Traditional ceramics manufacturer Villeroy & Boch has made a modern and bold move, allowing the general public to design its latest gift range.
Using online platform jovoto, Villeroy & Boch gave more than 60,000 creatives from 150 countries the chance to design its Little Gallery collection. Hundreds of entries poured in, with the eventual winners coming from Germany, Portugal, Mexico and Venezuela.
The result is eight different designs from modern floral patterns to black and white sketches across a tumbler, candle dish, vase and decolight made of ceramic.
As Florian Bausch, head of product management and development, Villeroy & Boch tableware division explains, crowdsourcing the designs was a departure for the brand, which usually works with in-house designers who know the company’s aesthetic.
“With Little Gallery we wanted to do something completely different for once, to try out something new,” he says. “That’s why we crowdsourced the decors.
“We had no idea what would happen but the result has surpassed all our expectations. We are more than happy with the designs and are convinced that our customers will feel the same.”
The successful crowdsourcing has encouraged the company to look for fresh ideas and inspiration more often.
“To turn to an anonymous online community for decors, which have been our core competence for over 265 years, was absolutely ground breaking for us,” says Bausch.
“But it showed that this external perspective can provide new impulses for our product development.”
Another crowdsourcing project is already planned, this time to design new ceramic forms.
By Ruth Cooper
