Watts DNA. Defining design language of a leading company

Watts industries incorporates several companies such as Socla, Blücher, Bar, Microflex and Valpes. A uniform Design Language and DNA in its products is lacking for this reason. Thus, the thesis is addressed to contribute on the definition and application of Design Language and DNA, with regards to Watts products. The research is divived into two main parts: assumptions and application. The assumptions aim at clarifiyng the real meaning of Design Language and DNA, its power and how it can be built in the product development. Starting from the scientific definition of DNA, it highlights the affinity between the identity (DNA) found in nature, dictated by the genes, and the product identity (product DNA), which is derived by a certain language. Furthermore, it is understood how a language is created through the use of certain design principles. As follows, through the assumptions, it is possible to understand why it is called design DNA and what role Design Language plays in creating a product identity (or DNA). In the second part of the study, the application focused on analyzing competitors and Watts products with the criteria seen in the assumption. Firstly, the entire Watts products family has been presented and analyzed by categories. Successively, Watts product-design language issues and incongruity has been highlighted in order to start developing a Watts language. Thus, A well-defined Design Language mapping for every Watts industries products has been developed. In this way, Watts Design DNA could be generated, delineating those features that make every Watts product recognizable. The study approaches the elaborated language mapping for two of the main products categories: RPV (reduction protection valves) and HAC (home automation and comfort). As a result, concepts with a uniform language has been developed. Being part of a multidisciplinary Master Course, this study identifies also the crucial role that a Designer-Engineer plays in creating a product DNA, analysing its importance during the product development, from the intuition of an idea to its production. The contribution of a professional figure such as a designer-engineer has been illustrated in this study, in order to throw a light on the critical points that make a product design perfect.

La tesi si focalizza sullo studio di linguaggio DNA per l'azienda Watts, da tempo un'azienda che ha incorporato molti brand minori come Valpes, Socla, Microflex e Bar. Per questo motivo un linguaggio uniforme nei prodotti appartenenti alla Watts Industries é inesistente. La tesi é divisa in assunzioni e applicazioni. Nella prima parte si descrive il vero significato di design DNA, la sua correlazione con il DNA a partire dalla sua definizione scientifica. Nella seconda parte, invece, vengono applicati i principi elaborati nelle assunzioni sui prodotti Watts al fine di sviluppare una mappatura di linguaggio per tutti i prodotti Watts. La tesi si concentra su due specifiche categorie, non che due delle piu significative, considerando il catalogo prodotti Watts: le valvole di riduzione e i termostati. Concept developing di entrambe le categorie si susseguono al fine di presentare come un linguaggio univoco possa essere applicato tramite l'utilizzo della cosi detta mappatura di linguaggio.