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Mai 2015 | When Ydunvie, a Sino-Danish start-up entering the Chinese market, approached us for assistance in designing their very first product, we were excited to participate in yet another innovative medical project in China. The Ydunvie team, already having more than 20 years of experience in providing customers with affordable and effective aesthetics and dermatology multi-technology systems, came up with the idea of a simple, safe and functional home-use acne treatment device. And the result is Nova™ – it’s simple to use, removes any blemish in 8 seconds without irritation or discomfort, takes minimum space in bathroom and boasts modern slim line design.

How the Nova™ design process evolved

Our WILDDESIGN Product Designers team started with the screening of similar products and compared different features, functions and shapes of already available home-use cosmetic treatment devices. We also created a mood board (it’s one of our favorite design tricks!) where we shared references of materials, textures and illustrations of feelings we want the product to cause such as cleanliness and simplicity.

The key factors predominating our entire design process included that:

• ​​The product must fit comfortably into a woman’s hand and moreover Asian woman hand, which is usually smaller, as the device is intended for the Chinese market first

• Materials used in the design must be 100% bio-compatible since it has a lot of skin contact

• The device must endure humidity which usually occurs in bathrooms

With heads full of ideas and inspirations and armed with the client’s requirements we rushed into the actual work. As designers we always highly value thought-out forms and as shape is one of the key features of any product we focused on this aspect of the device in the first place. It’s even more important when it comes to a device by which the user is going to treat each facial imperfection one by one- the product must fit the hand perfectly, be comfortable to hold and allow indispensable precision. In order to ensure this best possible user comfort we ran an internal workshop to define the basic ergonomics of our device. We tried different shapes and sizes (one even named zen stone) to conclude that the ergonomics of Nova™ above all should follow its function and guide user to focus on each spot individually.

The next step after deciding on the shape was to make it look beautiful on every Nova™ user’s bathroom shelf. Designing the appearance was very exciting but also challenging. Ydunvie emphasized that the design of the device should maintain a more universal style as it is planned to be introduced in Europe and the United States later, but we both agreed that a reference to Scandinavian stylistics would nicely highlight the Danish origins of the brand. Into our design we wanted to incorporate the best and globally recognized traits associated with Scandinavian design, like simplicity, functionality and human orientation.

Although the target group consisted mainly of females aged 15 – 35 who suffer from acne problems, the company strategy also assumed some share of male customers, therefore the colors should match the preferences of each gender. Whenever we design either a product or branding we always have in mind not only the target market or end user but also potential trends. That’s why Nova™ is offered in three stylish color variations – universal silver, gold and more feminine purple.

Nova™ – Almost ready to use!

After a few weeks of refinements and prototyping, Nova™ was done! The final design’s main features include a long handle body to guarantee comfort in many different positions and an angle near the optical head area which makes sure that the users don’t have to lift their arms too much. This product architecture also allows a clear visibility for the user performing the treatment. Cylindrical and compact shape give an extra precise control during whole procedure. WILDDESIGN decided to use a clear and unmissable design language based on a transition between a sharp body and a soft head which stands for technology ‚bending over‘ its final user and serving human needs. By fitting the device into vertical position we gave it a feeling of light weigh. The curved shape and translucent materials (cap) aimed to add some softness to clean aluminium body.

After very successful clinical tests the product is almost ready for release on Chinese market. What makes Nova™ stand out from the other devices of this type is the fact that it is the first and only portable home-use device with patent pending IBE™ technology using Infrared Laser, Blue Light and E-Pulse at the same time. It also designed to treat each spot one by one as opposed to competing products which tend to cover larger surfaces.

And the cherry on the top! Our efforts paid off in the form of the iF Design Award that Ydunvie received earlier this month in Munich. We are very proud about this exciting cooperation with Ydunvie and wish Nova™​ a very successful market entry!