POWERbot, Commencing Transformation
We often find familiar ‘faces’ in the appearances of random objects. The POWERbot Star Wars Edition
was also born from the interesting idea of imagining the faces of Darth Vader and
the Stormtrooper in the appearance of an existing model.
This idea further developed to eventually merge the personality and function of
the POWERbot with the imagery of the Star Wars universe, leading to a mass production project.
The POWERbot’s strong suction power and its CycloneForce reminds users of a resilient Star Wars
character, and the Edge Clean Master’s auto-shutter that sweeps edges with the precision of a lightsaber
serves as an allegory to an intense fight scene in the movie. Our designers started to transform
the POWERbot through these common elements between the POWERbot and Star Wars’ characters.
Design that Captures
the Essence of Star Wars
The POWERbot Star Wars Edition is Samsung’s first attempt at featuring
a character on a home appliance. Since we were featuring a Star Wars character,
we needed to first understand and empathize with the deep love fans have for these
characters that stood the test of time. Our designers personally met with world-renown
members of the Star Wars fan community for interviews, and through their feedback,
imbued the unique sentiments of the Star Wars galaxy into the product.
Color Detail that Vividly Portrays
the Force of the Characters
The previous POWERbot model had to undergo partial color modifications
in order to accurately transform and depict the appearances of Darth Vader
and the Stormtrooper. For instance, the color ‘Death Black’ was a result of
rigorous experiments and analysis of countless black colors. This color fills in
the front exterior of the Darth Vader product and exudes the powerful aura
of the original character.
The transparent dust chamber and the red cyclone cap were originally designed
to give better visibility of the suction process to users, but we applied darker
shades to these parts to convey depth in the eyes of the character as an effort
to reflect the feedback we received from the fan community. Our detailed work
in color modifications helped the POWERbot take on a much more accurate
resemblance of the Star Wars character.
Printing
Illustrations
for Perfect
Resemblance
The faces of Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper are printed over the front portion and dust chamber
area of the POWERbot Star Wars Edition. Since the POWERbot is a three-dimensional product, there
were some discrepancies between the on-screen sketch and the actual printed illustration. To achieve
perfect actualization of the character, our designers had to create countless mock-ups to finally
discover the most optimized line that helped the character come alive and instantly recognizable.
Also, to boost quality even in the most detailed steps of the printing process, we sent our printing
expert to foreign production sites to impart key techniques.
Mobility Accompanied
by Star Wars Voices
Sound is another important aspect of the overall product experience, and must properly convey the story
that the product is telling. The POWERbot Star Wars Edition’s sound effects borrow from the voices of the movie’s
characters, giving users the stirring impression of being in the Star Wars universe.
A product’s sound effects are usually designed to properly transmit information to users,
but the POWERbot Star Wars Edition takes a metaphorical approach that makes use of quotes from the movies.
The UX designer went on a Star Wars marathon through the entire series and built a script using quotes
that match the functions of the product. We then hired fan-favorite voice actors to record the lines. Star Wars fans
will be pleasantly surprised to hear the <Star Wars> soundtrack and Darth Vader’s heavy breathing coming out
from the POWERbot as it prepares to start its cleaning cycle.
Package as a Part of
Your Collection
The packages of products that collaborate with popular works of art often become collectible items
themselves. We focused greatly on elevating the package quality to give our users the thrill of not only
opening the package, but owning the package as part of their collection as well.
We overlaid Darth Vader and Stormtrooper illustrations on the front side of the packages to set
the special edition package apart from the existing package design, and also included a Function List
that keeps track of all the sound effects of the product. In addition, as an extra step of being mindful of
our users, we wrapped the basic package in vinyl and packed it again in a separate cardboard box
so that users can keep both the product and the original package in individual full boxes.
