The mind behind the designUp close and personal with Steve Ward, Director of Design at Life Fitness There’s no question that the reputation and ultimate success of a fitness facility rides on the look and feel of the products on the floor. Now, imagine the thought that goes into creating arguably the world’s most recognizable fitness equipment in health clubs worldwide? To get a clearer picture, we decided to pick the brain of Steve Ward, one of the minds behind the new product design for cardio and strength machines. Steve, the Director of Design at Life Fitness, and his group are responsible for developing new product designs and prototypes, from concept and shape to materials. Join us as he describes the balance between function and form, reveals the innovative ways the design team tests concepts in production, and gives the most understandable explanation of the new product design we've heard yet. |
 |
 |
 |
|
lifefitness.com: So what's your background? How did you become an industrial designer?
Steve: I’m a naturally curious person. As a kid I used to throw out the instruction books of toys to build things from imagination. I have always had the ability to draw from images in my head. I spent a lot of my childhood daydreaming about cars, ships, and buildings, then I would draw them and make scale models of out of any available material. In college I was doing undergraduate studies at BYU to get into dental school. One day I happened to walk by the industrial design studio where the students were doing automotive concept presentations for GM. I saw some really wild stuff! There were full-scale 2D renderings and 1/5th scale 3D finished models of the most amazing forms on wheels I had ever seen! I changed my major to Industrial Design the next day and never looked back. Since then I have had a diverse professional career in consulting and corporate design. Among other things I’ve designed aircraft interiors for Boeing, space station crew quarters for NASA, car interiors, ski boats, luxury yachts, vacuum cleaners, office chairs and Dell laptop computers before coming to Life Fitness two years ago.
lifefitness.com: What's usually the inspiration for a new product design?
Steve: ID is a profession where the union of art, nature, technology, human factors and materials combine to create beauty in every-day things. These all inspire new ideas. I believe products that are well designed should draw you in. The aesthetic should beckon you to come closer. To say “try me”, “grip my handle”, “ jump in and take me for a ride”. A product must reflect the corporate brand image. Simple beauty is a big objective however getting the aesthetic right is a little tricky. What a person thinks of as beautiful is personal, subjective and changeable over time. It is highly influenced by pop culture fashion and trend. What’s cool today can be considered laughable later. Remember leisure suits? So we investigate the cultural influences that currently define what is cool balanced by what I consider classic simplicity in form that is ageless. A great example is the Rosewood and black leather Eames Lounge Chair. While the design was created in the 1940’s, it continues to be one of Herman Miller’s hottest selling chairs to date.
lifefitness.com: How long does the development process usually take?
Steve: It depends on the complexity of the product and how well we know the market. A face-lift with no technical upgrades can take under a year. The new integrated LCD and Treadmill took almost two years. A new product platform takes longer because there is market acceptance validation of the design up front. Then comes new design engineering as well as reliability testing. A new car, by comparison, typically takes 4-5 years.
lifefitness.com: How do you conduct testing?
Steve: ID testing is subjective and different from engineering testing. We test idea acceptance with critical reviews and surveys by other designers, sales, end users, and club owners or dealers. Engineering testing is a little easier to quantify because it is more objective. You can actually put a number to the maximum rotation hours of a pedal crank where numbers don’t apply to how much “I like it” or “I hate it”. If enough people like it we move forward. Sometimes we have to back up and rethink a direction. Ultimately numbers of units sold is the best measure of acceptance.
lifefitness.com: Who gets to choose the colors?
Steve: We choose color but that’s just part of it. Color coatings must be tested for durability. We worked months with chemists from several companies to get a durable and visually pleasing finish. Two years ago we set out to change the design language of our entire product line to give our products a fresh new face in an effort to increase sales. We began by looking at color, form and graphic identity on a variety of really cool products to see where buying trends were headed. So sports cars, furniture and consumer electronics were the influences behind the silver and gray you see on our new line. In addition, I created the new L/F badge as a device to raise the brand image of the equipment. It’s no accident that it looks like an automotive emblem.
lifefitness.com: If you had to point to the most impressive feature about the new product design, what would it be?
Steve: Silver has been described as the color that will define the decade. It’s everywhere including on our new line. I think that combined with the form of simplistic geometry makes our products very attractive.
lifefitness.com: You first introduced the new product design last year at IHRSA, and have since rolled out new strength and cardio throughout 2003. What has been the impact so far?
Steve: People have expressed high excitement about our new products. At trade shows people come up to me with great comments about the new look and how well CV and Signature Strength have integrated into a unified product family. The goal is to achieve commercial success through design and so far it’s working.
lifefitness.com: Given the success of the new product design, where does the design team go from here?
Steve: Up, out and beyond expectations! The competition is not asleep. Someone once asked why we designers were always changing things. We don’t just change things because that’s what we do, we change things so end users and club owners have safer, more effective and better looking equipment with Life Fitness products than with anyone else. We have expanded our studio space in Franklin Park and are adding new designers to the staff. There’s much, much more to come so stay tuned.
