Creative Studies(Exercise 01)

For this exercise, Me and my group members have created 30 questions that have a correlation with our upcoming collaboration of brand product which is Smeg x Table (Furniture). After that, we conduct the survey by using a Google forms online survey and found a total of 30 UOWMKDU students to helps us fill the forms that consist of 30 questions created by us to ask their opinion about the upcoming product that will be create by us.

Introduction of Smeg

Smeg freshly appeared is in the year of  1948 in the town of Guastalla, Reggio Emilia, Italy, and the founder of Smeg is Vittorio Bertazzoni which initially leads Smeg in manufacturing unique household appliances. The name is an acronym for Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla ("Emilian metallurgical enamel works of Guastalla"). Furthermore, Smeg also tends to produce its own product to looks more elegant that fulfill its consumer requirement. The Logo of Smeg is the part that helps people to recognize easily and differentiate their products from other competitors. Moreover, the company remains in the private ownership of the Bertazzoni family with its headquarters still in Guastalla. Smeg is best known for its FAB range of 1950s-style, retro refrigerators that have curved corners. The company also manufactures dishwashers (freestanding - available in FAB style, semi-integrated and fully integrated), washing machines, ovens, microwaves, cooktops, freestanding cookers, range hoods, refrigeration, wine cabinets, in-built coffee machines and small domestic appliances.

Below is the list of 30 questions that created by me and my group members :

Have you ever heard of Smeg?
What do you think of Smeg's overall design? Do you like or dislike it?
Why is Smeg different from any other brand?
Where do you think they get their inspiration from?
What are their usual color choices?
What makes their brand stand out?
What is a prominent aspect of this brand?
Does this brand cater to a certain type of people?
Are their designs too much for just kitchen/cookware?
Would you get any of their products or at least have an interest in them?
Where do you think this company originated from?
Who do you think is their ideal type of customer?
Who are their competitors?
What is their brand identity?
What is the story of this brand?
Do you think Smeg can venture into the furniture market?
Would they be able to make unique furniture as well?
Do you think they could make a modern coffee table?
How would they implement their sophistication into a coffee table?
Do you think they would struggle in the furniture market? Why?
What do you think is their prime source of inspiration?
How long do you think this company has been operating for?
Which era do you think heavily influences the aesthetic of their products?
Why do you think Italians are infamous for their elegance in design?
Is furniture essential for a home?
Do you think furniture is a waste of space?
How much would you honestly spend for a long-lasting coffee table that looks elegant and stylish and is also technologically advanced?
Do you think Smeg would widen up its market and broaden its type of products?
Would you personally purchase a Smeg appliance?
What is your deciding factor in getting a kitchen/cookware or home appliance?

Summary of the results obtained from the online survey that we did with 30 students : 

More than 80% of the students who took part were male whereas only a mere 13% were females. 25% were degree students, 50% were from the foundation and 25% were from the diploma. 84% of the students are aged 19-21 whereas 12.5% are aged 16-18 and 3.5% are aged 22 and above.

With the results that we obtained from the online survey, we can know that most students did not know what Smeg actually is. So, to help the students to identify what Smeg is, me and my group members display four different kinds of Smeg images and an image of coffee tables or just futuristic tables which help in aiding us to convey to them regarding the upcoming combination of Brand X(Smeg)  and Brand Y(Table)  product that will be create by us.

According to our survey results, we know that 70% of our 30 respondents that Smeg's optimal customer are mostly minimalists, individuals tend to like the product's being designed with simplistic and delicate. Moreover, feedbacks were also given by the respondents of their individual's thoughts and perception after seeing the image of a SMEG product.For Instance, the respondents after looking at SMEG products they realize that SMEG tends to bright color such as Red, Orange&Yellow color for their product to captivate customers. In fact, this brings out how unique their product is and it has made the products look elegant and simple. Furthermore, an existing brand like "Ikea", "Hitachi" & "Morphy Richards" are being more well known to them as they have owned a product of it.

In the survey, we also asked what makes Italians design so unique & elegance, some respondents said that because Italians also have some world's best artists, art also plays a huge part in their Culture or Lifestyle. Other respondents said that Scandinavian design has a similar relation concept with SMEG as Scandinavian design were also characterized as simplicity and minimalism in the nordic European country.

Next, we were asked them about their thoughts on us implementing high-technological features such as a wireless charging pad, USB ports, Bluetooth Speaker, charging ports for laptop connector plug and also inserting a wireless electric coffee cup/mug warmer. Most of the respondents are happy with our idea and said that it makes the coffee table more effective and it also makes people more convenient in the future.  In Conclusion, the majority of the respondents are excited and looking forward with the idea of our product which the high-tech part has capture their interest. However, some respondents said that Smeg is not their type of brand as it is too simple.

References :

• Home Designing. (2017). 50 Unique Coffee Tables That Help You Declutter and Stylise Your Lounge. [online] Available at: http://www.home-designing.com/unique-modern-coffee-tables-for-sale-for-any-budget [Accessed 26 Jan. 2020].
• Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Smeg (appliances). [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smeg_(appliances) [Accessed 26 Jan. 2020].
• Yang, L. (2017). This coffee table lets you refrigerate food and charge your phone - Insider. [online] Insider. Available at: https://www.insider.com/futuristic-coffee-table-fridge-2017-9 [Accessed 27 Jan. 2020].
• Smeg - Technology with style (2019). Smeg - Technology with style. [online] Smeg. Available at: https://www.smeg.com/ [Accessed 29 Jan. 2020].