The Focus
Designing a pure industry-segment cooler, creating an entirely new segment for Symphony on a whole
Disrupting the segment through innovative design that differentiates the product
Remedying issues that already exist with other products in the same category: i.e. lack of mobility, chunkiness, lack of adaptability for changing use-cases
The Design
Elephant designed an entire range of products for Symphony’s industry-segment using a common set of parts
Assembly-centric product provides high mobility and differentiation
Product’s modular nature allows it to be highly adaptive and versatile
The Story
Symphony is now a household name, synonymous with quality and excellence in the world of coolers. Elephant has been their design partner for 25 years and has been involved with designing many of their flagship products. Before the NSR was designed, Symphony was yet to step into the industry-cooler segment. They already had best-selling products in the residential and the commercial-segments – now, this market was their next target.
Industrial-grade coolers all suffer from similar problems. They are often clunky, heavy and difficult to move once installed. Even maintenance and upkeep are not always streamlined processes since access, removal and reinstallation can become a lengthy, time-consuming ordeal. For manufacturers, the production and transportation of such a product can also be resource intensive.
If we were to enable Symphony’s entry into this segment, then differentiation would be key – but also, an entire range needed to be developed while maximising efficiency and profitability when it came to manufacturing the product. This was a challenge we eagerly welcomed.
“If we were to enable Symphony’s entry into the industrial cooler-segment, then differentiation would be key – but also, an entire range needed to be developed while maximising efficiency and profitability when it came to manufacturing the product.”
Lego-Mania
What makes Lego toys so ingenious? It seems like a no-brainer to state the obvious: The fact that each individual Lego brick can morph into something completely unique when its assembled. The bricks can be generic for a wide variety of applications – or it can be very unique, like when they made an entire sports-car out of specialised Lego bricks!
We decided to go with something similar in this case. Elephant decided to package the Symphony NSR as an SKD (Semi-knocked down) kit where the entire cooler comes in the form of modular components.
“What makes Lego toys so ingenious? It seems like a no-brainer to state the obvious: The fact that each individual Lego brick can morph into something completely unique when its assembled. Elephant did something similar with the NSR, packaging the Symphony NSR as an SKD (Semi-knocked down) kit where the entire cooler comes in the form of modular components.”
These components remedy two-three things at once: One, is that the cost of manufacturing comes down drastically, because you don’t need to make specialised one-off coolers for different scenarios. The second thing is the question of portability. Both the consumer and the manufacturer can easily pack/unpack it whenever it needs to be moved conveniently, and cheaply. The third factor is that Symphony could now launch an entire range depending upon the parts they wished to include in the basic, or the premium set – again, at a lesser cost.
We also evaluated use-case scenarios to make sure the common parts were of the highest quality. For example, when used as a ducted cooler in factories or theatres, people tend to keep things on the top upward-facing panel – which is why it was made extra sturdy and stable. Due to the product’s modular nature, it provides easy accessibility for maintenance and upkeep.
Assess, Evaluate and Apply
Speaking of use-case scenarios, the true versatility of the product lies in within the permutations and combinations its composite parts allow you to make.
It can serve as a ducted cooler for factories. In areas like theatres and multiplexes, one can simply attach composite blocks for it to carry air over long distances as required. For open spaces, it can be a standalone cooler with omni-directional air-throw. It can even be moulded into a 3-sided cooling model where discharge can be changed as per your need.
The models, thus, come in different ranges for flexibility of applications– wall-mounted, ducted or floor standing – which in turn defines the range for the new segment.
Here, functional design plays a key role when it comes to a product whose applications are done via a ‘hidden’ portal – as compared to the focus on aesthetics, which we knowingly sidelined.
Industrial Installation at Symphony customer site
“The challenge is about taking things that are infinitely complex and making them simpler and more understandable.”