Re/Form

By Andrew Bowen

Co-authors: Stacy Dong, Eric Tseng, and Max Cao

Embracing the Breakout 

The drive to build something new has never been stronger. Whether it’s taking a stab at rebranding, having strategic pivots, or differentiation, more are finding the need to take a bolder path. Companies, organizations, and individuals have to create beyond the ordinary. Take the recent debut of the Jaguar Type 00 as an example. It is a testament to how legacy brands must take risks to stay relevant within an increasingly competitive market. With the continuing rise of startups, standing out is a necessity. 

To make a lasting impact, replicating what already exists is rarely ever the solution. As the founder of Unbox Product Design, we’ve built our practice on this philosophy. Relocating from Seattle to San Francisco in 2021, we carved our niche by working with startups. Like us, they embrace change and take risks. Being in this ever-changing space, our approach has shifted in recent years, requiring us to develop breakthrough products that create memorable impressions. We realized that limits are shifting with technological advancements, environmental considerations, and consumer trends. Our mission goes beyond competition and focuses on redefining what’s possible in design. With that, our involvement has expanded beyond being a thought leader and into a technology and resource leader. Organizations are not only seeking breakout ideas, they are looking for partners who can bring those ideas to life. 

UHUE during the early feasibility proof-of-concept stage

Creating Breakthroughs

A breakthrough in design begins with challenging the instinct to conform. There is a good reason why many design leaders now question design thinking methodologies or data-driven design, as it often produces less impactful results. Throughout history, innovation has come from creative minds who extrapolated from seemingly unrelated subjects and engaged in various disciplines. As the digital age continues to grow, the world of design will transform, providing us access to unlimited visual information and potentially replacing some of our tasks. We must remember the importance of our physical exploration, the ideas it generates, the reprieve it provides, and the fact that, for the moment, it cannot be replaced. This exploration creates a deeper understanding and better connections with our audience. We are also not alone in this appreciation, as clients and the public value craftsmanship. Industrial Designers must dedicate more time to sketching, mockups, and material experimentation, which enriches our thinking. These steps engage our senses and create unexpected insights. For instance, the act of sketching goes beyond form development. It’s an instrument to effectively problem-solve, conceptualize in three-dimensional space, deeply consider human interactions, detailed part construction, and assembly as we iterate and refine nuances. Rigorous prototyping allows us to explore materials and properties, test, evaluate, and validate our designs, which would not be possible through FEA in the digital space alone. What often differentiates Industrial Design from many engineering disciplines is our creativity and ways of imagining or reimagining the world around us. These skills hold value in creating something extraordinary and novel. Breakthroughs happen when a designer pushes beyond expectations, stays curious, and takes bold risks to create something original.

Custom makeup at home

Polarization or Differentiation? 

In a market saturated with look-alike products, differentiation is no longer optional. It’s essential. The most memorable innovations are the bold ones that reshape industries. In today’s attention economy, the key is for brands to break out.

Most products follow established design cues that evoke a comfortable familiarity to which consumers are drawn. However, many also wish to express their individualism and character with products of differentiation, signaling that brands need to rethink their market ideas. At first, unconventional products may feel polarizing and lead to divided opinions, but that differentiation is what sets them apart. Historically, design movements have been hallmarked by those who made bold moves into new frontiers. As the Apple-esque era nears its third decade, outlasting all previous movements, it will require both design risk-takers and embracing new ideas to open the doors to the next wave of innovation. This differentiation is essential for companies to stand apart and for Industrial Designers to remain impactful in a future potentially full of homogenized generative AI output. 

Of course, product design must balance function with visceral impact, as users naturally respond emotionally to products before rationalizing them. As the experience economy is growing, consumers seek products that create experiences. This leaves a lasting impact on users as they engage all their senses. However, designing experiences can also overwhelm users when unnecessary complexity is added. To refrain from this, we must design with intent and stand out with a strong and memorable presence. 

UHUE prototype part components 

UHUE: Design to be Different 

This past year, we were honored to receive over 17 international design awards for UHUE, including the Red Dot: Design Concept and iF Award. UHUE embodies our philosophy of challenging industry norms and redefining what is possible. It reimagines beauty by making makeup truly personal and accessible.

For years, the beauty industry has struggled to serve diverse communities, often constrained by mass production limitations. UHUE addresses this gap by giving users the power to customize cosmetic formulas tailored to their skin, needs, and interests. With the ability to mix any liquid formula in any color imaginable, UHUE invites creativity and self-expression. More than just expanding possibilities, it challenges a long-established industry.

