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The Project
J.W. Speaker is a family-run lighting manufacturer in Germantown, Wisconsin, and a long-time supplier to vehicle makers. Its engineers had already finished the inside of a new LED work light for forklifts: the LEDs, the optics and the connector. The light was going to Linde, the forklift maker, as original equipment, and later into J.W. Speaker's own catalog. J.W. Speaker asked KAIA to design the housing around those parts, with a place for the customer's logo and two connector options. J.W. Speaker engineered the light, chose the design, and builds it as the Model 710.
Credit: KAIA | Solberg Design
The Challenge
When a vehicle maker needs a work light, it writes a specification and asks several suppliers to quote. Every light that gets quoted meets the specification, so the decision tends to come down to price. Forklift parts catalogs also group work lights by shape, into square, rectangular and round. A light that looks like the others ends up competing on price, and nobody notices the engineering inside it.
The Solution
Solution: Win OEM programs
When an OEM needs a part, it writes a specification and asks several suppliers to quote. Every quote meets the spec, so the decision usually comes down to price.
You can offer the OEM something the other suppliers don't: industrial design along with your engineering. KAIA works as your industrial design team, so the OEM gets a part that is both engineered and designed for its vehicle, from one supplier. That gives the OEM a reason to choose you for more than price.
Why it wins:
- Your bid offers more than a part. The OEM gets engineering and industrial design in one package, from one supplier.
- The OEM sees the part on its vehicle before it chooses. Designs and pictures made for the OEM's vehicle, with its logo, show its engineers exactly what they'll get.
- Your engineering stays as it is. KAIA designs around your finished parts, so nothing inside changes.
What KAIA did
- We sketched the goals first. Our hand sketches explored a shape that mounts close to the forklift, with softened curves and a window that shows the light inside.
- We showed the concepts in the OEM's brand. We presented five concepts, each fitted to the same parts inside and each carrying Linde's logo, so J.W. Speaker's engineers could see the light the way the OEM would.
- We showed the light in use. We rendered every concept unlit, glowing and fully lit, so the shape could be judged on the forklift as well as on the bench.
When an engineer at an industrial equipment maker compares parts that all meet the specification, the one that stands out gets chosen. That is what industrial design is for.
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Solution: Sell more
Most buyers make up their minds about a product in a few seconds, from how it looks on the shelf or on a screen, long before they read the spec sheet. If your product looks like everyone else's, they'll usually buy the cheapest one or stick with the brand they know. A product that looks different, and looks better, is the one they reach for first.
How KAIA does it:
- Explore widely. We sketch many different designs before choosing one.
- Design for the buyer's first look. We give the product a shape that fits its market and stands out next to the others.
- Keep what the engineers built. We design the new look around the parts you already make.
What KAIA did
- We gave it a shape of its own. The housing is D-shaped, with a flat back, a curved front and a faceted top, so it doesn't look like the square and round lights around it.
- We made the light the feature. A clear lens wraps around the curved front and shows the LEDs, which sit in an arc behind it.
- We refined it until it looked well made. J.W. Speaker chose one direction, and four rounds of refinement tightened the faceted top, the logo plate and the lens.
A crisp, heavy edge suggests the product will last, and a precise, even finish tells the buyer it is well made.
"The Model 710 is a compact warehouse work light that provides targeted illumination and outshines stock forklift lights."J.W. Speaker, Model 710 product page. J.W. Speaker's product copy, not a client endorsement.
Set a 30-minute call about how to sell moreBack to the seven results ↑
Solution: Sell at a higher price
Your product may be better engineered than the competition, but the difference is on the inside, where buyers can’t see it. So they compare prices instead.
Good industrial design makes that quality visible from the outside, in the shape, the details and the finish. Buyers can see that your product is better before they ever read the spec sheet, and that gives them a reason to pay more.
Why it pays:
- Buyers pay more for good design. Research shows it raises what buyers will pay and how likely they are to buy.
- A little more price goes a long way. Sell for 10% more with the same engineering and tooling, and you earn more than 50% more profit over the product’s life. (These are example numbers from KAIA’s cost model.)
What KAIA did
- We opened a window to the light. From the first sketches, one of our goals was to let buyers see the light inside.
- We wrapped the lens around the front. The clear lens wraps the curved front, so the LEDs and reflectors show from the side as well as from the front.
- We framed it with a dark top. The dark, faceted top sets off the lit lens below it.
The outside of a product has to show what the inside does.
Set a 30-minute call about how to sell at a higher priceBack to the seven results ↑
Solution: Reach new markets with technology you already have
You've already paid to engineer your core technology. Selling it into a new market brings in more revenue from that same investment, but only if the new product fits what buyers in that market want.
