• Consumer-centric thinking is key to any design process.
• Ten Design awards for GROHE: SmartControl kitchen honored with most design awards in 2020.
• Precise control with a minimalistic design: Juries particularly acknowledged the kitchen faucet line for its intuitive operation.



Düsseldorf, 9th December 2020 – Answering the “why” of a product is essential in the beginning of a design process in order to create meaningful and relevant product solutions to the consumer. To understand how they want to live and what they expect from their living spaces requires a deep understanding of consumers. “Anticipating even unarticulated needs in an early stage of the product development process is crucial for creating purpose-driven products with a real added value to the consumer,” explains Patrick Speck, Leader LIXIL Global Design EMENA.

Each product at GROHE is based on three design values: easy, human and performance. “Our design approach is to create products that are easy – the design should clearly communicate its intention. Additionally, the functionality needs to be accessible and human. It should support the consumer. And lastly, GROHE products are distinguished through their performance,” says Patrick Speck. This is well received, also by international design award juries. This year, GROHE was honored with 44 design distinctions, continuing the success from the past years. Among the award-winning products especially GROHE SmartControl kitchen impressed the experts due to its outstanding combination of minimalistic design and consumer-centricity.

Purist design meets precise control
Consumers are searching for products which make their daily lives more comfortable. The innovative GROHE SmartControl kitchen faucet convinced exactly through this quality at ten top awards in 2020. “With our SmartControl kitchen we re-invented the kitchen faucet by integrating an intelligent button at the top of the faucet which provides a completely new user interaction,” says Patrick Speck. “The shape is reduced to the absolute minimum, leaving no room for distraction or confusion – puristic design in its purest form.” Instead of using a lever, the SmartControl kitchen faucet offers intuitive push and turn operation. To start the water flow, the consumer pushes the button. This also works easily with the elbow or wrist and is ideal for moments when both hands are full or not clean. By turning the button, the amount of water can be precisely adjusted from the water-saving eco-jet to the powerful jet stream. Intuitive control, straightforward comfort and ultimate flexibility at the touch of a button.

Besides its user-friendliness, the line also scores points with its minimalist and purist shape in three different design variants: the cylindrical GROHE Minta design, the organic shaped GROHE Essene design and the A-shaped GROHE Zedra design. Furthermore, GROHE offers the SmartControl kitchen faucet in a total of ten different colors which were awarded with the iF gold award in 2020 – Providing a solution for any taste and kitchen style.

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