Prismacolor Pencil Sharpener

Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener

Background

Prismacolor is the market share leader of colored pencils in North America. To maintain that leadership position, it was critical to own all aspects of the user experience with the products. This included the sharpening of their pencils, which happened to be the topic that the brand received the most questions and negative feedback on from artists with the oval cone design. Artists found the pencils challenging to sharpen due to the soft cores in the pencils. A pencil sharpener redesign was needed.

Old Design

Sourced Item

Single hole functionality
Opaque reservoir- hard for the artist to tell when it's full
Narrow reservoir- requires frequent emptying
Messy- not easy to discern cap opening from reservoir end
Cap is easily lost since it's not attached

Market Comparison

Competitors ranked from cost and professional performance (blade quality, blade replaceability, build material quality, point options)

Development

Several concepts sketched out and presented during design reviews with cross-functional team. Below render shows final direction.

Outcome

A unique and ownable shape that builds on the equities of the Prismacolor brand. The functionality and aesthetics of the old sharpener were improved.

Prismacolor-Premier-Pencil-Sharpener-2_e

Features:

Opaque wrap design- good landing spot for the metallic brand logo and helps the artist to turn the sharpener not the pencil (helps with lead breakage)

Large translucent reservoir- less emptying and easier for the artist to know when full

Features:

Multi-hole functionality- narrow point good for hard leads, wide point good for soft leads
Attached cap- prevents shavings from leaking into artist's bag

sold at Amazon and specialty retailers like Blick