GE Smoker Accessory
Product
Auto Spritzer
Industry
Home Appliances
Status
Final concept handed off for continued development
Year
2025
Role
This project was completed collaboratively with another industrial design intern. My contributions included concept development, industrial design, CAD, CMF, and user interface development while working alongside engineering, and design leadership
Credits: Owen Brummel, Paul Haney
An accessory for the GE Appliances Profile Indoor Smart Smoker that automates spritzing and steam during cooking, helping maintain moisture, flavor, and temperature without opening the smoker.
Spray & Spritz Module
Designed over 2–3 months, the project focused on developing a production-minded accessory that integrates naturally into the existing Profile product family. Working alongside another industrial design intern, engineering, suppliers, and the Industrial Design Director, we refined the product's form, interaction, and user experience while balancing manufacturing, cost, and usability constraints.
The Brief
Developed over a 2–3 month period, this project challenged our team to design a production-minded accessory for the next-generation Profile Indoor Smart Smoker. Starting from a preliminary engineering package, we developed the product's industrial design, interaction, and integration into the existing Profile ecosystem alongside engineering, suppliers, and design leadership.
Defining the Opportunity
Existing spritzing and steam methods interrupt the cooking process, create inconsistent results, and add unnecessary cleanup. These insights established five priorities: preserve cooking performance, simplify interaction, improve cleanability, minimize changes to the smoker platform, and make the accessory feel like a natural extension of the product.
Exploring the Product Architecture
Rather than refining a single concept, we explored multiple product architectures: testing placement, reservoir configurations, attachment methods, proportions, and interaction through sketching and CAD. The side-mounted, tubeless concept emerged as the most compelling direction.
Designing Within Constraints
As the concept evolved, mounting the accessory directly to the smoker required too drastic of changes to the smoker's external tooling, leaving permanent attachment features visible even without the module installed. Returning to an earlier freestanding concept preserved the existing platform while ultimately creating a more flexible product that users could place anywhere on the countertop.
Simplifying the Interaction
The final interface centers on a single control dial, pre-set LED indicators, and a dead-front display that simplifies spritz, steam, and cleaning while remaining visually aligned with the smoker. Early interface concepts explored seven-segment displays and additional controls before cost and complexity drove a simpler direction. Each round of iteration answered a different question: How should information be displayed? What information matters most? How should users navigate it?
Designed for the Profile Ecosystem
Every visible touchpoint was designed to reinforce the existing Profile experience. Matching UI proportions, the shared control knob, coordinated CMF, and a simplified LED interface allowed the accessory to feel like a natural extension of the smoker rather than a separate appliance.
Final Direction
The final architecture simplified both the product and the experience. A compact freestanding form eliminated the need for a carrying handle, while the removable friction-fit reservoir and proven one-way valve made filling, cleaning, and maintenance straightforward.
