WHEN NATURE CALLS
As the market leader in water-free incineration toilets in Norway, Cinderella celebrated in 2022 a 25-year journey of sustainability, rooted in Norwegian innovation and design. To mark the occasion, they set out to develop their most innovative incineration toilet yet—together with Eker Design.
A Natural Choice
According to Cinderella, it was a natural choice to collaborate with Eker Design when presenting their latest product—combining modern, eco-friendly solutions with Scandinavian design.
For us, it has been especially rewarding to collaborate with a manufacturer that not only has unique expertise within this product category, but also operates its own development and production facilities in Norway. At Eker Design, it is important for us to create products with a strong societal value – not only through their function, but also by contributing to value creation in Norway through the use of local suppliers for development, Norwegian component production, and assembly.
A Facelift for a Bestseller
Cinderella Premium is an upgrade of their bestseller, Cinderella Comfort. It retains the same functionality as Comfort, but introduces a new and more modern design – while also incorporating the latest waste incineration technology and an improved user experience.
Before we could begin, we needed answers to some key questions: How should the product function? Which core components should be retained internally, and what mechanical requirements had to be set for the product’s enclosure? It was also important to determine the suitability for the intended markets, what innovative features the product should offer, and how intuitive it should be for the end user. Finally, we needed to define the appropriate production methods, the target customers, and the design requirements for the product.
VR Technology
The design work began with a digital assembly of all internal components, followed by a short sketch project that transitioned into the conceptualization of the design in 3D. Our VR room at Torsnes proved highly valuable, as it allows for a realistic visualization of the product in its intended environment – which was exactly what we needed in this case.
By using VR, we were able to involve the management team at Cinderella early in the concept phase through a workshop, where we placed the products in a virtual bathroom setting. This allowed them to “test-sit” and view the product in context at a natural distance. This process made it possible to compare different design alternatives and make qualitative design decisions without the need to build multiple physical prototypes.
Full-Scale Design Dummy
Later in the process, we developed a design dummy by milling a full-scale model of the proposed design. This enabled verification of detailed design elements. From there, we moved on to production design and detailed engineering of all components, including milling molds for test production and further product testing. Finally, complete 3D files and documentation for all components were delivered to Cinderella’s production department in Lyngen.
Establishing strong collaboration with customers and manufacturers, sharing expertise, and having access to the right tools and equipment for product development are all key factors in ensuring an efficient and high-quality process.