OXO Good Grips Peeler: The DNA of Good Design

Thamer 00:10

Welcome to With Intent, a podcast from the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech about how design permeates our world, whether we call it design or not. My name is Thamer Abanami, and I’m joined by Albert Shum, and we are your hosts for With Intent’s third season.

 

Albert 00:25

This season, we explore the stories and lessons from several designs featured in ID’s list of 100 greatest designs published by Fortune magazine. We discuss how the concepts of intentional, responsible, and innovative design intersect with some of the selections on the list.

 

Thamer 00:48

Today, we’re diving into the iconic OXO Good Grips Peeler, a product that redefined kitchen tools with its focus on universal design. And when I first came across it, it wasn’t just another kitchen tool. To me, it was a design revolution. Albert, what do you think?

 

Albert 01:04

It was a revolution, in the sense that it was a new approach, a new way to look at design. The OXO Good Grips Peeler wasn’t about making things look nice. It was about accessibility, ease of use, and thoughtful design that changed the way people interact with everyday objects.

 

Thamer 01:22

We really lucked out for this episode, and we have the pleasure of speaking with Davin Stowell. Davin is the founder of Smart Design, the firm behind the design of the peeler. We sat down with him to understand the origins and evolution of this groundbreaking product and get his insights from the way he practiced design. But before we dive into the interview, let’s take a step back and explore the beginnings of the peeler. To understand it fully, we have to go back to its origins.

 

Albert 01:51

The story really begins with Sam Farber, an entrepreneur who noticed how difficult it was for his wife, Betsy, who had arthritis, to use standard kitchen tools. And you have to remember, back then, it was the ‘80s, when a lot of kitchen tools and appliances were pretty utilitarian. Farber partnered with Davin Stowell and Smart Design to rethink, to reimagine what kitchen tools could be—making them comfortable, accessible, and usable by everyone, regardless of physical ability. The OXO Good Grips line was launched in 1990 when Sam Farber took his vision to make accessible kitchen tools available to everyone. It was a breakthrough in design and the marketplace, becoming a highly successful product line. Here’s Davin sharing his experience on how the OXO Good Grips Peeler idea came to be.

 

Davin 02:57

Sam was vacationing in France with his wife, Betsy, and she was making an apple pie, peeling apples with a metal peeler that almost everybody had back then in the late 1980s. She was complaining to Sam about how uncomfortable the peeler was on her hands. It was sort of an aha moment for them because he realized it was a kitchen tool—a tool he was very familiar with—and that his wife needed something better. He was so excited that he called me up between six and seven o’clock at night in New York, which would have been past midnight in France, and he couldn’t sleep. So he said, “Get started immediately. I’ll be back home in New York in a month and a half.”

 

Thamer 03:50

What’s interesting about this peeler, Albert, is that many have tried to copy it later on, but really, it doesn’t look or feel like anything that came before it. I found that when we were talking with Davin, I was able to sketch the gesture of the peeler from memory, and I’m usually terrible at that. Albert, can you break down what makes this design so special?

 

Albert 04:15

I think you’re being too hard on yourself; you’re pretty good at sketching! To describe it, it’s really about the handle. When you first look at it, there’s this large black handle, and it’s inviting. It has a very round shape and a curvature that makes it approachable. That was my first impression, and then you notice the refined fins, or ribs, on the handle. They immediately make you want to pick it up and touch it. Those ribs are such a signature—almost like an icon of OXO Good Grips. You instantly know, “Hey, that’s where your thumb goes.” It invites you to pick it up, and once you do, you realize it’s really soft to the touch with a refined texture. It’s easy to hold but also ensures it won’t slip out of your hand. It’s not just about the handle, though. When you pick it up, you realize the blade is aligned with the handle, so as it fits in your hand, you naturally put your thumb on those ribs, and the blade orientation feels intuitive. Everything—from the material choices to the shape of the handle and blade alignment—was considered and refined.

