Rotile

This project was to design a product for the non-profit organization, Appropriate Technology Collaborative. The goal of this product was to be sold in museum shops which would use the recycled plastics and be manufactured in Guatemala.

Team:

This project is partner with another product designer and we are both interseted in houseware specifically for the Millenials that are independent and move a lot.

Research on Target User: Millennials

Mobile, urban lifestyle.

Live in apartments or smaller living area.

Desire quality and beautiful products and

home decorations.

Have accessories ranges from keys to earrings.

Market Research:

Most accessory/ jewelry organizers are chunky wooden boxes that take up a lot of horizontal surface area, which is most useful for

other tasks.

Jewelry holders that make use of the vertical

surface are also like wooden boxes that is very prominent on the wall and interrupts the wall.

Manufacturing: Injection Molding

Each mold cost at least $5000 so as simple and small the pieces are the better

Ideate:

We came up with 200 sketches of potentialproducts.

Sketch out different forms of Jewelry holders.

Design:

Decided that we want to make a Jewelry organizer that:

Make good use of the wall space
Not visually or physically distracting
Beautiful as a decoration by itself
Modular
Easy to mount and pack
Gender neutral

Inspired by how tiles fit together and how it makes a subtle texture which adds interest to the wall

Sketched out multiple tile patterns that best fit the function: hanging + containing

Decided on the combination of cylinder (contain: rings, earring, keys...etc.) and

y-shape block (hang: necklace, charging cords, bags...etc.)

Prototype:

Created 5 laser cut out prototypes to test the form and the interaction of the user and the product. Tested the radius of the fillet around the cylinder, sizes of each piece, distance between the pieces, turning mechanism...etc.

Making:

Rhino 3D modeling
3D printed
Primer finish and sanding

Packaging:

Want to give the customers an idea of how the product looks like by revealing parts of it.

Modular:

Customer can keep adding Rotile as their collection grow.

Result:

The client was very satisfied with our product due to the untouched market, sophisticated form and functionality, and easy to manufacture.