The Titan
Job-site Coffee Maker
for DeWalt
Following the successful collaboration between DeWalt and Altitude, Inc. on the development of the world’s first job-site radio, the DW911, Altitude aimed to build on their momentum. The DW911 was a breakthrough product that achieved significant market success and set a new standard for innovation on the job-site.
Building on this achievement, Altitude believed that DeWalt should shift their focus toward enhancing the broader job-site experience—looking beyond tools alone. Recognizing an overlooked aspect of daily job-site life, Altitude identified the coffee experience as an area in need of meaningful improvement.
Why Coffee?
Based on the Altitude team’s initial observational research and interviews, construction workers were found to drink an average of 3–4 cups of coffee per day while on the job. To do this, they typically take breaks 3–4 times and go to nearby coffee shops to get their coffee. However, from a broader perspective—over the course of a week or month—this seemingly routine habit costs them significant time and money. The Altitude team focused on this insight and planned to propose a new job-site coffee experience—one that could significantly save time and money while improving the productivity of construction workers.
Challenge: An economical and time-saving solution that is also trustworthy.
The direction for concept development to improve the current coffee experience on the job-site was fairly straightforward, based on findings from initial observational research and interviews.
The solution should be more economical and time-saving compared to the current experience. Additionally, it should offer a trustworthy coffee taste and maintain durable product quality suitable for the job-site.
The main challenge in the design development was figuring out how to realize these goals.
A familiar, easy, and intuitive mechanical solution that is also economical.
On the mechanical engineering side, achieving an economical solution while still meeting the design goals was another key challenge.
The mechanical engineering team explored various coffee drip mechanisms to address this issue. Their recommendation was to incorporate a similar, but lighter version of the standard drip coffee maker mechanism.
The team believed this approach would be familiar, easy, and intuitive for users, while also being cost-effective.
It’s DeWalt: A Brand That Always Provides the Ideal Job-site Experience.
“The Titan” is designed to maintain the existing DeWalt product design language, aligning with the DeWalt family traits—bold, dedicated, and robust, with energetic color accents.
Its minimal and concise yet rugged design details are inspired by existing DeWalt tools, conveying durability and clearly communicating each component’s features.
“The Titan” expresses DeWalt’s brand identity and philosophy through the product itself—representing a brand that consistently delivers the ideal job-site experience.
Simple and Easy Steps to Enjoy Quality Coffee at the Job-site.
“The Titan” offers simple, easy-to-use steps—just like making coffee at home—bringing a new job-site coffee experience that’s economical, time-saving, and convenient. These efficiencies will ultimately lead to increased productivity.
* “The Titan” was not produced due to internal circumstances on the client’s side.
Design Team:
Joongoo Lee (Industrial Design Lead) and Brian Matt (Project lead / Manager) at Altitude, Inc.
Mechanical Engineering Team:
Emily Plumb (Mechanical Engineering Intern) and Alex Denniston at Altitude, Inc.
Design Credit:
DeWalt Industrial Tool Company
Altitude, Inc.