 

Thamer 05:53

After sitting down with Davin and listening to you describe it, I have a newfound appreciation for this object. I break it down into two elements: signaling and core function. The handle tells a story—it says, “Come grab me, I’m different.” But it’s also effective; it has a very sharp blade compared to previous designs, and there’s this balance between signaling and function. Albert, can you talk a little about that?

 

Albert 06:31

Sure. Sometimes we talk about “form follows function” or “form follows emotion.” For me, the OXO Good Grips Peeler signals this idea of tactility—you just want to pick it up and hold it. That tactile experience is hard to describe, especially in this digital age where we often touch glass and lose that feedback. Tactility is core to us as humans, and sometimes we lose sight of that. To me, signaling is about creating a gesture that invites you to pick it up.

 

Thamer 07:22

One of the things that makes this design so special is its universality—how it’s inclusive in both form and function. When I look back at this peeler, I see many of the same ideas and principles that we apply in inclusive design today.

 

Davin 07:41

We contacted the Arthritis Foundation so they could refer us to people who could test the product. We wanted to test prototypes with people who had arthritis. There are things we can do to simulate the experience, like wearing stiff gloves, but firsthand insight is essential. We quickly realized that the handle needed to be larger and non-slip, so we used a rubber-like material. We made the handles oval so they wouldn’t rotate easily. We could test these features directly with people and also measure using force gauges to see how much force they could apply or how little was needed to turn the peeler.

 

Thamer 08:38

What do you think, Albert?

 

Albert 08:40

Good design is universal and inclusive. The OXO Good Grips Peeler embodies this. Many products today are exclusive in terms of price or access, but the insight Sam Farber had when his wife Betsy struggled with a standard peeler was that no one should be excluded. Addressing exclusion and extending the benefits to everyone is fundamental in good design.

 

Thamer 10:10

And on the business side, if you design to make everyone’s experience better, you’ll have a larger market. The OXO Good Grips Peeler was a hit, and it wasn’t just people with arthritis who used it.

 

Albert 10:28

Now let’s hear what Davin has to say about the beginnings of user-centered design, universal inclusive design, and the importance of observation and deep understanding.

 

Davin 10:41

When we created the peeler, there wasn’t a term like “universal design” or “user-centered design.” We were just designing for people. Good design is about meeting people’s needs, which goes beyond ergonomics or functionality. It’s about deeply understanding those needs and the context, then finding the simplest solution that satisfies them perfectly. I lean toward minimalism—it’s about the simplest expression of a product, but it has to have an emotional factor. Pure minimalism can be dull, and even the most functional design needs to invite curiosity. If nobody wants to pick it up, functionality doesn’t matter.

 

Thamer 12:40

The OXO Good Grips Peeler wasn’t just for people with challenges using a peeler; it was designed for everyone to use comfortably. This approach influenced countless consumer products and set a standard for what design should be. As we listened to Davin, it was clear that much of his work aligns with the DNA of good design. Here’s more on his thoughts.

 

Here’s the continuation of the corrected transcript:

 

Davin 13:14

We aim to create timeless products. Wouldn’t it be great if something we designed was around for years? But the designer doesn’t choose what’s timeless—people do. Take the peeler, for example. It’s minimalist and universal. Those fins on the handle are like the grill on the front of a BMW—you know it’s a BMW because of those iconic shapes on the grill. Today, those fins on the peeler handle are probably doing more to make the product memorable and authenticate it as the “real OXO Peeler” than they contribute to ergonomic performance. They don’t interfere with ergonomics, but they’re mostly a branding element that communicates the primary attribute of the brand: making everyday products easier to use for everyone.

 

Thamer 14:51

Davin also shared some behind-the-scenes challenges, like balancing the needs of different stakeholders, managing feedback loops during the design process, and my favorite concept—“think to make, make to think”—using active prototyping as you develop a product concept.

