Our Portfolio
Our work does more than just fulfill a need, it improves the lives of those who use it. To do that, we consider all aspects of design – aesthetics, functionality, emotion, and craftsmanship – in the context of the user. Since 1934, we’ve created a portfolio that is deep in purpose, wide in variety, and hugely influential to our client’s success.
Explore Our Design Work
Product
Design
Physical + Digital
UX
Design
Consumer + Systems
Innovation
Strategy
Transformation + New Growth
Viatec: The Look and Feel of the Electric Future
The Look and Feel of the Electric Future Viatec Viatec is a unique player in the emerging electrification movement. Their first product, SmartPTO, provides on-demand power to hydraulic utility systems without the pollution, noise and high cost of idling diesel...
Repositioning Dremel: Evolving a Heritage Brand for the Next Generation
Repositioning Dremel: Evolving a Heritage Brand for the Next GenerationDremel, renowned for inventing the high-speed rotary tool, has long been a leader in precision and craftsmanship. As the brand expands into mainstream power tool categories—such as drills, circular...
PHONONIC: Self-Refrigerated Grocery Tote
PHONONIC: Self-Refrigerated Grocery ToteIn the unprecedented context of a global pandemic, grocery retailers were faced with the daunting task of rapidly scaling their custom order fullfilment capabilities. This was compounded by the additional pressures of reducing...
UX Design for Michigan’s Future: Developing talent through the Michigan Design Prize
UX Design for Michigan's Future: Developing talent through the Michigan Design PrizeThe Michigan Design Council (MDC), a 501c3 non-profit, aims to boost industrial design talent and economic growth in Michigan. During a 2014 Innovation Strategy project between the...
Michigan Economic Development Corporation: Crafting Strategies for Sustainable Economic Growth
Crafting Strategies for Sustainable Economic GrowthIn 2014, Michigan was home to a rich pool of industrial designers, contributing significantly to the state's technology and manufacturing sectors. However, this talent was dispersed among various design organizations...
Hybrid eVTOL BEV design refinement
eVTOL/BEV Hybrid Design to Meet Shifting Market ForcesLuftCar, a USA-based startup, is developing a true “flying car” that works both as an eVTOL vehicle and road vehicle. This transitional category is affected by both automotive & aerospace constraints and...
Sundberg-Ferar : Cobot Ideation
Ideating Cobot Uses in the Food Industry So far, the emerging role of cobots (collaborative robots) in the food industry is only as broad as jobs which are dirty, dull, or dangerous. In this ideation activity, Sundberg-Ferar explored ways to maximize the collaborative...
StoryPoint : Senior Living Research
Diving deep into the wants & needs of retirement-age users as they evaluate living in a Senior CommunityStoryPoint Senior LivingWith the size of the U.S. senior population expanding, and competitive pressures increasing, StoryPoint, one of the top 25 largest...
Michigan Virtual: What Can We Learn From Emergency Remote Learning?
A design-focused look at the experiences of educators, students, & parents during emergency remote learningMichigan VirtualBetween March and June 2020, statewide school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions in both learning and daily life...
Electrolux: The Marriage of Physical and Digital Branding
The Marriage of Physical and Digital BrandingElectroluxElectrolux collaborated with Sundberg-Ferar to explore the transition of their brand into the digital space of the embedded control screens on their products. This represented an opportunity for the company to...
OBI: Robotic Feeding Device
Empowerment Through DesignDESῙN LLC / ObiEating is one of the most essential human experiences and one that many of us take for granted. The act of feeding oneself in the presence of others ties together families and is a fundamental means of participating in culture...
Low Speed EV Design for the Chinese Automotive Market
Designing Innovative LSEVs for the Chinese Automotive MarketWith our deep experience designing for the Chinese automotive industry over many years, SF tackled this project to explore design solutions for 3-wheel and 4-wheel LSEVs targeting various customer segments in...
