Interview: Lovisa Lund
«As a designer at Rotho you get to be a part of the full development process of a product: from idea, production to retail shelves»
What was your entry function?
My manager, Marc Binder, reached out to me directly when I was studying at Umea Institute of Design in Sweden. I started off with a one-year internship which ended in a job offer. I now work full time as a Junior Product Designer.
What makes Rotho an attractive workplace?
Rotho is a great company for designers who would like to follow the whole process of developing a product! It's a smaller company where you get to be close to the full process of making a product. As a designer, it's rare to be able to be involved in every part of the process.
At Rotho - one day you are sketching on a new product at your desk, the next you are downstairs in the production doing direct samples in the machine.
What personal experiences / qualities are important for your job?
I am originally an Industrial engineer turned designer. I see it as an advantage to understand the bigger picture of the production process while design being my focus. Apart from the final product being desirable and useful for our end customers, there is whole world of production, assembly and logistics which needs to be taken into consideration before making it home to the many people!
Which is your favorite Rotho product and why?
PAGAMALU.
It takes the full life cycle of the product into consideration. As a user you get the chance to organize your kitchen with lids of various functions and by the end of their life cycle you are able to take every part a part and recycle it fully (design for disassembly).
As a traditional production company, Rotho is not necessarily seen as a company that is very attractive. Do you agree with this statement?
I guess it depends on what you are looking for! I found Rotho to be an attractive company for many reasons - one being its size and your ability to have a large impact. I enjoy the entrepreneurial spirit of being able to work on many diverse projects: form products, illustrations, shop windows and social media.
We are also a diverse team from many parts of the world which makes us a rather progressive modern multi-cultural workplaces.