The result: a product the new market wants, built on engineering you already own.
How KAIA does it:
- Research the market first. Who buys there, how they choose, and what they care about most.
- Design the new product around what you already make. Keep your proven technology and components, and give them the form, features and fit that market values.
- Skip the new engineering program. The hard part is already done, so the new product gets to market faster and costs less to build.
Set a 30-minute call about how to reach new markets with technology you already haveBack to the seven results ↑
Solution: Lead your customers back for the next sale
When customers like the first product they bought from you, you want them to find you again when it's time to buy the next one. That happens when your products look like they come from the same company: the same shapes, details and finishes on every model and every version, so customers recognize your brand the moment they see it.
How KAIA does it:
- Set one design language. We choose shapes, details and finishes that customers learn to recognize as yours.
- Carry it through every version. Every size, option and finish looks like part of the same family.
- Use it on the next product. Each new product looks like it came from the same maker.
What KAIA did
- We built the brand into the top. Faceted panels and two chevron-shaped pads frame the logo plate in the center.
- We modeled the top as one surface. We modeled the top as one continuous set of curved surfaces, so the logo plate looks like part of the design.
- We carried it into production. The final shapes went to J.W. Speaker's engineers as production files, and the Model 710 ships with the same top.
When customers can recognize your product, they can find you again.
Set a 30-minute call about how to lead your customers back for the next saleBack to the seven results ↑
Solution: Cut the cost and time to build
Most of what a product will cost to make is decided early, in the first design decisions. KAIA's industrial designers work inside the engineering you've already done: your parts, your clearances and your tooling. The design fits what your engineers built the first time, so nothing has to be reworked, and the product gets to production faster without adding cost.
How KAIA does it:
- Start from your 3D models. We design around the parts, clearances and tooling you already have.
- Show your engineers every surface. Your engineers can check the design from every side before any tooling is made.
- Hand back files they can build from. We deliver production files your engineers can use directly, so nothing is drawn twice.
What KAIA did
- We worked from J.W. Speaker's 3D models. We fitted every concept to the parts J.W. Speaker sent, and nothing inside changed.
- We reviewed each round with engineering. Every concept and refinement went to J.W. Speaker's engineers, so the design always stayed buildable.
- We handed back production files. The final design went to J.W. Speaker's engineers as files they could build from.
When the designer works around the parts that already exist, the supplier gets a new housing without paying for that engineering again.
Set a 30-minute call about how to cut the cost and time to buildBack to the seven results ↑
Solution: Fit every vehicle and meet the rules
Buyers and installers want a part that fits their vehicle without any changes. It has to be the right size, use the mounting points and the connector the vehicle already has, and meet the safety standards for that vehicle, such as the DOT and ECE standards for headlights. If a part has to be modified to fit, or doesn't meet those standards, they'll buy a different one.
How KAIA does it:
- Design to the standard. We design the part to fit the openings, mounts and connectors that vehicles in your market already use.
- Cover every version. One design works for every vehicle and connector your buyers need, so you don't have to design each version separately.
- Leave the certified engineering alone. We shape the outside of the part without moving the components that already meet the safety standards.
What KAIA did
- We used one housing for both connectors. The same housing takes either the 2-pin or the 3-pin connector, with the connector and the mounting stud on the back.
- We made it mount flat. The flat back sits against the truck, so the light stays low and out of the way.
- J.W. Speaker named it for its fit. J.W. Speaker sells it as the Low Profile LED Warehouse Work Light.
The flat back shows the installer at a glance that the light mounts flat against the truck.
Set a 30-minute call about how to fit every vehicle and meet the rulesBack to the seven results ↑
The Outcome
J.W. Speaker engineered the light, chose the design and still sells it as the Model 710. KAIA designed the housing that every buyer sees first. Here is how the work measures up against each result on this page.
Similar results in other markets
What KAIA didWe designed a new face for J.W. Speaker's 4x6 truck headlight around the optics it had already engineered, and carried it through all eight versions.
The resultIt sells for about 1.5 times the price of a major brand's 4x6 LED low beam.
What KAIA didWe designed the bezel for J.W. Speaker's adaptive headlight for Victory motorcycles, giving each set of optics its own sculpted frame.
The resultIt retailed at $529.95, near the top of a market where branded LED motorcycle headlights sell for $140 to $600.
What KAIA didWe designed new lamp concepts that combine two of J.W. Speaker's 90mm lamps in one product, with a mount that works for other lamps too.
The resultThe work led to the Model 93, one light that does five jobs, sold for 13 uses from agriculture to rail.
Give the OEM's engineers a reason to choose your part. KAIA's industrial designers have been designing products for manufacturers for 30 years. Click here to set up a 30-minute call about your next OEM bid.