The pinnacle of German engineering has reached my home.
It’s not a car. Thankfully. It would be a bit out of place on the sixth floor. It’s a beast of a vacuum cleaner. The Bosch Unlimited 7 vacuum cleaner is a testament to how many spectacular design choices a manufacturer can pack into a single product if they only ask questions and listen.
If Bosch researchers asked user research participants about their experiences with their vacuum cleaners or observed them in action using a vacuum cleaner, I imagine they’d talk for a while.
Electrical outlets need to be at a specific distance from where I want to clean, otherwise I can’t plug in the cleaner and clean there. The plug falls out of the socket if I exert the tiniest amount of force. The vacuum cleaner is heavy. Small spaces are difficult to get to. The cleaner is one connected piece, so flexibility isn’t an option. The vacuum cleaner takes up a lot of room.
Bosch’s Unlimited 7 is cordless. Battery runtime is more than enough to clean a small apartment. It’s self-standing, so you can pin it to the wall and have it take up no room. The Unlimited 7 is modular, so you can switch pieces depending on what you want to clean. The vacuum cleaner tube is bendable, so it can get into the tricky spots underneath tables or chairs.
Cordless, bendable, light, and overall easy to handle? I’m in.
But none of those are the feature I’m obsessed with. The type of feature we talk about in design meetings when we’re beyond usability and accessibility, but want to delight users. To surprise. To exceed expectations. To anticipate their needs before they tell us about them. Before they even know.
A vacuum cleaner’s feature can teach us something, inspire even.
I had no idea how much was invisible to the naked eye until the integrated LED lighting of my vacuum cleaner was on.
At first, it sounds counterintuitive. Do people want to know how dirty their place is? Do people need to see in disgusting detail the consequences of late-night snacking (wavy salted potato chips are my kryptonite)? Is knowing our weekly hair loss amount necessary?
Bosch points out the problem only as a precursor to the solution.
They’re not saying, haha, your house is disgusting. They’re gently guiding you to the cleaning that needs to get done, even if it’s not visible to you. They’re making it visible through the lighting system and a vacuum nozzle that picks up more than 99.9% of dust, so you can live in a clean, lovely home.
The integrated LED points out seemingly invisible dirt, fur, bits of food, and hair. so. much hair. At night, I turn off the lights and let the LED lead me. I see everything, and while it does sound counterintuitive, it has made vacuum cleaning 10x more satisfying for me.
And the same principle applies at work.
It’s not enough to point out the dirt. How badly the reorg was managed. How, as a content designer, you were brought in at the end of the design cycle to review AI-generated copy. How that product manager said lorem ipsum was helpful and fine in an org-wide meeting. How there was no research budget and the whole team relied on vibes.
Pointing out the dirt is the first step. The first important, difficult, dry-mouth-causing, will-sometimes-make-you-enemies step.
If you’re disengaged and you couldn’t care less about whatever the relevant analogy of “a clean house” goal is at your workplace, pointing out the dirt doesn’t feel difficult. It likely comes naturally and doesn’t cause dry mouth or any reaction, really. There are valid reasons to disengage.
Noticing things is a superpower. But it’s not enough to point out the dirt if you’re still there not only in physical presence.
You point out the dirt, then you get your hands dirty. You ask around. You figure out who to ask. You ask if this affects others, and how. You talk to peers at the company and beyond. You learn from their experiences. You listen. There are things you hadn’t considered, as it turns out. You clarify the outcome you want and the outcome the company wants. You think of the worst-case scenario. You dream up the best-case scenario for yourself and your life goals. You talk to more people. You listen. You ask for help. You come up with 3 different solutions and pros and cons for each. You share with a small group, then a bigger one, and so on. You have advocates. You clean shit up.
Noticing things is a superpower. But it’s action that turns into one.
