DeWalt Coffee Maker
User research personas
Competitive analysis
Brand-driven design
Ideation & sketch iteration
CAD modeling
Product rendering & visualization
Description
A portable k-cup coffee maker designed for construction workers to use on the job site, built around the DeWalt brand. The concept was developed through user research, competitive analysis and sketch iteration, then finalized into a refined product concept with technical drawings and context renders.
November 2024
Date
Project Brief
The challenge: design a coffee maker for a specific user group. Identified construction workers as an underserved audience who rely on coffee to get through demanding shifts, but lack access to a job-site-appropriate way to make it.
PROBLEM
How might we design a coffee maker for construction workers to use on the job site?
Research
Developed two user personas, a general construction worker and a site supervisor, to map distinct pain points and needs. Key takeaways across both users pointed toward the need for something large enough for a crew but still portable, durable, and simple to operate.
Surveyed ten existing portable and construction-adjacent coffee makers across price, size, brew time, features, and aesthetic. Identified a clear gap: no major tool brand had a coffee maker, and existing construction-oriented options were either too small, too flimsy, or too slow.
Analyzed DeWalt's existing product lineup and visual language to extract the design principles that define the brand: yellow and black, chamfered edges, reinforced corners, rubberized controls, and a heavy-duty portability. These became the inspiration for all design decisions going forward.
Ideation & Iteration
Generated a wide range of form concepts through sketching, then refined the silhouette, handle placement, interface layout, and water tank configuration through multiple rounds of orthographic iteration and CAD drafts.
Final Model
A fully resolved CAD model and rendered product concept featuring a 130oz removable water tank, dual K-cup pod holder, removable drip tray, stabilizing legs, and power options from both DeWalt's 12v and 20v Max battery systems as well as a corded plug.
