Kapelse Social Card Reader Range
Kapelse Social Card Reader Range from Nicolas MELAN
Kapelse Social Card Reader Range

Brief:
Design a range of social card readers to help Kapelse, a startup company to launch its first products, on the French market. Designers will suggest the best component integration architecture, to make the products as small as possible.

Strategic design choice:
Define a relevant product identity, which is closer to high-tech electronic products, rather than medical products (more easily accepted). As it was a startup company, not trying to target high quantities, but rather quality, with a high-end positioning, to promote their brand, and make a difference more easily on the market. And it worked very well (ask me for more details).

My involvement in this project:
• design team leader & lead designer • project / ressources management
• market analysis & trend analysis • brand values
• product general architecture • component integration
• industrial design (sketching, CAD, CMF) • 3D rendering

Brief: Design a range of social card readers to help Kapelse, a startup company to launch its first products, on the French market. Designers will suggest the best component integration architecture, to make the products as small as possible. Strategic design choice: Define a relevant product identity, which is closer to high-tech electronic products, rather than medical products (more easily accepted). As it was a startup company, not trying to target high quantities, but rather quality, with a high-end positioning, to promote their brand, and make a difference more easily on the market. And it worked very well (ask me for more details). My involvement in this project: • design team leader & lead designer • project / ressources management • market analysis & trend analysis • brand values • product general architecture • component integration • industrial design (sketching, CAD, CMF) • 3D rendering
Social card reader, to be put on drugstores’ counters, to read customer’s social information when they buy medicine. The device can be used flat, or upright, as it helps to keep the space used by the product to a minimum (drugstores’ counters are often small and full of items). The supporting foot of the product provides cable management function. Result: Kapelse was a new French company, which never created any product and was new to the very niche market of health card readers (dominated by Ingenico). My industrial design skills & experience resulted in a design which was huge commercial success: over 100 000 units sold in 3 years, which for products that are only sold to hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and home nurses in France only, is quite an achievement. And the best part is the Kapelse products were the most expensive on the market… Kapelse is now very established on this market. It won a European Product Design Award in 2020.
View with all the products of the range, from left to right: • counter social card reader, to read customer’s social information when buying medicine at drugstores’ counter. • tablet version (fixed on Vesa port) to provide medicine information to customers on drugstores’ shelves. • mobile version for visiting nurses, to read patients’ social cards. The tablet features a camera, as the product could be later used in patients home, for doctors to follow-up their patients from remote locations.
Initial design of the mobile version for visiting nurses, to read patients’ social cards. The device integrates a display magnetic cover, which holds the stylus, so visiting nurses could put the device back in their bag safely. The UI was made by Kapelse.
Backstage of the project.
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Kapelse Social Card Reader Range

Brief:
Design a range of social card readers to help Kapelse, a startup company to launch its first products, on the French market. Designers will suggest the best component integration architecture, to make the products as small as possible.

Strategic design choice:
Define a relevant product identity, which is closer to high-tech electronic products, rather than medical products (more easily accepted). As it was a startup company, not trying to target high quantities, but rather quality, with a high-end positioning, to promote their brand, and make a difference more easily on the market. And it worked very well (ask me for more details).

My involvement in this project:
• design team leader & lead designer • project / ressources management
• market analysis & trend analysis • brand values
• product general architecture • component integration
• industrial design (sketching, CAD, CMF) • 3D rendering

Available
Freelance, Full-time, Moonlighting
Nicolas MELAN
Industrial Designer, Strategist, Consultant & Coach - I help brands... Zhongshan, China