Durex Play

When Durex brand owner SSL International asked Seymourpowell to design a range of vibrators, the considerations were many: experience, attitudes, materials, usage, safety and form were just a few of the areas that needed to be fully understood in this most personal of industrial design projects.

Challenge
As part of its own business innovation, SSL International wanted a range of beautiful vibrator products with high design values. The vibrators had to be alluring, safe, effective, reliable and tactile, as well as meet users' desires and expectations. Colour, materials, technology and cost were amongst a wide-ranging set of product innovation challenges, as Seymourpowell director Nick Talbot explains:

'The challenge was to meet the emotional and physical requirements of the potential user, whilst solving the accompanying mechanical, material and cost challenges. Materials and colours were particularly important and we wanted to ensure that all active surfaces were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.'

Response
Research and wide collaboration were vital in the product design process. Market research first mapped the landscape of available products, then Seymourpowell's 'crucible' sessions conducted ethnographic studies with vibrator users, who discussed what they liked and disliked. Marketing and distribution representatives, along with 'sexpert' Tracey Cox, attended these sessions to help form the design strategy. Leading sexologist Professor Alan Riley also made an invaluable contribution to the project.

This product research revealed the wide range of needs, both mental and physical, that the vibrators had to meet. It also showed the variations in female body shapes that had to be accommodated.

Result
Considering these requirements carefully, a range of three very different vibrators was created. Wand is intended for vaginal penetration, Little Gem is used between the fingers for direct stimulation and Charm is designed for shared massage and foreplay, as well as clitoral stimulation.

Each of the vibrators is rechargeable - no pesky batteries - and each has three speeds, as well as a pulse mode for the ultimate in fine control.

In 2007, Wand won Cosmopolitan magazine's 'Best Sex Toy for Her' award.