Bella

October 2021 - November 2021 (in Chicago)

IIT Institute of Design (Educational purpose)

A minimal umbrella spinner to dry your wet umbrella instantly

Course - Objects and Artifacts

This course creates the foundation of knowledge and develops skills for three-dimensional design. Students learn to explore, create, and communicate design directions for simple products and environments taking into account design principles, human factors, technology, and business issues.

For this project, we were tasked to design a product to enable work at home, in the office or on the go.

My Role

Product Designer

Instructor

Martin Thaler

Jereme Dumm

Challenge

The future of work is a far ranging topic, and the pandemic changed our view of where and how people will be working. We were expected to understand the problem deeply, understand what is specific to you, what is significant to others, what has been done, and industry trends.

Solution

There is an influx in opportunities to work at the office in the post-pandemic future. Through interviews, the worst day at the office starts with the rain. Bella is a salad spinner for umbrellas. Peddling a few times increases centrifugal force and causes the tray inside to spin and shed away raindrops. By drying your wet umbrella when entering the building, Bella prevents the damp and slippery floors and umbrellas from being stolen.

Approach

1. Understand

Studying the current trend of workspace after the pandemic

Each of us studied broadly how companies transformed their work style and how it will be in five years. In most companies, I assumed that the work style would be hybrid (half remote, half in-person). Since we were conducting broad research on the topic at this stage, I was also considering how the Japanese work style will be in the future, which will involve a lot of elderly workers in their 60s and 70s. (Due to the aging of the population, raising the retirement age is being considered in Japan)

At the same time, I conducted interviews with my friends and families to ask them about their worst experiences at work to investigate their hidden needs and desires.

Broadly researching the work style trends

At this stage, I was thinking of focusing on making a product that encourages elderly workers to participate more actively in interactions at work

2. Explore

Ideating by making

Once we identified some opportunity areas, we started prototyping with chipboards. At this stage, we tried to have more than one idea, so we didn’t get too attached to our original vision. I had the following three ideas, to begin with:

A walker for elderly designers/designers with physical impairments to participate in the stand-up workshops
A Tool for keeping your legs moving that facilitates exercises while sitting at the desk for a long time
A tool to dry your wet umbrella instantly like a salad spinner

By making the product and getting feedback from classmates, we eventually narrowed it down to one idea. I ultimately decided to work on an umbrella spinner.

The prototype of a walker took with chipboards

3. Define

Making a “Sticky” stories

Based on the book “Made to Stick : Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, I tried to create stronger stories that are impactful for the audience. My agenda was:

There’s a problem out there
Most of the people I interviewed answered that their worst day of work would probably start with the rain. It is a hassle to take care of wet umbrellas when they enter the office.
Users deal with it this way
They put umbrellas on the floor or in the communal space, but it can make the floor wet, and even worse, increase the chance of getting them stolen.
My solution is this
Bella - a salad spinner for umbrellas!
It works like this
By peddling a few times, the tray inside spins and blows away raindrops by centrifugal force.
Here’s the details
(Show illustrations with dimensions)
In Context image
(Show photos)

4. Develop

Reiterating prototypes and getting feedback, making 3D images

Once the story was solid, I kept making as many prototypes as possible to optimize the design. I also used the software “Fusion 360” to create 3D versions of the product to communicate better what it would look like in real life.