Wild Workout Equipment Design
Kettlebells
Bear Bells
Product summary
Bear Bells approached us with a rough idea for a new range of kettlebell designs featuring a different bear icon for each weight. As a new exercise equipment business without any existing branding, Bear Bells enlisted Vivid Nine to create not just its products but its brand as well.
Categories
Gym Equipment Design, Consumer Design, Exercise Equipment Design, Branding
Bear Bells Branding & Product Design
Creating Bear Bells was about understanding their vision, values and target users of the brand. To do this, Vivid Nine ran an aspirations workshop with Bear Bells. The discussion helped us get to know the company and direct our design decisions based on the information gained.
The brand needed to speak to both hardcore gym-goers, but also people new to working out with a desire to try a new routine. Bear Bells isn’t just about selling exercise equipment, it’s also about creating workouts for customers to follow. The kettlebell range is intended to provide options to use for a tailored workout created by Bear Bells or for your own routine.
The outcome is a range of kettlebell designs starting with the panda at 12kg, and going up to the cave bear at 40kg. The range uses a traditional kettlebell shape but incorporates a debossed bear logo and paw with the kg indication on each. This helps easy identification on a rack, going for the bear type instead of a number.
Ergonomic Exercise Equipment Design
When designing exercise equipment, it’s important to consider how and where it’s used. Poorly designed or unintuitive equipment can cause misuse and potential injuries. To design exercise equipment, it’s essential to understand the exercise or exercises being performed.
In this case, a kettlebell is used in the hand with the workout involving various lifts and differing heights and angles. A well-designed kettlebell should allow for a comfortable single or double-handed grip. A functional handle is essential to reduce the risk of injury and allow proper use of form while exercising.
For Bear Bells, the handle design was required to suit a wide range of potential users. Based on anthropometric data, Vivid Nine tested various sizes of the handle. 3D prints allowed us to identify the best ergonomic design quickly and at low cost. The handle could be printed, tested, and then iterated. Prototyping provided the confidence for Bear Bells that the design would be comfortable to hold before committing to manufacturing.
If you’d like to learn more about ergonomics, visit our ergonomics page below.
Creating designs that are instantly recognisable for each bear required studying the facial features of each bear and identifying the visual elements that stood out. Bear Bells wanted each bear to have a slightly higher level of aggression for each bear as the weight increased. To do this, we focused on the eyes and the mouth to accentuate the level of aggression. The teeth and size of the mouth slightly increase with each bear, and the eyebrows become more angled and pronounced. This can be seen in the cave bear, which has the highest weight at 40kg, it features the most aggressive facial features.
The global kettlebell market is valued at approximately USD 3.14 billion in 2024, with projections to reach USD 7.03 billion by 2031, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.2% from 2024 to 2031
The bear icons work well as a quick visual identifier for the weight of each kettlebell. If you’re new to the range, you can also identify each weight at the rear of the kettlebell design, where a bear paw and scratch icon is featured. Inside the bear paw, the numerical value of the weight is shown, helping new users become accustomed to the weight of each bear.
To showcase the brand, Vivid Nine created a range of CGI visuals. This allowed Bear Bells to promote the product while they were waiting for the production and shipping to be completed. High-quality visuals can help create presales and marketing material, creating excitement before the product reaches the market.
Prototyping and Production
The Bear Bells project started from a rough sketch by the client. At Vivid Nine, we’re used to working with rough or unfinished client ideas and transforming them into commercial products. In this case, an e-commerce ready brand.
Starting with sketch concept designs, we then brought them to life in 3D CAD, incorporating all the features the client had requested. The next stage was to get them made. To move the kettlebell designs from the computer into the real world, we used our network contacts to select a suitable factory specialising in exercise equipment production.
While the kettlebell mould tools were being produced, we created the packaging design for both the cardboard outer sleeve and polystyrene insert. After the initial mould tooling trials, the packaging and products were ready to go.
If you’d like to learn more about what was involved in the Bear Bells development or have a similar product idea, get in touch to see how we can help you.
