打造成人玩具的女人

    大多数人都不愿意将自己的职业与曾经的成人用品商店经历联系起来。但设计师张迪（Ti Chang，音译）认为，成人玩具不应被视为禁忌。

    现年33岁的张迪拥有美国佐治亚理工学院(Georgia Institute of Technology)的工业设计学位以及伦敦皇家艺术学院(Royal College of Art)的设计硕士学位。研究生毕业后，她开始为大公司设计产品，但没有成就感。2008年全球经济大幅震荡，她听从自己内心的召唤，矢志将高端设计带入成人用品行业。张迪创立了一家名为Incoqnito的公司。有一次她在贸易展览会上拓展客户时，遇到了创业家迈克•托波拉维克。两人在产品设计理念上一拍即合，于是在2011年正式成立了Crave公司。

    Crave的第一款产品Duet半是USB、半是震动器，也是有史以来第一款众筹的成人玩具。去年9月份，超过900位捐款者出资10万多美元、帮助Crave来生产Duet，筹资总额是创始人最初目标的694%。这时，张迪意识到自己找准了路子。

    日前，张迪接受了《财富》杂志（Fortune ）访问，讨论如何给一个总是遮遮掩掩的行业带来高质量的设计。下面是经过编辑的采访实录。

    《财富》杂志：你是什么时候意识到可以将自己的设计背景带入成人玩具这样的行业？

    张迪：我记得在波士顿时，有一次走进了一家成人用品商店。我看看四周说，“有没有搞错？”就在那一刻，我发现虽然我们拥有设计完美的iPhone和笔记本电脑，但成人玩具行业由于世俗成见，吸引不到很多人才。

    因此，我创立了一家名为Incoqnito的公司——我希望扩展成人玩具概念，不再限于传统的震动器。我创造了前戏首饰理念，既可以在卧室之外佩戴，又具有非常隐蔽的性用品功能。

    你是怎么产生这个想法的？

    有一次，我在纽约看到这位女士戴着一个震动器，就好像戴着一根项链。

    什么？

    没错。不是一只兔子或其他什么外形相近的坚果，它是非常光滑的不锈钢，可能有四英寸长，粗细比10美分硬币小一点。

    我当时就想，“对啊，为什么不能？”她是一位优雅的女性。她举止端庄，我非常敬佩这样的坦然。我想，如果有一天我们的文化能这样坦然面对女性的性问题，该有多好。

    专为女性设计有哪些常见的误区？

    把什么都弄成粉色的。这是一个很大的误区。另外，有很多女性喜欢粉色，但问题是要了解受众，知道选择什么样的粉色以及她们还喜欢其他什么颜色，给女性真正的选择。这些产品的设计就是为了适合个人不同的风格。

      It's safe to say, most people don't want their careers linked to whatever experiences they may have had in a sex shop. But designer Ti Chang doesn't see why sex toys should be considered so taboo.

    Chang, 33, received an industrial design degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and a graduate degree in design from the Royal College of Art in London. After finishing grad school, she began to design products for big companies, but didn't feel fulfilled. In 2008, when the world economy turned upside down, she pursued an idea she'd had in the back of her head: bringing high-end design to sex shop products. Chang started a company called Incoqnito, and was networking at a trade show when she met entrepreneur Michael Topolovac. They realized their ideas about product design lined up. In 2011, the pair officially launched Crave.

    Their first product, a half-USB, half-vibrator called the Duet, is the first crowdfunded sex toy ever. Last September, Chang realized she was on to something when over 900 donors gave Crave more than $100,000 to build the Duet -- it was 694% of the founders' original goal.

    Ti Chang spoke with Fortune about how to bring quality design to a stigmatized industry. An edited transcript is below.

    Fortune: When did you realize that you could bring your design background to something like sex toys?

    Ti Chang: I remember going into a sex shop in Boston. I looked around and said, "You've got to be joking." That's when it dawned on me that, while we have beautifully designed iPhones and laptops, the sex toy space is so heavily stigmatized that it doesn't draw a lot of talent.

    So I started a company called Incoqnito -- I wanted to expand the definition of what sex toys were beyond traditional vibrators. I created this concept of foreplay jewelry that you can wear outside of the bedroom and also has a sexual function, but it's very discreet.

    How did you come up with that idea?

    I was people watching in New York, and I saw this woman wearing a vibrator like a necklace.

    What?

    Yeah. It wasn't a Rabbit or anything nuts like that, it was super sleek and stainless steel, and was probably four inches long and smaller in diameter than a dime.

    I remember thinking, "Yeah, why the fuck not?" She was an elegant woman. She carried herself very well, and I completely admired the fact that it was so nonchalant. I think it would be great if one day our culture could get that way about sexuality for women.

    What are some common misconceptions about designing specifically for women?

    Making everything pink. That would be a big misconception. At the same time, there are a lot of women who like pink, but the problem is knowing your audience and knowing what type of pink to choose and what other colors they like, and giving women real options that are designed for their lifestyle.