Corning: Automotive Glass Solutions
China Automotive Persona Research and HMI Ideation CorningCorning’s Automotive Glass Solutions group engaged Sundberg-Ferar to help them identify and understand various Chinese automotive personae, and develop corresponding concept designs based on identified consumer...
SproutsIO
Cultivating sustainable countertop agricultureSproutsIOSproutsIO, Inc is a startup company with a vision for changing the way the world integrates food into their lives. The vision is rooted in the need to localize produce to provide healthy, flavorful, and...
Xenith: Flexible Fit Shoulder Pads and Gloves
Fitting the player’s body as well as their playing styleXenithXenith is a sports equipment brand known for its innovative protective technologies and product designs that push the boundaries of athlete-centered performance. Xenith partnered with Sundberg-Ferar to...
Bora Portamate: Speedhorse
This horse was built for speed!Bora PortamateSundberg-Ferar worked with Affinity Tool Works (ATW) to create innovative concepts for job site equipment products that would set the brand apart in the market. As a result of this project the team developed the Bora...
Bridgestone: Future Vision Design, CES 2021
Bringing Visions of the Future to Life - VirtuallyBridgestoneFor CES 2021, Bridgestone developed a virtual exhibit to showcase their mobility technologies and future innovative vision across several different verticals, highlighting their mission to become the most...
Mahindra GenZe Electric Scooter
Designing for Green Urban Micro-MobilityMahindra GenZeTraditionally, scooters have filled a niche in personal transportation by being easy to park and cost effective to run & maintain in urban settings. Today, the needs and lifestyles of young urban riders go...
Hyundai Ventures: The Loop
Could highspeed vacuum tube trains truly enable daily intercity travel?Hyundai Ventures: The LoopInspired by Elon Musk’s Hyperloop whitepaper that explored the potential of highspeed train travel, Sundberg-Ferar worked with Hyundai Ventures on a research and design...
PLAISIR des SENS: Chaleureux
Innovating IntimacyPLAISIR des SENSPLAISIR des SENS was a unique opportunity for SF. Human nature seeks pleasure and the challenge presented to us by PDS was to enhance the experience of one of the most basic of human pleasure needs-sex. Their goal was to create a...
NCH Corporation: Danco Innovation Strategy
Claiming new market space for DancoNCH Corporation / DancoNCH Corporation was looking to grow their Danco brand outside of their current big box aisle, where they serve the replacement plumbing hardware industry. They wanted to capitalize on other NCH capabilities and...
Gilbarco Veeder-Root: Encore 900 Fuel Dispenser
Boosting B2B with Optimal User ExperienceGilbarco Veeder-RootSundberg-Ferar's design team partnered with Gilbarco in developing a next generation bezel system for their Encore product line that would incorporate new technologies while maintaining a seamless...
eVTOL Concept Design
A new take on eVTOL realismAs the horizon of eVTOL implementation and adoption draws nearer, the factors of user perception and community adoption are becoming increasingly crucial and concerningly unaddressed barriers to success. In this informal internal exercise,...
Hyundai: New Horizons Studio T.I.G.E.R.
Combining legged mobility with wheels and drone delivery means TIGER can reach almost any location on earth.Hyundai: New Horizons StudioHyundai’s New Horizons Studio wanted to create an unmanned compact modular vehicle that could reach the most extreme locations on...
Hyundai: Cradle ELEVATE UMV
What if cars could also walk?Hyundai CradleThe Hyundai Cradle team and Sundberg-Ferar worked together to explore compelling extreme mobility use-cases and develop a solution utilizing robotic capabilities to overcome the limitations of even the best off-road vehicles....
Chrysler Corporation: Uconnect™ Infotainment Interface
User Centered Design Raises the BarChrysler / StellantisSundberg Ferar worked with Chrysler in developing the Uconnect infotainment platform. A single, scalable UI architecture was created for implementation on a wide range of brands (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Maserati,...
