Urban Tribes - Concept Generation Part 1

Upon completing the process of profiling the metrosexual target market, the next step taken was to generate concepts for the market. Ones which will suit both their lifestyle and their beliefs. I began by researching the fashion of the metrosexual which involved examining what they wear from day to day as well as on special occasions such as nights out with friends.

What I concluded from this visual research was that while metro fashion usually involves simple pieces of clothing, they're layered one upon the other to form a more complex and more complete outfit. In terms of colours a lot of these layers seem to follow an earthy theme through the utilization of a lot of greens, browns and greys.

Once again, on the topic of fashion and going off previous research it became apparent that a lot of metrosexuals keep up to date and ahead of the pack in terms of the latest styles and fashion by reading magazines.

Concept 1 - Magazine Display Rack

This concept was one, which arose from researching the lifestyles of modern metrosexuals and analysing their choices in fashion. As previously mentioned, the fashion choices of metrosexuals normally involve layers of simple, plainly coloured clothes. One of the main contributors to these outfit choices are the magazines which play a big role in the metrosexual lifestyle.
This led to the design of a magazine rack which can be comfortably mounted and used on any wall within the home. To imitate the theme of layers and simple colours, layer cut plywood would form the minimal smoothly curved form of the product.



Concept 2 - Scribble Pad Watch Date Organiser

Similarly to concept 1, concept 2 also arose from analysing the fashion trends within the metrosexual tribe.
Often this urban tribe display their personal image not only through clothing choices but also by wearing accessories such as watches. This concept gives the consumer a way to use their watch more extensively by setting alarms from written memos or dates saved within their phone. Users can designate different watches to different occasions.

In order to look at place in the metrosexual home, the scribble pad would be constructed from white porcelain with sensors underneath to capture information received from the stylus marker and control the system.



Concept 3 - Single Handed Bowl

The third concept resulted from the need of a busy lifestyle. Metrosexual males are renowned for putting more effort into their appearance than the average male even when that requires an early morning wake up before work. This concept provides a simpler way for metros to move around their home while eating breakfast in order to use their time more efficiently in the morning. The matte finished wooden bowl and spoon can be carried around the house using one hand without the risk of spilling its contents.

Urban Tribes - Product Mapping

Urban Tribes. What is an urban tribe? Well, an urban tribe is a group of people  with a way of life which is not defined by geographic location or their heritage, but rather by their looks and lifestyles.

The aim of this project is to select a modern day urban tribe and to design a product to connect to the identity of the user in both a personal and communal way. The result should be one which has a soul and it's own special little place within the users chosen lifestyle.

The project began with the forming of groups of 4 people followed by some time to formulate which tribe we'd focus on for the remainder of the project time. After throwing around handfuls of different urban tribes varying from teen hipsters to flexecutives, we decided upon the Metrosexuals of todays society and began our research into all aspects large and small surrounding their lifestyle.

Our assignment for the first week of the project, was to investigate the lifestyle of the metrosexual and understand everything we possibly could about them. This was achieved through both creating a storyboard for a day in the life of a metrosexual as well as producing styleboards with the rest of the group to sum up a metrosexual in a few images. Both the styleboards and the storyboard are shown below.

Self Service User Interface - Automated Bus Ticketing Machine

This project aimed to produce a concept for a self service system and the interface to go with it. My concept was an automated ticketing machine, which passengers would use to purchase their own tickets after boarding the bus rather than purchasing the ticket from the driver. The touch screen interface was designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible as it could have potentially been used whilst a bus was moving. 

The final submission required for this project included a report along with two posters, both of which are shown below.

Southern Cross Package Design Awards - BRAUN Series 3 Shaver

The 2010 Southern Cross Package Design Awards were a fresh change from the briefs I'd become used to, as we were presented with a variety of real world industry set briefs. Each of which had its own set of requirements for submission.

My selected brief was one for Procter & Gamble and was one which required the redesign of an existing products packaging from P&G's wide range of existing brands. Having recently purchased a BRAUN Series 3 Electric Shaver and at the time noting the excessive use of material, it was my decision to redesign the package for the said product in order to give each piece of the packaging more meaning and a longer lifecycle.

The response to the set brief resulted in half of the packaging having an extended use as a wall mountable docking station which also organises all the other pieces within the products packaging while the other half of the packaging transformed into a sturdy, foldable instruction manual. The below images show the final renderings of the proposed packaging concept.

 Southern Cross Package Design Awards

Electrolux Design Lab 2010 - Modular Zeer Fridge

The 2010 Electrolux Design Lab competition required the thoughtful design as space efficient home appliances which would shape how consumers perform certain household tasks in the year 2050. My response to this brief was the Modular Zeer Fridge.

The Modular Zeer Fridge is a completely modular solution for various sized households as each individual compartment can be stacked or wall mounted. Spray-on solar cells on the doors of each compartment provide the small amount of electricity needed to power the enclosed induction fan while the circulating warm air draws moisture and heat from the core of the refrigerator.

This heat is pulled from the refrigerator core through two layers of porous ceramic along with the moisture obtained from the layer of moist Silica gel. The warm air then carriers the moisture to be dehumidified and reinjected back into the Silica gel to begin the cycle again. The outer layer of insulated ceramic is utilised to keep both the moisture and warmth within the refrigerator.

This process of evaporative cooling allows the Modular Zeer Fridge to keep a constant temperature in all conditions while running entirely off the air and ambient light within the kitchen.

Electrolux Design Lab