Next generation hair removal

• New approaches to hair removal should be found  

• The Zühlke team uses the familiar idea generation process for both questions  

• Braun significantly reduces project risks through early feasibility studies 

Together with Braun, Zühlke generated innovative ideas for new epilar technology and an alternative special drive. Laboratory experiments and tests were used to demonstrate the feasibility.

Task

Braun is a globally leading brand in the field of electrical appliances and has been setting design standards since the 1950s. The Zühlke team had two main tasks in this project: one was to identify fundamentally new approaches to hair epilation and the other was to develop revolutionary drive concepts. 

Project Approach

The team made use of its tried and trusted idea generation process for both tasks. 

1. Identification of the issue. The analysis of the existing product exposed advantages and disadvantages and defined the task at hand more precisely. 
2. Generation of ideas. Customer employees took part in joint workshops with Zühlke specialists to draw inspiration from cross industry and analogy cases. Also ”hair-raising” ideas were welcomed for their particularly high innovation potential. 
3. Evaluation of ideas. The criteria for assessing ideas were compiled and refined. User and company perspectives were contrasted with each other. Three concepts were nominated to go through to the next phase. 
4. Immersion. Zühlke constructed elementary laboratory samples and tested critical part functions to proof the concepts. 
5. Decision. Based on the proof of concepts the project risks were reduced to such a level that allowed to select the right concept.