Client
Bolin Webb
Projects
X1 Fusion Razor
X1 & R1 Magnetic Stand
Silicon Travel Case
Male grooming is an area of design that has long been overlooked. Products on the market tend to be either low value FMCG’s or highly overpriced traditional products that have not changed functionaly or aesthetically in many years.
Derrick Webb, founder of Bolin Webb identified a gap in the market and came to WMP to realise their ambition of bringing male grooming into the 21st century. The brief was to create a range of highly aspirational, contemporary products that would appeal not only to men but also importantly the women that are likely to purchase the products.
The X1 Razor is the centrepiece of an ever-growing Bolin Webb eco-system. WMP has also designed a number of accessories including the pebble stand with high power neodymium magnets concealed beneath its cast metal top and a silicone protective travel case. The whole range of products has won many of the worlds most prestigious design awards.
Every touchpoint of the user experience was considered to achieve the best possible design. The focus was always to add value through innovative ideas and very high levels of attention to detail.
We carried out a thorough programme of prototyping and testing to help identify optimum weights along with refining comfort and balance.
The ability to create multiple colour and finish variations has been key to generating very successful high-end retail partnerships.
To design something beautiful is one thing, but for a product to demand a high value retail price, it also needs to feel premium and to pass the test of time.
Our job was to control all parts for multiple specialist suppliers to meet the very high tolerance specification. All Bolin Webb products undergo stringent quality control procedures and come with a 2 year guarantee. To meet these high standards WMP helped to source suppliers and managed the detailed liaison process through to mass production.
The Bolin Webb silicone Razor Case has won Germany’s Red Dot “Best-of-the-Best” 2017 design award. After assessing thousands of products from all over the world, the Razor Case received the highest distinction: ‘The Red Dot Product Design: Best of the Best’ awarded for its contribution to extraordinary, innovative design.
The goal was to create a simple product that was totally fit for its purpose. From a functional perspective, the product had to be flexible so that it could perfectly encase both the R1 and X1 razors. The specified materials had to be robust, tactile, protective and importantly non-absorbent as the razor would usually be put away whilst still wet.
Like all Bolin Webb products, the design had to be innovative, contemporary and have a sense of movement and poise. The design approach was based on simplicity. The task was to find an elegant solution that could be made from a single material and in a single tool with no superfluous details.
Like most simple designs, the final product is a result of several iterations of development and prototyping. Each time simplifying and refining it until we were all happy with the way it looked and performed.