 

Davin 15:06

There’s absolutely no substitute for prototyping and testing. You discover things you never thought of until you try it with, say, 10 people, 100 people, or even 1,000 people. Each round of feedback reveals insights you can’t predict. In tech, it’s easier to continuously update, but in physical product design, it’s a long, challenging process from initial idea to retail. People don’t always realize it can take years, with rounds of prototyping, testing, and manufacturing. For OXO products, our update cycle is around 10 years, which is different from tech products with their shorter cycles.

 

Thamer 16:29

Our thesis for this episode is that the DNA of good design is timeless. As we enter a new era of design, do these principles hold? Is this DNA still relevant? So we asked Davin for his insights on the future of design.

 

Davin 16:44

In terms of AI, how does it fit in? AI is great at analyzing the past because that’s what it knows. I see it more as a research tool than a creation tool. When we’re consulting on new projects, we often enter unfamiliar categories, which can bring a fresh perspective but also requires a learning curve. Clients don’t always want to pay for that, but AI can help us get up to speed quickly. We can use AI to sort quantitative data, for example, much faster than we could do manually. But we’d miss the nuance—what people say versus what they feel isn’t something AI can interpret. Face-to-face research always uncovers subtleties that surveys or AI can’t capture. AI lacks life experience, which is essential to understanding context.

 

Thamer 18:42

Reflecting on this story, it’s clear that OXO Good Grips is more than just a peeler or line of kitchen tools—it’s a symbol of how thoughtful design can improve lives. Albert, what stands out to you as some of the key takeaways from the OXO story?

 

Albert 19:02

There’s so much to unpack. First and foremost is the importance of deep understanding and observation. That initial spark that drove Sam Farber to create a better product for his wife, Betsy, wasn’t just personal—it was a belief that there’s a better solution, a better way. As a designer, you need that drive to keep going through the hard work it takes to create a better product.

 

Thamer 19:48

Another thing that struck me was the art of signaling in a product. With the peeler, there’s an inviting, clear value proposition. It’s almost like a magic trick—there’s the handle and the blade, each doing its part. But it’s the handle that makes the experience great, and that signaling is part of the magic.

 

Albert 20:21

Building on that, the team also focused heavily on the packaging and branding. The name “Good Grips” immediately signals that it’s about the grip, and that it’s a high-quality product. In the store, the handle is the first thing you see, and the simple packaging lets the product speak for itself. That self-advertising on the shelf is a crucial aspect of design that makes it stand out.

 

Thamer 21:24

One more insight from our conversation with Davin was about the attention to detail even after the initial design. They tested new blade suppliers by listening to the sound of peeling—listening for a smooth, gliding sound versus a crushing sound. They could tell just by hearing if a blade met their standards. That level of detail in product design is impressive.

 

Albert 22:16

That speaks to the overall experience. Beyond just functional metrics, it’s about how good it feels to peel. You can check all the boxes, but it has to feel right.

 

Thamer 22:40

Especially in this era of AI, there’s a renewed importance in prototyping. This “think to make, make to think” mentality isn’t just about concepts; it’s about insights and inspiration that come only from making. Preserving that process will be essential in future design conversations.

 

Albert 23:09

Absolutely. We’re in a time when the iteration loop is changing, but I’m optimistic. With better tools, we can hopefully create more and better solutions because we can iterate in smarter ways.

 

Thamer 23:42

It’s a balance between tools and the human touch. And for me, that’s the ultimate lesson here—design is for people. The OXO Good Grips Peeler started with the simple idea of helping one person, but it transformed into a new approach to creating products that are accessible to everyone. Design, when done with intent, has the power to make the world more inclusive and better for all.

 

Thamer 24:23

Well said, Albert. And that’s a wrap for today’s episode of With Intent. We hope this deep dive into the OXO Good Grips Peeler was inspiring and informative. Huge thanks to Smart Design and to Davin Stowell for his generous time and thoughtful conversation. We also want to thank the faculty and staff at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech. With Intent is a production of the Institute of Design and is part of its Latham Fellows Program. Thank you for listening, and we look forward to connecting with you next time.