There is a revolution under way in the world of espresso and Spark is complicit. And we’re proud of it too! And we will keep being proud because we’ve won a Red Dot Design Award! This and much more in this newsletter. Happy reading.

Care robot Lea recently won a Red Dot Design Award, one of the most prestigious awards that an agency like Spark can win. Extra special is that we won it (and other prizes) with a project that incorporates all our core values: collaboration, health, innovation, and integrated design.

From the outset, Lea has been a model of collaboration in which unilateral considerations were subordinated to the shared goal between Spark and our client Robot Care Systems (RCS). And...
 

In our series about the seven elements of Spark, we have arrived at Industrial Design & Styling. “In the process of industrial design, you have to deal with multiple forces working together, such as brand value, functionality, user aspects, how the product works… The challenge is getting them all in balance by constantly searching for the right considerations.” Anke Kempen, designer at Spark, explains.

“Early in my youth, I realised that much in this world is producible, manageable, and adaptable. And, for me, that’s what makes the profession so interesting: that you can enrich the life around you with good design. The moment that you deliver something is the most exciting. From then on, you’re no longer in control. The user and the rest of the world have your work in their hands, get to use it, and have an opinion about it. That is, in the end, the only test that counts. If everything really works as intended, then you have a good design.”

To guarantee this result, an integral approach to the design process is essential, explains Anke: “it is important to choose a direction. We work from inside out and take all relevant facets into account throughout the whole process. Both the details and the broad lines are ultimately relevant: the whole spectrum has to be right.”