The creation of the Satinjet technology…
The unique SatinJet spray.
The invention of the Satinjet spray technology by Methven’s design team in 2003 has had a major effect on the strategic direction of the company, leading to a public listing followed by global expansion through acquisitions.
Satinjet achieves a superior shower experience while using less water than any other system in existence. Senior management from Italian specialist shower company Visentin said that it was the biggest break through in shower technology seen in fifty years.
The first product incorporating this system was the Futura 2022, a mid-market slide rail set. For the company this was all new territory, a new product category using new technology, materials and suppliers. The team delivered a result in 18 months flat.
The Futura Range
One of the unique features of the shower handset is the spray selection trigger. The belief that the handset should be adjusted with one hand and that this needed to be always outside the spray, created the need for a new type of mechanism. The shower handset was also designed for ease of assembly and is completely snap together without screws or other mechanical fastenings.
The Futura Satinjet Slide Rail Set won Best New Bathroom Product at DesignEx and several NZ Plastics Institute Awards.
The design also won an Australian Designmark Award and a Highly Commended Best Design Award.
Role: Senior industrial designer.
Tasks: All industrial design work on the slide rail and handset, Voice of Customer research, trialing, human factors, component detailing, and NPI work.
The Genesis Range Projects.
The next Satinjet range out of the blocks was the Genesis range. This used the same internal technology and shared some components with the Futura range, but took a slightly edgier aesthetic style.
The Futura and Genesis shower products accounted for the lion’s share of $28M in turn over of Satinjet product in 2007 ($140K per day). Genesis earned a Best Design Award.
Role: Senior industrial designer.
Tasks: industrial design lead on wall showers and hand set, and general NPI work.
High Rise Shower Arm System.
Good Design Award winning Futura Hi-Rise Satinjet Shower Arm
The final product development from the first generation of Satinjet products was the Hi-Rise Shower Arm. This product was designed to specifically target export markets.
It incorporates a joint system that will never work loose over the life time of the product. A new spray selection mechanism was also needed, which again was one-handed and located outside the spray zone. The Hi-Rise Arm is available in the Futura, Genesis and Kiri ranges.
The design won a Highly Commended Best Award and a prestigious ‘Good Design’ Award from the Chicago Athenaeum.
Role: Contributing industrial designer.
Tasks: Human factors, shower spray selection mechanism and buttons, general NPI work.
