.
- Henri Spaile, Associate Design Director, BlueSky Creative

Links

BlueSky Creative

BlueSky Creative also designed the Sydney 2000 Olympic torch

 Victa Razor lawnmower Australian Design Awards entry