Description
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.
