Designing a power-tool brand for the home
Services
- Ergonomic design
- Rapid prototyping
- Interface design
- Aesthetic refinement
- 3D modelling
- Concept generation
Sector
- consumer
Client
Website
https://www.rapid.com/en-gbRapid, a Swedish brand within ACCO, is known for high-performance fastening and power-tool products with a distinctive industrial visual language. As part of a strategic move into the home cleaning market, they partnered with OPD to design a powered cleaning device that would feel comfortable, refined and at home in domestic environments.
Rapid’s ambition was clear: transition from their traditional power-tool heritage into a softer, consumer-facing home category.
The starting point was an existing powered cleaning platform with defined internal architecture and manufacturing parameters. While functionally viable, it lacked the aesthetic quality, ergonomic refinement and brand alignment required for domestic environments.
Rapid wanted:
- A new visual language distinct from their traditional navy/yellow aesthetic
- A softer, more homely form suitable for kitchens and bathrooms
- A device that could stand upright independently
- Improved ergonomics for prolonged grip and forceful scrubbing
- A minimal, intuitive interface
The challenge was to evolve the product through design, refining form, balance and usability, while working intelligently around the established internal structure and production approach.
We began by importing the supplied CAD architecture and physically evaluating the product in-house. Hands-on use highlighted opportunities to improve balance, grip comfort and standing stability - all critical for domestic environments.
The product’s internal layout and manufacturing strategy were already established, so our focus was on elevating the external form and ergonomics while ensuring the final A-surface solution remained production-ready.
Ergonomic Engineering & Form Validation
This product would require controlled force application during use to assist cleaning stubborn dirt on surfaces. Users must be able to comfortably grip it for extended periods while applying downward pressure when scrubbing.
We explored multiple handle strategies to make this as ergonomic as possible:
• Straight vertical orientation
• Slight rearward angle
• Rear-offset angled handle
A number of handle profiles and cross sections were developed for ergonomic testing. These were rapidly prototyped using 3D printing, weighted to simulate the true weight balance, and evaluated in-hand amongst a variety of users to establish the favoured shapes and sizes. After testing, the favoured handle profile was refined further and retested to create the final ergonomic profile and ensure greatest comfort of the final product.
Because the project was delivered remotely with Rapid’s Swedish team, prototypes were shipped for collaborative review and testing. Iterative refinements adjusted handle proportions and balance until we achieved stability, comfort, and upright standing capability.
CMF & Sustainability Strategy
Rapid’s move into the domestic home market demanded a shift in tone. We conducted a focused market review of domestic cleaning products and emerging colour trends.
Early proposals ranged from Rapid’s traditional blue/yellow for reference to warmer whites and a mix of metallic and non-metallic finishes. However, to maximise sustainability and cost efficiency, we avoided paint, coatings, and over-moulding.
Instead, we used:
• Native plastic finishes
• Subtle texture breaks
• Surface detailing to create visual interest
Interface & Simplicity
The UI was deliberately minimal:
• Trigger-based activation
• Three-speed progression (low / medium / high)
• LED indicator displaying speed and battery life
We explored alternative switch strategies but retained the trigger configuration as the most intuitive and mechanically coherent solution.
The final CMF direction was a soft “coffee” neutral tone - paired with pastel-coloured interchangeable bristle heads. This allowed task differentiation (e.g. bathroom vs kitchen) while maintaining a calm, unobtrusive core product.
The final product demonstrates how strategic industrial design can elevate an existing mechanical platform into a refined, consumer-ready product.
Key achievements include:
- Improved ergonomic comfort and controlled force application
- Optimised weight balance and upright standing stability
- Refined production-ready A-surface design
- Sustainable CMF strategy without secondary coatings
- A new visual direction supporting Rapid’s category expansion
The project highlights OPD’s ability to enter mid-development programmes and elevate products through focused industrial design, ergonomic insight and production-ready surfacing.
Working with OPD was seamless - they understood our vision and turned it into an ergonomic, design-led product without compromise.
More broadly, the project highlights OPD’s ability to:
• Re-skin OEM platforms into unique, differentiated branded products
• Create innovative design with fixed mechanical architectures
• Resolve ergonomic challenges through rapid prototyping and testing
• Deliver production-ready A-surface CAD with DFM foresight
• Collaborate internationally through remote development
For Rapid, this project represents a strategic step into the home cleaning category - enabled through industrial design that balances ergonomic insight, aesthetic refinement, and production-ready execution. For OPD, it reinforces our ability to blend design, engineering and manufacturability into products that support brand evolution and market expansion.
This project shows how much impact thoughtful industrial design can have. By refining ergonomics, balance and surface development around an established mechanical platform, we were able to create a product that feels intentional, comfortable and ready for a new market.
