People make it happen

Designing for a better world.

Curiosity has always been the driving force behind the industrial- and digital product design at Design-People. Ever since 2005, we have been asking the questions that take our clients’ businesses to the next level. We prioritize understanding the needs, motivations, and barriers for each user in order to find out where the meaningful value lies for the business.

We know design isn’t just about making a product easy on the eyes. Our goal is to simplify and improve product experiences by applying a strategic design thinking approach to our work. In the end, we believe this leads to better solutions for people and for the planet.

Thorough user studies led to an award-winning floor heating system

Client:
Danfoss
Services:
Industrial Product Design, Digital Product Design & Insights
Sector:
Building Tech, Heavy Industry Machines, Energy & Supply
Building markets for smarter heating

Help us to design a user-friendly Danfoss Eco™App-thermostat, that resonates with mainstream consumers in Europe. This was the brief design-people got from Danfoss Heating, when asked to help on extending Danfoss Smartheating product portfolio. To ensure the right fit with end-user preferences, the design process evolved around a specific persona. This persona gave the design and marketing teams a common language to work with – creating a solution that is simple enough to be relevant for all consumers, yet smart enough to also attract super-users. Designed to be seamless and straightforward, the Danfoss Eco™App-thermostat is a consistent customer experience from installation and first-time use to everyday interaction with the product.

Henrik Mathiassen
CEO, Founder
Building markets for smarter heating
Building markets for smarter heating
Building markets for smarter heating
Accessibility and encouragement

“At Danfoss we love to create brilliant solutions for our end-users. The aim for Danfoss Eco™ was first and foremost to create a mass-market IoT product that would ensure both home comfort and large energy savings for regular consumers.”

As Danfoss Eco™ is destined at a broad market, it is meant to meet consumers who are not super-users of smart home products. Therefore the design team focused on accessibility and encouraging first time use of the solution. Both the thermostat design and the App look intentionally familiar – a first time user will perceive an uncomplicated and straightforward solution.

Building markets for smarter heating

"Design-People were involved in the physical product design and the app-interface. Their contribution to both parts of the solution gave a very holistic result: the designs of the thermostat and the app are clearly integrated, it’s one solution instead of two products."

Help us to design a user-friendly Danfoss Eco™App-thermostat, that resonates with mainstream consumers in Europe. This was the brief design-people got from Danfoss Heating, when asked to help on extending Danfoss Smartheating product portfolio. To ensure the right fit with end-user preferences, the design process evolved around a specific persona. This persona gave the design and marketing teams a common language to work with – creating a solution that is simple enough to be relevant for all consumers, yet smart enough to also attract super-users. Designed to be seamless and straightforward, the Danfoss Eco™App-thermostat is a consistent customer experience from installation and first-time use to everyday interaction with the product.
The sweet spot

The sales results confirm that Danfoss hits the sweet spot in the Smart home market. Sales in the launch period exceed expectations more than 3 times. Besides we are proud that the Danfoss Eco has won no less than 3 design awards. To achieve these achievements design-people provided the following.

Explore our work

Epoke
Improved user-friendliness and stronger sales for Epoke
Digital ・ Insights
OJ Electronics
Customizable floor heating solution for private label partners
Digital ・ Insights
Airmaster
Fresh air – invisible and user-friendly design
Industrial ・ Digital ・ Ingishts