Newell Brands has opened its new Atlanta Design Center, 37,000 square feet of operations across two locations positioned as a hub of the company’s design innovation strategy across its portfolio of consumer brands.
Newell Brands operates such home brands as Rubbermaid, Calphalon, Oster, Mr. Coffee, Crock-Pot and Foodsaver. Other brands from Newell include Sharpie, Coleman, Elmers and Graco.
The Newell Design Center comprises two distinct facilities: the Queen Tower at Concourse Office Park, located at Newell’s Atlanta headquarters; and a photo and creative studio at the company’s Morgan Falls location.
“Design has the power to shape how consumers experience our brands and products,” said Nick Hammitt, Newell’s chief marketing officer. “The Design Center is a significant investment in the company’s future. By bringing together design, consumer insights, brand teams, R&D, and innovation partners, we are creating stronger connections between our consumers and brands and how we bring products to market.”
The Design Center brings together a comprehensive set of capabilities under one roof, including industrial and brand design, advanced digital visualization, physical prototyping and AI-enhancements, Newell noted.
The center includes dedicated user experience research environments enable cross-functional teams to observe how real consumers interact with products:
- Kitchen UX Lab: A research environment that replicates a real-world kitchen for consumers who like to cook and create.
- Kids UX Lab: A specialized research space designed to create a comfortable, engaging environment involving parents, caregivers, and children interacting with our products.
“The Design Center is about bringing together talent and collaboration in one place and building the next chapter of design at Newell Brands,” said Brian Rice, Newell’s vice president, global head of design. “Our goal is a design capability that helps our brands innovate with greater clarity, speed, and impact. We are building a place where great designers do work that truly matters.”
