Midea America Research Center: Industrial Design Co-op Individual Research Project

Make Yourself at Home.

During my industrial design internship with Midea, I worked on real-world projects that honed my skills in research, design, and problem-solving. Collaborating with the Small Domestic Appliance team, I translated user insights and desired features into innovative, functional designs while contributing to the development of Midea's American Domestic Market Visual Brand Language. This experience refined my research, design, and problem-solving skills while enhancing my communication, adaptability, and professional growth.

Skills Developed:

-Design Research + Strategy

-Rapid Ideation + Prototyping

-Product Visualization + Presentation

-Cross-functional Team Collaboration

-Storytelling + Verbal/Visual Presentation

Programs Developed:

-Adobe Photoshop

-Adobe Illustrator

-Solidworks

-Keyshot

-Figma

-Miro

Analyzing Visual Brand Language

Personal Project.

While at Midea, I underwent a personal project to analyze how design elements including proportion, form theme, materials and textures, UI, and more shape a visual brand language, brand identity, and consumer perception.

By studying a collection of brands on the market, I identified what makes visual brand languages effective or unsuccessful, including the successes of a collection of certain products/models & alignment with target demographics.

Growing as a Designer

Personal Development.

Through this project, I grew as a professional and designer by focusing heavily on rapid ideation, limiting myself to 10-minute sketches to focus on speed and exploring ideas quickly rather than technical quality.

This approach boosted my creativity, confidence, and adaptability, reinforcing the importance of rapid ideation and output in the design process and resulted in over 100 individual sketches.

Brand 1

Breville.

Form & Proportions: Appliances are generally taller and wider, with handles covering 60-75% of the body.
UI & Controls: Hierarchy of knobs and buttons, typically one or two large knobs with a collection of smaller controls.
Design Aesthetics:
Material & Accents:
2D elements: Consistent use of small interface labels placed on or around buttons/knobs.
Control Methods: Consistent use of physical buttons & knobs.

Brand 2

Ninja.

Form & Proportions: Taller, thinner, or low and wide forms with simple extrusions and soft corners.
UI & Controls: Hierarchical interface with buttons, and knobs, ranging from simple and minimal to complex and controlled.
Design Aesthetics: Tight corners with small fillets to soften the form slightly, separation between forms often includes small gaps, fillets, or material changes.
Material & Accents: Primarily matte/semi-shiny black plastic and stainless steel with metallic control elements.
2D Elements: Minimal iconography, with a focus rather on interface labels.
Control Methods: Physical buttons, knobs, and segmented displays.

Brand 3

Beautiful.

Form & Proportions: Taller and longer main forms, with handles covering large portions of the main body.
UI & Controls: Use of semi-large knobs, smaller buttons, and medium-to-large dead-front displays.
Design Aesthetics: Sweeping, soft forms with large fillets, minimal chamfers, and a ceramic-like material appearance.
Material & Accents: Smooth surfaces with accents in thin dark grey matte plastic or gold finish.
2D Elements: Simple, straightforward interface with clear iconography and labels.
Control Methods: Consistent mix of capacitive touch buttons with physical knobs.

Brand 4

Cuisinart.

Form & Proportions: Varied forms ranging from tall and thin to low and wide, with simple extrusions and larger sweeps.
UI & Controls: Hierarchy of buttons, knobs, and displays, varying from simple singular knobs to complex multi-control layouts.
Design Aesthetics: Emphasizes soft corners with large bosses, chamfers, and small fillets.
Material & Accents: Consistent use of matte/semi-shiny black plastic or stainless steel, with stainless steel accents and UI elements.
2D Elements: Very minimal use of iconography, with more common interface labels.
Control Methods: Consistent use of physical buttons & knobs.

Brand 5

GE.

Form & Proportions: Clean, balanced proportions with a mix of soft edges and structured geometric lines.
UI & Controls: Large, tactile buttons that prioritize visual clarity.
Design Aesthetics: Minimalism mixed with modern industrial elements, accompanied by subtle branding.
Material & Accents: Main forms often include stainless steel, high-gloss plastics, and matte finishes, with brushed metal accents.
2D Elements: Heavy use of interface labels placed next to or directly on controls.
Control Methods: Heavy use of physical buttons & knobs.

Brand 6

KitchenAid.

Form & Proportions: Low, stout, & wide main forms that have large sweeps and soft edges, creating iconic rounded silhouettes.
UI & Controls: Consistent use of rotary knobs, toggle switches, and levers.
Design Aesthetics: Smooth, flowing surfaces paired with crisp edges that reinforce the retro-modernist feel.
Material & Accents: Prominent use of steel and aluminum with the wrapping silver band that serves as both accent and logo placement.
2D Elements: Consistent use of interface labels over iconography.
Control Methods: Physical buttons, knobs, and switches that reinforce retro aesthetic.

Brand 7

OXO.

Form & Proportions: Tall and long main forms with consistent handles covering large amounts of the main forms, minimal sweeps, and clean corners with small chamfers.
UI & Controls: Consistent use of mid-sized knobs, smaller buttons, and minimal displays.
Design Aesthetics: Simple, clean shapes with fillets and minimal decorative elements.
Material & Accents: Stainless steel and matte black plastic with matching accents.
2D Elements: Minimal use of both interface labels and icons
Control Methods: Primarily physical controls of knobs, buttons, and levers.

Brand 8

SMEG.

Form & Proportions: High, wide, and round organic shapes with sweeping corners, minimal flat surfaces, and flush separation of form.
UI & Controls: Consistent use of knobs, levers, and buttons.
Design Aesthetics: Simple, functional, and minimalist that reinforce a retro feel.
Material & Accents: Ceramic-like, shiny finish accompanied by stainless steel accents.
2D Elements: Heavy use of simple iconography.
Control Methods: Minimal but prominent use of physical controls to reinforce retro aesthetic.

How I Grew

Reflection.

This project dramatically sharpened my design perception and research skills, coming to understand the intricate ways visual elements communicate brand identity, and vice versa. Through this process, I developed a more sophisticated understanding of design communication and visual brand identity.

I would like to recognize and thank the Small Domestic Appliance team at Midea, and particularly my friend and mentor, Annie, for always being so supportive throughout this process!