by Charis Marshal, Student Public Relations Writer
Artists create beauty. Engineers create functionality. Industrial designer Tim Brewster does both, and his Ryobi electric mower design just won a 2025 GOOD DESIGN Award.
Cedarville industrial and innovative design alum, leads award-winning mower project
Brewster, a 2021 graduate of Cedarville University’s industrial and innovative design program, served as lead designer on the self-propelled mower recognized by the Chicago Athenaeum for innovation in product design. The mower will be sold exclusively at Home Depot stores nationwide.
Techtronic Industries and Ryobi: designing a low-profile, battery-powered push mower
Brewster and his team developed the mower at Techtronic Industries, a maker of power tools and outdoor equipment with U.S. headquarters in Anderson, South Carolina. The team was tasked with designing a low-profile, battery-powered push mower that combined performance and appearance.
User-centered industrial design: empathy, CAD experience and design school training
Unlike many designers who follow a traditional academic path, Brewster spent 15 years working as a CAD operator before pursuing his degree in industrial and innovative design. That blend of hands-on experience and his education from the leading design program among Christian universities shaped his user-centered design philosophy.
“One of the main things I learned from design school was to empathize with the user,” said Brewster. “You can check the boxes and get the work done to design the product. But empathizing with the user takes you to another level. You are not just trying to design a push mower, but you are trying to design a push mower that has features and styling that people really want. It makes the process longer, but you end up with a better product.”
Voice of the customer testing shapes mower features and “beefier” electric mower look
Brewster and his team began by developing three different designs for the mower, moving from rough sketches to 3D painted foam models. Because Ryobi is a brand sold exclusively at Home Depot, company executives evaluated each concept before selecting Brewster’s design and naming him lead designer for the project.
Consumer insight played a critical role in refining the design. The team conducted “voice of the customer” testing, inviting 30 to 35 participants to evaluate handle sets, wheel-height adjustments, battery placement and other features. The feedback revealed many customers’ apprehension toward electric mowers, prompting Brewster and his team to intentionally incorporate a stronger, “beefier” aesthetic to convey power comparable to that of a gas mower.
Battery-powered lawn care trend: practical features, sustainable power and nationwide Home Depot rollout
“As a designer, you can see your impact on people,” said Brewster. “Our push mower will be sold in every Home Depot across the country. There are going to be a lot of people who will see and use that mower. If 10,000 people use the push mower, 10,000 people’s lives have been somehow impacted — even if is as simple as mowing their lawn faster so they have more time with their family.”
As demand grows for battery-powered lawn care, Brewster’s award-winning mower pairs a customer-tested look with practical features and sustainable power.
About Cedarville University
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.