Stryker: InTouch™ Critical Care Bed
Setting a New Standard for the Medical IndustryStrykerStryker asked Sundberg-Ferar to help them set a new standard for the high acuity hospital bed market while achieving the following major challenges. Tastefully integrate new state of the art technology upgrades...
Lumecon: Shifting Visual Brand Language into Overdrive
Shifting Visual Brand Language into OverdriveLumeconLumecon LLC, a fellow Michigan company based in Farmington Hills, is a proud US manufacturer of exterior lighting systems. They produce wall packs, floodlights, canopies, and post-top ornamental LED products, all of...
JR Clancy: Helios Hoist and SceneControl 12
The show must go on!JR Clancy: Helios Hoist and SceneControl 12JR Clancy is a leader in live entertainment control systems. They came to SF looking to redesign their theatre hoist and the hand-held controller. This project was rooted in improved usability in a dark...
InSinkErator: Evolution
Removing Food Waste Silently and EfficientlyInSinkErator: EvolutionInSinkErator approached SF to collaborate on the redesign of their latest “Evolution” series disposers. This time around, the disposer designs were based around noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH)...
Club Car: Precedent™ Golf Car
Design effort inspired by insights from stakeholders beyond the end userIngersoll Rand (Club Car)Sundberg-Ferar collaborated with Ingersoll Rand’s Club Car division on the design of an entirely new flagship golf car: the Precedent™. The challenge was to re-invigorate...
Ditch Witch: JT40 Directional Drill
Bringing utility installation to the next level.Ditch Witch Against its namesake and in favor of efficiency, Ditch Witch has expanded their traditional operations and machine production into the Trenchless category. For years Ditch Witch has made product offerings...
Dannar: Mobile Power Station 4.0
Revolutionizing the Heavy Equipment CategoryDD DANNAR, LLCDD DANNAR, LLC, an Indiana-based startup, is the innovator of a new heavy equipment category, the Mobile Power Station ® (MPS ®), a revolutionary electric work vehicle and energy platform. DANNAR approached SF...
Bio-Rad: Overcoming limitations for Single Cell Analysis
Overcoming limitations for Single Cell AnalysisCelsee, Inc. - Acquired by Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.Celsee, Inc., a Michigan-based medical startup, is harnessing the gentle power of gravity to break down barriers in single-cell analysis. In Sundberg-Ferar’s second...
Masco Cabinetry: Merillat CoreGuard™
A game-changing solution to a common pain pointMerillat Cabinetry, a Masco CompanyMasco Cabinetry came to Sundberg-Ferar to conduct a Genesis™ strategic innovation exercise to identify new product opportunities in the kitchen cabinet category. CoreGuard™ was one of...
Sears: Kenmore™ and Kenmore Elite™ Visual Brand Language
Setting an Elite standardKenmoreKenmore partnered with Sundberg-Ferar in the development of their next-generation small appliance visual brand language (VBL). Kenmore was ready to hit the reset button and explore a complete line change. They leveraged SF's research...
Wiss Tools: Medium Duty Shop Scissors
Reinventing an everyday tool as a shop essentialAPEX Tools: Wiss Brand ScissorsAPEX tools had a successful niche product with WISS heavy duty aviation snips but saw a new market opportunity for a medium duty scissor line at big box retail. WISS had no products in this...
Arrow Fasteners: Electric and Manual Staplers
Designing for Brand Equity and User Confidence in DIY ToolsArrow Fastener Company, LLC.Arrow is the market leader in fastening, having earned the reputation as the go-to manual staplegun manufacturer with their heritage product from the 1950s, the T50. We were...
Ames True Temper: Pruning Tools
A Keen Eye on Hand Tools: Tapping User-Centric Insights to Drive Design InnovationAmes True TemperSundberg-Ferar worked with Ames True Temper to design a line of innovative pruning tools that include the hand pruners shown here. The team cross-referenced ideal user...