Conventional weightlifting plates are used with a bar, but Matt Demo™ saw the possibilities for plates that could be used by hand as well. That’s when he called in an industrial design studio with the muscle to help him realize his vision.
DEMOLIFT shows the potential of design thinking to turn a familiar product into an innovation.
A Weighty Challenge
Though meant for use with Olympic weightlifting bars, people often use weight plates without them, grasping them with both hands or with fingers through the center hole. These methods are cumbersome, awkward, and even injurious, which gave Matt the idea for a plate that could be used safely and comfortably with and without the bar and across a broad range of fitness activities including yoga, cross-training, and even physical therapy. To help turn his inspiration into a heavyweight product for the fitness market, he sought out ROBRADY.
Part of the studio’s award-winning design process involves not only evaluating market competitors, but drawing aesthetic inspiration from comparative products in other sectors. In this case, the shape and look of bicycle grips and steering wheels among other items informed the refinement of the ergonomics and the creation a dramatic visual brand language that communicated a sleek, upper-tier brand identity for DEMOLIFT that would grab consumers and potential partners.
But that was just a warm-up.
Getting A Feel for The Solution
The enhanced, 2D concept was milled into a 3D prototype to further assess the design’s fitness as a real-world solution. Interacting with a physical object allowed the team to validate key features of the design such as the functionality, grip comfort, and how well it fit to the hand, as well as the bar, at various sizes.
After selecting the current iteration, photorealistic renderings have been generated for marketing purposes as we move forward to build DEMOLIFT into a product with potential beyond just pumping iron.
