Dental Asia November/December 2021

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Trends Karl Malmén, industrial design manager at Planmeca Industrial design bridges the gap between technology and user Every product is created to meet a need, and industrial design attempts to identify and address them. But what does it take to go from good to great industrial design? Kari Malmén, Planmeca’s long-time industrial design manager, has seen a fair share of the company’s product development over time and knows well what can make or break a product. With more than 33 years at the company, he has worked alongside Timo Silvonen, senior industrial designer; Toni Leinvuo, industrial designer; Tapio Laukkanen, Planmed’s industrial and UI design manager; Tero Pihlajamäki and Veli Rundelin, usability specialists; and Henni Palomäki, UX/UI designer. Malmén shares what it takes to get from good to great industrial design. AT THE CORE OF USER NEEDS According to Malmén, great design comes from bringing in industrial designers into the development process from day one. “You get the absolute best result when the designer gets to work on, with and around the concept from the outset,” said Malmén. “An industrial designer is an idea man, and this is the time when you both can and should vent your wildest ideas.” In developing high-tech medical devices, such as Planmeca’s dental equipment, maintaining the all-important user perspective is critical. This is where the industrial designer plays a key role in bridging the gap between the technology and the user. At Planmeca, this means, among other things, a good deal of legwork as the designers visit partner clinics to interview dental professionals, hear their thoughts and concerns and see them in action. “We try to go quite deep into the user role to get at the core of what they need from the device: what does the user do, what’s the workflow, what’s the currently available technology. Then there’s the patient angle: how does the device look and feel to the patient and what can we do to make them more comfortable. Because, as we know, the calmer the patient, the better the result,” explained Malmén. DESIGNING FOR THE BIG FOUR Dental technology has made gigantic strides forward in recent years in transforming the practice of dentistry. Interestingly, however, the major design principles in the industry have stayed largely the same. The driving engines remain the big four: ergonomics, usability, safety, and aesthetics. 18 DENTAL ASIA NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021
“Something I’ve always said is that one design element is the seam, and that remains true to this day. You can’t put a seam just anywhere, you have to look at the bigger picture – what’s behind the seam, who needs to access that, for instance, for maintenance and how often. You have to understand the environment the product is for,” shared Malmén. It is no surprise, however, that customer expectations have changed, especially in terms of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). He noted: “In the early days, the UI of a dental unit was basically just buttons and a membrane keypad, but since then we’ve entered this whole new visual world of graphic UIs, touchscreens and what not. People now demand the same kind of usability and intuitiveness of a dental unit UI that they would expect of a smartphone. That’s something that we industrial designers need to carry over to the product.” FUNCTION AND FORM According to Malmén, a great industrial designer has a good visual eye and knowledge of manufacturing techniques, is cooperative and can put their thoughts and ideas down on paper. Everything starts from defining the product requirements, which is followed by brainstorming and ideation. The mechanics designers then determine the construction and dimensions, while the usability specialists work on the user interface. Finally, the product is tested and refined in cooperation with partner end-users. Yet, although many types of industrial design follow a similar trajectory, designing health technology comes with a unique human factor that sets it apart from other products. Take a dental unit for example. One dentist may be looking for easy access to essential instruments, another for left-handed operation. Larger clinics and dental schools are likely to need customisation options, such as personalised settings that are easy to enable in any unit. Then there is the patient, who is probably hoping to feel as comfortable and safe as possible during a potentially uncomfortable treatment. Besides all that, everyone is looking for reliability that can be counted on for years to come. A cleverly designed dental unit can respond to all these needs while conforming to today’s ever-increasing medical device regulation. How does one get there? Through great design that respects and reflects user needs in both function and form. DA HIGH-PERFORMANCE DYNAMIC INSTRUMENTS SIMPLIFYING DENTAL MOTION TeKne Dental srl – Italy info@teknedental.com www.teknedental.com DENTAL ASIA NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021 19
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Dental Asia November/December 2021

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