A calling, not a profession

When a product manager enthusiastically sketches out a toilet on a napkin at lunch, one thing is clear – this is not his profession, but some form of calling.

Fabio Peyla, product manager at Geberit, embodies the wide-ranging job description of this role like few others. He has looked after the Bathroom Systems product area at the Italian sales company since 2016. When developing the new toilet in the Selnova Premium bathroom series for the Italian and British markets, his flair for industrial design came to the fore.

“The goal was to interpret the tastes of the customer and translate this into the style of the product,” he explains. Fabio Peyla set about detailing his vision for the new toilet a while ago.

Foundations for teamwork

Together with the first product specifications, this sketch formed the starting point for the design process, as Scott Derbyshire, industrial designer at Geberit, explains. “As we were primarily developing the product for the Italian market, Fabio’s sketch was a big help,” he explains. “If product managers have a clear vision and a clear understanding of what their market needs, then we can exclude certain options right from the outset and make progress quickly.” The rest is teamwork at its best.

Pen and napkin

According to the man himself, describing the design process is not easy. Spontaneously, Fabio Peyla picked up a pen and started to draw on a paper napkin – geometric surfaces and curved lines that gradually took on the shape of a toilet.

The product manager enthusiastically mentions the psychology of the design, the interplay of lines and the delicate balance of the curves. All of this specialist terminology underlines that, while product design is not his profession, it is at least some form of calling.