From the start, UHUE was conceived as a bold concept. Initially introduced as a feasibility study for custom liquid cosmetics, the project faced significant engineering challenges. One was the development of novel pumping solutions for precise microdoses of viscous liquids. As we refined our proof-of-concept, we recognized the necessity of making a bold statement with these innovations.

Discussions with stakeholders on being an independent beauty tech startup reinforced the importance of standing out and reshaping the future of cosmetics. As our collaboration evolved into a strategic partnership, we aligned on a cohesive design language spanning physical products, embedded systems, and digital media. Our shared vision was to craft an elegant, sleek, and sophisticated identity, yet inherently gender-neutral, to serve diverse communities. With that in mind, we created a system that offered a visually distinctive and cohesive user experience.

Inspired by geometric structures and jewelry, UHUE was intended to relate to objects of beauty and luxury. This design also complemented a unique triangular cartridge system that Unbox developed earlier. This form was determined to be the most space-efficient for creating a compact countertop device. We intended to emphasize the cartridges so that upon opening the lid, they would be arrayed like gems, waiting to pop up and show their colors. While most elements were designed with forethought, some features emerged later, such as the vanity mirror. As a surprise, it reveals itself upon opening the device, positioned for a functional appeal to encourage a moment of self-reflection.

Through our ideation process, we conceptualized three-dimensional forms and complex part construction in sketching more effectively than CAD alone. Meanwhile, this transitioned into an iterative prototyping process to fine-tune design details, mechanical performance, system reliability, and durability. 3D-printed parts provided cost-effective feedback, while CNC-machined parts offered high-tolerance engineering precision before tooling. Every detail was tested, evaluated, refined, and validated.

To further differentiate UHUE from the large amounts of plastic consumables within the cosmetics industry, we opted to integrate elements like the polished metal hinge, serving both as a tasteful accent and a symbol of quality and durability. Subtle details, such as the illuminated container bay and touch display hidden under tinted tempered glass, were designed to soften the user experience. When turned on, the display will awaken and reveal itself, then quietly disappear when put to sleep. LED lighting was diffused to create a more uniform glow, while smooth, rounded interior walls created an easy-to-clean space. When users begin creating, a small center recess guides containers into position, ready to be filled. 

Throughout the design process, we centered our discussions on ensuring that every detail contributed to the product’s overall experience. Even the smallest elements reinforced a sense of luxury and thoughtfulness. Design elements like these transform user perception, turning the UHUE device into an experience. Iterative prototyping was critical, and one key insight from this process was recognizing just how much these seemingly minor design choices shape the user’s perception over time. A well-considered design creates a product that forms a lasting relationship with its user, in contrast to the industry today being dominated by disposable packaging.

UHUE isn’t just a product; it’s a statement. It celebrates self-expression through design, and seeing our clients embrace this vision has reaffirmed our belief that innovation starts with those who take a leap of faith.

A jewel-inspired design showcasing cartridge system technology.

Ditch the Status Quo

How do we define the rules? As designers, we are meant to create. To find a way to push past what's familiar and challenge the expectations set by the status quo. UHUE is the perfect example of this. Moving away from mass production, it offers something personal, creating a breakthrough in the beauty industry. It shifts the role of a consumer to that of a designer, allowing users to create their own cosmetics. Furthermore, it transforms UHUE into an experience that inspires. Bold and unique, UHUE’s geometric form sparks curiosity and invites questions. It's a statement piece, something that sits proudly on the countertop. 

Challenging the status quo is also about striking a balance between functionality and emotional connection. In design, creating an emotional connection is key when rethinking what's possible. It's about creating a lasting impact and starting a trend. Being different doesn't just mean being on the opposite end of everyone else. As designers, we should ask ourselves: Are the methodologies and tools working to serve us or sever us? And are they even working for the companies we serve? 

Ultimately, we choose which tools and techniques to implement as designers. As a result, we can decide how to use our creativity and explore physical interactions in our work.

Distinctive design movements that question the status quo often mark history. It goes far to push the boundaries and influence the future. Will our generation be remembered for its unique ingenuity, creativity, and radical views of beauty, or will it be hallmarked as the age of automation, similarity, and conformity?  

A bold design to challenge industry norms and reshape cosmetics.

This publication is part of the INNOVATION magazine - "It provides in-depth coverage of industrial design issues and communicates the value of design to business and society at large. This award-winning quarterly is generously illustrated with images of cutting-edge designs and features a clean yet dynamic layout that brings editorials and top-notch content to life. The magazine was first published in 1982, and IDSA members consistently name INNOVATION as a primary benefit of their membership experience to this day." (IDSA)