Interview with Dominique Seignard, developer of the CAMELEON concept for mulTiroir

Hello, Dominique Seignard, to begin this interview. Can you tell me a little about your career path up to the position you hold today?
Hello, to answer your question, I did a Baccalauréat S, then a preparatory course in applied arts to bring me up to the level of people who had done a specific Baccalauréat in applied arts and then a BTS in product design.
After that, I wanted to continue and I entered the Design section of the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d'Arts (ENSAAMA) named Olivier de Serres. I did two years in this school, which enabled me to obtain a higher diploma of applied arts in product design. In the BTS, I learned manufacturing techniques and the characteristics of materials in parallel with learning creativity. In the third and fourth years of my studies, we had courses in psychology and sociology and we tackled more prospective projects.
I finished my studies with a year in a master's programme (bac + 5) with engineers at Arts et Métiers. It was a master's degree in product design and innovation. It was really the logical continuation of my studies. I learnt the methods of creativity in groups, how to manage a team to generate new ideas, to lead a project so that at the end there is innovation.
Then I found a job.

This was my next question. How long have you been working at mulTiroir and in what position?
I joined mulTiroir as a designer-engineer in October 2006 after a 6-month internship. I was given the task of creating a range of products.
I remained a designer-engineer until last year. Then, at the beginning of the year, I was asked to become project manager for the Mdose project. Today, I am a designer-engineer and project manager.

Can you tell me a little more about this Mdose project? Is it a pillbox?
No, it's not a pillbox at all.
The Mdose project corresponds to the expansion of mulTiroir's field of activity in the Preparation of Doses to be Administered (PDA). MulTiroir is already widely involved in this field with the Securdose software, which enables pharmacists in nursing homes or dispensaries to trace and secure their drug preparations, as well as drug repackaging products (blister packs, pill boxes, etc.). Medication iatrogeny is now a public health problem ("Medication iatrogeny refers to the adverse effects caused by medications. It covers a wide range of symptoms from simple fatigue to digestive haemorrhage or hip fracture. The use of medicines has become commonplace and these risks are too often underestimated. Source: ameli.fr). The ambition of the Mdose project is to offer a complete and coherent response to combat this problem throughout the medication circuit in EHPAD as well as at home.

If you have been entrusted with this project today, I imagine it is because your previous projects have been successful. Can you tell me which project was the most successful and why in your opinion?
It's a personal feeling, I don't know yet how it's doing in terms of sales, but I think the most complex and successful project I've done is the CAMELEON furniture range, which is still under development.
The architecture of these products and their construction is complex due to the number of elements that make them up and the diversity of materials.
A first exhibition allowed me to identify a good return on the market.
For me, the CAMELEON range is complete in terms of design. It corresponds to the ergonomic and functional requirements that we wanted to implement. And in terms of identity, I was satisfied, the message conveyed by these products corresponds well to the image of mulTiroir.
It's really my work.

Tell us what brought you to this result, what steps you took. A bit of everything, if you like.

The CAMELEON concept, because it's a concept, it's the fact of setting up a product that can be adapted to the environment.

I work by interviewing the users upstream of the project, that's the way I work, I do user-centred design. I question the users during and throughout the design process. I always validate the fact that the users are 'OK' with what we have done so far.

On this project, we had identified a real desire to have products that are very diversified, that can be adapted with accessories because the need is multiple depending on the location. We need a product that can adapt... like the chameleon, which adapts to the environment it is in.

The concept was extended with the visual identity, which met a demand from establishments for coloured, more beautiful products. The idea was to propose colours to make these environments more cheerful.

What materials did you choose for this? Why did you choose them?

We chose materials according to the technical and economic constraints of the specifications.

For the outer walls, we chose a polyethylene sheet and aluminium sheets that sandwich it. It is the aluminium sheets that are painted. In our principle, we have one colour on one side and another on the other.

The advantage of this material is that it is strong and light.

The interior is made of thermoformed ABS. The assembly is done by rifting, but this is going to change because it is too slow.

This product has been designed with eco-design in mind, and we are going to continue the project by carrying out a life cycle analysis to determine its carbon impact on the environment and to improve it in the years to come.

Why this respect for the environment, is it a desire on your part as a designer or to mirror your company?

It's a desire of the mulTiroir company, because it's a demand that is increasingly present in calls for tender. For my part, I have taken a course in eco-design.

In the coming months, is there another project that you will be developing?

The Mdose project, for which I am project manager, will involve numerous product design projects and the implementation of services that will keep me very busy.

Is this really your biggest project?

Yes, as a project manager. On my previous projects, my work team was made up of interns or subcontractors (designers, engineers, etc.). Today, with this project, we have created an internal team, I set up work meetings and I make the most of everyone's skills.

Your job reminds me of Research & Development.

That's exactly what it is. It corresponds to the mulTiroir R&D department.

In your opinion, will the Mdose project succeed?

It's an ambitious project, the aim of which is to bring out new products and new services. The project is global and so will be the response. It's really important for mulTiroir that it succeeds and there's no reason why it shouldn't work because the need and the market exist.

So far, we have only been in the medical field. I imagine that you have developed products for general use. Could you tell us a bit about them?

I developed the new General d'Optique barge, there was a whole study with their project managers, within the marketing team and the communication team.

There were also other products such as a barge for mulTiroir. I also developed furniture for opticians, the M frames, the M comes from mulTiroir. The white modules also look like an M.

 I also design the mulTiroir stands for trade shows.

Thank you, Mrs Seignard, for agreeing to answer a few questions about your position and your projects within mulTiroir.