Seascape - SSC A6
A Co-Creative Challenge for a Symbiosis of Cruising and Racing
Client
Bénéteau
Year(s)
2018
A project that merged the insights from sailing enthusiasts with the project team’s expertise and the design studio’s unconventional research approach, probing deeper than the industry standard.
The Challenge
Bénéteau has been building sailing yachts and motorboats for all types of boating practices since 1884. In 2018 the company acquired Sito’s long-term client, the Slovenian sports sailboats manufacturer Seascape. With this new project, Bénéteau/Seascape was looking for a new niche in yachting that would provide not only ergonomic and comfortable space, but also take the sailing experience on a new level.
The early innovation process was initiated by an in-depth design research phase that consisted of several steps. It focused on different types of users: families, couples, sports sailors, boat dealers, racers, combined with a specific sailing style (e.g. daily sailing, coastal cruising, coastal/club racing, training, nightsailing, offshore).
Our Approach
What perhaps set this research apart from the others was that it really aimed to be as close as possible to the end user; to the point where sailing enthusiasts were involved in the project almost as prosumers. We wanted to gather first-hand insights from those who were actively involved in sailing, expert sailing users who enjoyed the wind, the speed and the adrenaline. Our goal was to envision a boat which would offer the excitedness of fast sailing and at the same time allow these enthusiasts to share this passion with their families who were more inclined to seek out comfort and relaxation.
After having conducted 18 interviews (from end users, dealers, sailing instructors, to charter operators, boat constructor and others), we developed a Usage matrix that helped us indicate the most or least frequent modes of use. The results provided by the matrix were used in later stages of the project. All the recruited persons were later synthesised into personas – a tool we employed to check our decisions later in a simulated environment in fast iterations.
Another asset of Sito's team was the selection of methods, tools and the proposal for conducting a survey. To further analyze the specific use case from the perspective of nautical architecture, hydrodynamics and vacuum infusion production, an interview was conducted with naval architect Sam Manuard. This knowledge was used in later stages for testing in a simulated environment and for preparing solutions optimised for the intended means of production and assembly.
We also supported the recruitment of participants for qualitative and anthropological research, exploring user needs around the product’s functional and aesthetic qualities. Sito additionally recruited within Bénéteau’s distribution network in America, Europe and Australia, as they offer specific insights into regional differences in sailing practice, broadening the perspective beyond the initial research sample.
The Outcomes
What made this boat design process so special was that it detected the desired elevated cruising experience. The design therefore sought to combine the leisure of yachting with the performance and speed of racing. This was achieved by making the process as co-creative as possible from the very beginning—bringing in the right users, from sailing experts to their families, and pushing beyond established conventions in the nautical industry. This approach helped us shape the sought-after experience the industry didn’t yet know it lacked.