Henrik Otto - chief designer of whiteware manufacturer Electrolux - reflects over the close relationship between whiteware and car design. Henrik is a former design director at Volvo where he notably produced the models S40 and V50.

Few product categories have been so important to industrial design, and paved the way for developments in other product areas, as the car. One of Electrolux’s early major designer names was the father of industrial design, Raymond Loewy, whom in addition to drawing Stud Baker, Lucky Strike and Coca Cola logos also made the Electrolux refrigerator L300 in the 40’s. His colleague, Sixten Sason – father of the original Saab, also designed a range of products for Electrolux during the 30’s. As recently as a month ago, an American car manufacturer’s design department asked if they could use one of our products as an inspiration. And it's mutual. The reality of consumers drives all product development within Electrolux, even design. However, we draw inspiration from many worlds, and cars have a special place for most industrial designers. Therefore we always send people to the major car conventions.
 

The refrigerators during the 1940s and 50’s became plump, cultured chrome details and their looks correlated with the car designs at the time. Note the similarities of the handles.

Let me give two modern examples of cross-fertilization between cars and white goods where design has made the products easier to use.
Classic dashboard controls have emigrated to the steering wheel, wherefrom the stereo and phone are now managed. Similarly, the vacuum cleaner's control has moved from the device itself to the handle. In that way, the user doesn’t have to stoop.

For long, ovens had at least one knob for each plate, and two for the oven. Now, they become fewer, and on some models, there is only one left. Just as the navigation wheel found in the center console on the Audi. (Which in turn probably is inspired by the iPod.)
 

Navigation wheel from an Audi and Inspiro wheel from Electrolux.

The automotive industry has always been one step ahead of other product types in terms of asserting brand values. The automotive industry was the first to recognize that distinctive design and individualization created both brand identity and sales. Cars are visible everywhere. They cannot be avoided. The design can make prints in a different way than other products, which is a clear benefit. An unconventional form like that of Toyota Prius can be drummed in, to become familiar and popular. The verdict of the consumer comes  faster and is more absolute for a product that she sees first time in a store. Nanosecond fast!

The more fuel efficiency and streamlining has been deposited in car design, the more has bodyworks from different brands come to resemble each other. This, together with the hard competition, has driven the individualization of other elements. In particular,the car's face has become more marked, with headlights and grills that have grown by a number of sizes in the matter of just ten years. At Electrolux, we work just as car manufacturers, with "long distance recognition", i. e. that even from afar it must be clear who the sender of the product is.

For a vacuum cleaner in a supermarket environment, it is important that the brand can be identified by the shape. As for a car, the basic shape is clearly limited by functionality. For vacuum cleaners, the frameworks are limited by the engine, the space to collect waste, and the extension cord. An element, of many, that we worked with here is the wheels. Not too long ago, vacuum cleaners had their wheels hidden. They have now grown and become important form elements. On UltraOne, at least I see clear features of car rims.