Interview: Herbalizer Designer, Caitlin Enomoto
Caitlin Enomoto is a young, female mechanical engineer and product designer--a true unicorn in Silicon Valley's startup land. Caitlin was the lead designer on Herbalizer, a luxury dual-function vaporizer with aromatherapy!
Since the launch, the Herbalizer has been getting rave reviews far and wide--making them a strong competitor in the tabletop vaporizer space.
Tell me a bit about yourself, Caitlin!
Hi! I'm Caitlin Enomoto, a mechanical engineer and designer based in San Francisco. I received my mechanical engineering degree from San Diego State University and have been focused on designing consumer products for the last 3 years--including attempting my own start-up company.
I love start-ups and working with people who are inspired and passionate about the products that they are producing. It's a great feeling to see people using and loving something that I designed in their every day life. It also adds another element to the problem-solving aspect of engineering since you have to think about the average user and accommodate that into the design.
What was your inspiration while designing the Herbalizer?
I had the pleasure of working with one of the original Apple industrial designers, Terry Oyama, to make this design as sleek and discreet as possible so it could sit on display in people's home and not be an eye sore. Thanks to Terry's work, I think this device has a lot of Apple's design aesthetic for inspiration. The Herbalizer was meant to be simple and intuitive to users which is what Apple does with every product release.
Tell us a little bit about “Relief by Design”.
The overall user experience was extremely important when designing this device. There was a lot of thought put into simplifying and improving the process of vaporization, as well as educating people on how to get the best out of their herbs and get the desired results while also making it very easy for them to do so.
While working with the founders of this company, the entire experience from start to finish was carefully thought out to be intuitive to the user. They truly care about educating people and want to give them the absolute best benefits from vaporizing as they can. The ultimate goal was to give people a complete (and positive) experience every time they went to use the Herbalizer - hence "Relief by Design."
What were the biggest obstacles you faced while creating the Herbalizer?
Many, many components and very little space to hide all the "guts." It's a fairly complex consumer device because of how hot the interior gets. We needed to make sure to maintain the aesthetic integrity of the device while also making sure to deliver a quality product.
Many congratulations! The reviews have been great. Can you tell us about the perks of using the Herbalizer versus a competitor product?
One of the big perks is that it is an all inclusive unit. You can store everything in the lid, including your herbs! The temperature is very accurate, heats up quickly and gives you a few different ways to enjoy your favorite blends of herbs.
The aesthetic of the device can also be a perk if if you plan on taking it places with you or leaving it out on display. It's usually good conversation starter in my home for new guests! This product is made in the USA (San Diego!) by some really great people who really care about their customers. I'm proud to have been a part of the Herbalizer family!
You can follow Caitlin on Twitter and Instagram and order an Herbalizer here.
By Monica Lo