Role
Core UX Research & Concept Design
(Team of 2 + external agency)
Industry
Consumer Electronics
Duration
4 months
A global home appliance company approached us to identify three low-cost, high-impact feature ideas for their premium Side-by-Side refrigerators, specifically tailored to the Indian market.
We followed an Adapted Double Diamond framework enriched with Lean UX elements to balance structured exploration with rapid feedback loops. This allowed us to move quickly from research to concept validation while ensuring ideas were grounded in real user needs.
Note: This project is under NDA, so only a limited selection of information and process details can be shared.
Stage 1. Discover
Understanding consumer behaviour, product gaps, and lifestyle needs in the premium refrigerator in India.
Primary research
We set out to deeply understand user behavior, lifestyle, and everyday challenges to uncover their needs and pain points. This involved:
Diary studies to capture day-to-day habits and contextual details
Photographs of participants’ current refrigerators to see how and where items are stored
Insights into lifestyle, behaviors, and brands used
Understanding product aspirations and expectations
To make this possible, we partnered with a local research agency in India to recruit a diverse mix of current SBS owners and potential buyers.
Photographs of participants’ current refrigerators: Looking into behavior around refrigerator.
Organizing dairy studies
Secondary research
We explored the market and user context to uncover opportunities, focusing on:
Analyzed competitor products and their feature innovations.
Studied consumer behaviour, trends, and preferences.
Researched premium kitchen layout trends in India.
We identified key areas for to focus on:
Convenience is king – Fast-paced lives demand fridges that simplify routines.
Climate shapes storage – Heat makes even dry goods fridge-dependent, increasing space needs.
A statement product – Fridges are lifestyle symbols; owners are proud to showcase them.
Stage 2. Define
Synthesizing findings to clearly define the core problem.
The goal at this stage is quickly arrive at opportunity areas for the sacrificial concepts. Empathy maps and proto-personas helped align the team and stakeholders around the real user needs and opportunities.
Key insights from consumer behaviour analysis:
Primarily millennial households, often spanning three generations under one roof
Aspirational mindset – even modest homes feature the latest appliances
Family-centric living shapes fridge use, storage needs, and purchase priorities
These insights informed the creation of clear opportunity areas.
Early Ideation
We developed 12 sacrificial concepts to show a select number of users to challenge assumptions and spark meaningful reactions in upcoming interviews.
(Concepts anonymized due to NDA)
Mid Phase. User Interviews
Speaking with real users to invoke their reactions
We spoke to a mix of current and potential Side-by-Side fridge users — across different household sizes, age groups, and income levels — ensuring a broad perspective on needs and aspirations.
Goals of the interview
Understand participants’ lifestyle and how they use their current refrigerator
Identify needs, desires, and pain points
Validate initial sacrificial concepts
To make this possible, we partnered with a local research agency in India to recruit a diverse mix of current SBS owners and potential buyers.
Stage 3. Develop
Co-Creating with users - from feedback to refined possibilities.
Armed with insights from the user interviews and field research, we moved back into divergent thinking — exploring multiple ways to address the core needs we had uncovered.
What we did
Analysed feedback from interviews to identify which ideas resonated most and why.
Mapped key takeaways from diary studies, fridge photographs, and lifestyle observations to refine problem framing.
Revisited the 12 sacrificial concepts, remixing and combining them with new suggestions from users.
Sketched and discussed low-fidelity variations to test “what if” scenarios without heavy investment.
(Specifics of findings of the interviews cannot be revealed due to NDA.)
Stage 4. Deliver
Selecting and shaping the final features.
With a refined pool of ideas, we moved into convergent thinking. In collaboration with the client’s product leads, we:
Shortlisted concepts using a weighted voting and feasibility scoring system.
Assessed each idea for user value, technical feasibility, and alignment with brand positioning.
Finalised three feature concepts for development, keeping in mind the goal of low manufacturing impact and high relevance to the Indian premium refrigerator segment.
The selected concepts were handed over for 3D rendering and internal review.
(Final concepts cannot be shown due to NDA — anonymized process visuals are included instead.)
Reflection
My Role
Core design team (2 people). Contributed across research, synthesis, ideation, and concept refinement. Supported by additional designers during peak phases; external agency conducted user interviews.
My impact
Being Indian in a European design team helped me bring cultural context and interpret subtle lifestyle nuances of the target users, which shaped more grounded insights and concept directions.
