Since the introduction of the modern airplane galley for wide-body aircraft in the late 1960s, the industry has seen little change to the galley in terms of technology and innovation. Today, in an era centered on brand and differentiated services, and at the crux of a new economy focused on value, airlines can no longer afford to overlook the galley as a potential space for cost reduction and brand differentiation.

Consisting of 10 products ranging from a steam oven to an espresso maker, the Essence Inserts Collection offers a consistent design language and user experience. Designed to work alone or as an integrated system, Essence products bring a new level of comfort and ease of use to the galley with an innovative user interface and plug and play accessibility.

Prototyping both the industrial and interaction design proved instrumental in developing a consistent product line. Armed with knowledge gained through research, the team experimented with various materials deemed appropriate to the airplane cabin environment. The exploration of shape, colors, materials and finishes led to a distinct design language that conceptually diverges from the technical aesthetic that previously dominated the inserts category.

The design language of the Essence Inserts Collection creates a sense of harmony and balance within the cabin galley enhanced by a new level of visual sophistication. The core principles of the design language—a highly intuitive and refined user experience and a neutral color palette in combination with an ergonomically friendly rotary latch that uniquely couples first and secondary latching—help define and ensure a distinct, constant and consistent quality of brand expressions across all touch points. A distinctive palette of colors and materials were selected to support a minimalist look and feel, communicating a message of understated elegance unique to the Essence product line.

Essence’s intuitive interface synchronizes with button iconography and layout; a high contrast screen makes for easy use and touch interaction zones. Menus can also be preprogrammed on the fly with simple input commands to maximize efficiencies.

Responding directly to an increasing demand for solutions that speak to long-term value, the Essence embodies advanced technologies and innovative features setting a new industry standard for functionality, reliability, quality and value that results in the lowest cost of ownership available on the market. Weight reduction varies from 3–40 percent, depending on the product, while the full range of Essence products benefits from improved power efficiencies, superior product performance, increased reliability and progressive design coupled with enhanced ergonomics.

Credits: TEAGUE: Brian Conner, Tony Bravetti, Sebastian Petry and Adam Kumpf; B/E Aerospace Design Team
Contact: Keisha Kelly: [email protected]