Designed to perform in a tough environment for demanding users, the Gallagher TW Series Weigh Scale is a highly resolved product solution from the design team based at Massey University College of Creative Arts. It encapsulates a complex digital management tool in a rugged, yet simple product design that pushes past the boundaries of mere functionality.
Purple Pin Case Study — Product
Gallagher Animal Management Systems in partnership with Massey University College of Creative Arts
Gallagher TW Series Weigh Scale
Background
It’s a common preconception that New Zealand farmers have no time for the niceties of design. The reality is more complex than that; what they appreciate is good user experience that saves them time and frustration. Ironically, this appreciation of a product’s usability and functionality renders the design process largely invisible.
Regardless, that design process is becoming increasingly important for New Zealand manufacturers. Many are making big strides towards understanding the value of good product design, both as a strategic necessity and as a tool for success in global markets. Gallagher is at the forefront of this evolution and products such as the Purple Pin winning TW Series Weigh Scale are the outcome of their ongoing relationship with the Massey University design team led by Tony Parker.
It’s a relationship built on reciprocal learning, with both designer and client challenging each other to demonstrate the value of their design choices to the pursuit of effective and attractive products. In the case of the TW Series Weigh Scale, the central design challenge was to produce an easy to use, plug and play weigh scale at a good price. It needed to work as part of a system of products, it needed to be intuitive for users and it needed to be extremely durable.