Security product design emphasizes functionality but often neglects aesthetics.Ramon Benedito, Industrial Designer for Fermax Electronics, explains how a pleasing exterior adds value to finished products.
Security product design emphasizes functionality but often neglects aesthetics.Ramon Benedito, Industrial Designer for Fermax Electronics, explains how a pleasing exterior adds value to finished products.
If there are two different video door panels with the same characteristics, quality and price, the one with the better design will be the best seller. Since the early 1920s, industrial design has played an important role in the consumer market. Industrial design has helped companies that have successfully incorporated it with their R&D. An aesthetically innovative product with flawless operation contributes to brand identity. An attractive product makes promotion easier, cheaper and more competitive on the international market. Design adds value to business.
The international relevance of industrial design is seen in China, with more than 400 design schools producing 12,000 designers every year. Tsinghua University, China's most prestigious institution, recently opened a design school encompassing more than 60,000 square meters.
Fermax's design experience in intercom, security and comfort equipment goes back to 1974. The Spanish company strives for innovative products and careful design, with intuitive features for any market. Fermax design principles are based on preventing excess, as well as preventing minimalism that rejects a human touch.
Video Door Phones
Today's level of technical perfection is now common in the market. In hindsight, this should be compared with the first products to appreciate design's progress. In the 1960s, Fermax made its first black-and-white video door phones. Engineering produced rounded shapes, small screens and low-resolution CRTs to minimize bulky dimensions. Surface mounting was nonexistent and the handsets were bought separately, resulting in limited integration between the monitor and handset. These were inelegant products with limited use and high prices.
.jpg)
This is nothing like the video door phones today: surface-mounted without complex installation. They integrate home features and have bright large color screens. Their functions correspond to present communication needs at affordable prices.
Contemporary architecture is shaped by formal perfection and sophistication. The refinement of these techniques has allowed for sharper definition of planes and edges. Finishes that were impossible before have emerged, thanks to technological innovations linked to real estate development. Within this context, access control products met the need for
privacy and communication.
Applying Design
Designing an outdoor panel should define identity, adding value to the access gate or the building. It is about creating a durable product in terms of materials and aesthetics. The interaction between the building and its visitor or tenant starts at the gate, which is where the panel is located.
For monitors, a smooth shape channels essentialism. The concept deals with the arrangement of absolutely necessary elements to achieve a specific objective. Organic design can be defined as a harmonious organization of parts into a whole, according to its structure, materials and purpose. In this definition, there is no place for superficial ornamentation. However, beauty is not less important — it lies in the choice of materials, visual neatness and the rational elegance of the objects used.
For design, products should connect subliminally with the user, while appealing to a sense of natural beauty.