Smart Design introduces 'Femme Den' initiative to connect product design with female audiences

  • Women make or influence 80 per cent of household purchases
  • 'Pinking and shrinking' products doesn’t meet the needs of today's women

29 April, 2008 - Smart Design, one of the world's leading consumer product design firms, has announced a major initiative called the Femme Den - a grassroots movement which specialises in designing products geared towards women, opening up the potential to increase sales by connecting with this audience. The Femme Den was founded in 2005 by four international members of Smart Design's staff, Erica Eden (American), Agnete Enga (Norwegian), Yvonne Lin (Chinese-American) and Gina Reimann (British) to draw connections between social, cultural, and economic changes in design to satisfy the ‘unmet’ needs of women consumers.

Smart Design's new Femme Den group will specialise in bridging the gap between the assumptions and realities about product design for women customers. According to a recent study by Growth Strategies, US women make or influence 80 per cent of purchases, and manufacturers of consumer electronics and home improvement tools, amongst others, are now recognising the underdeveloped business opportunity in connecting with the female market.

"Producers of male-oriented consumer products are increasingly realising the potential in the female market, yet are unsure how to tackle the issue - especially as women are still under represented in the design industry," explained Erica Eden, Co-founder of the Femme Den. "Some companies believe that by 'pinking and shrinking' products they will appeal to females, but this isn't always the case and by doing so companies are in fact alienating the male population from buying their products.

"Gender boundaries are blurring and products need to keep up with the changes in society," Erica Eden continued. "For example, a significant number of women live on their own, or are single parents, and have to use products that were not really designed for them. We don't adapt products to specifically target men or women, but we work to create cross-gender products. Smart Design has really embraced our individual thinking. Its whole ethos is based around 'universal design' and we believe that by understanding how gender plays a role, our designs will appeal to the largest audience and achieve best selling products."

Davin Stowell, CEO of Smart Design, commented: "The Femme Den takes a fresh approach to existing products and makes them appeal not only to their previous male-oriented market, but also a new female audience. This is a hugely innovative area of the design industry and Smart Design is delighted to have such a pioneering internal team, which has the expertise to discover the female perspective and broaden a company's purchasing audience."

The Femme Den will be presenting their insights at the National Conference of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) in Phoenix, AZ in early September.

About the Femme Den
The Femme Den is a grassroots movement which first gathered momentum at Smart Design in 2005. It is dedicated to discovering new consumer insight and design methodologies that connect with female consumers. It aims to do this through design that bridges the gap between the realities and assumptions about women. Its goal is to circulate discoveries throughout the design community to facilitate enhanced sensitivity to this compelling and influential topic. Please visit www.femmeden.com for more information.

About Smart Design
Smart Design has been turning insight and innovation into successful consumer experiences for over 25 years. The company's approach integrates product development, interactive experiences, brand communication, and strategic insights to ensure winning design solutions. From its pioneering Universal Design collaboration with OXO International, developing its renowned line of kitchen tools, to its work with leading multi-national companies including HP, Microsoft, Lexar and Acer, developing user-friendly electronics and humanizing technology, Smart Design creates products that truly connect with the consumer. Smart Design has offices in New York, San Francisco and Barcelona. Please visit www.smartdesignworldwide.com for more information or contact:

Mercedes Coats
Global Public Relations
Tel: +1 415 355 6205
Email: mercedes.coats@smartdesignworldwide.com    

Manuela Whittaker
The PressOffice - PR for Smart Design
Tel: +44(0)1780 721433
Email: mwhittaker@pressoffice.targetwire.com

Aldo de Jong
European Office Contact
Tel: +34 935 846 615
Email: aldo.deJong@smartdesignworldwide.com

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