Product Design ✴ SPHÆLUS
This project involved the design of multifunctional tableware and small home accessories, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability, innovative craftsmanship, and small-batch production.
This project about the creation of a new product, landed also to the creation of a complete new Brand with its own brand identity manual, website and a working app.
SPHÆLUS
✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸
Brand Manual
Date
2022
Challenge
To design of tableware or small home accessories with a particular focus on multifunctionality, environmental sustainability, new craftsmanship and small series. Affective, poetic and experiential objects, “Precious” things because of their special essence.
Results
The final work will therefore be an object born from the active connection of these elements in order to create a multisensory lamp, equipped with various elements that can be separated from each other, for maximum yield of the tactile, visual and auditory experience of the user, free to interface with the work as he deems most appropriate.
In the creation of the product, there is also a careful analysis of the materials used, starting from various researches up to the selection of two innovative materials: Lava Ash and Aluminum.
The lamp is equipped with LED lighting so that the voltage is limited to 3.5 volts so that it can be powered by direct current: in fact, this voltage, being very low, does not create a risk of electrocution for the user in a possible contact.
Process
Research & Analysis: I researched the market for multifunctional home accessories, focusing on sustainability and new craftsmanship trends. I analyzed the potential materials, particularly Lava Ash and Aluminum, ensuring they aligned with the environmental and tactile qualities desired for the lamp.
By studying existing designs and user feedback, I gained insights into what would make the lamp not just a functional object but also an emotionally engaging experience.
Development & Ideation: I started brainstorming ways to combine the tactile, visual, and auditory experiences within a single product. The goal was to create a lamp that could be modular, where different elements could be separated to enhance user interaction. I created initial sketches to explore how these interactions could be both practical and poetic, while also considering how the lamp could reflect a sense of preciousness and affectivity through its design.
Material & Technology: I carefully selected Lava Ash and Aluminum as materials for their aesthetic and sustainable properties. Lava Ash offered a unique texture, while Aluminum provided durability and a modern touch.
integrated LED lighting with a low voltage of 3.5 volts, ensuring that the lamp would be safe to handle by users without the risk of electrocution, aligning with both safety and energy efficiency goals.
The design was tested to ensure that users could easily interact with the elements
Visual Design & Style Guide: The visual design was refined to ensure that the lamp not only functioned as intended but also evoked a sense of emotional connection.
I focused on creating a balance between modern aesthetics and the poetic, precious quality of the product. A Brand Manual was developed to document color choices, textures, and finishes, ensuring consistency in the final product and aligning with the overall design philosophy for the limited-series production.
Digital Integration: To complement the multisensory lamp, I developed an app and a website to enhance the user experience. The app allows users to control the lamp's lighting, customize its sensory interactions, and explore its modular features in a more personalized way. The website serves as a platform for showcasing the design, offering detailed information about the lamp’s materials, craftsmanship, and sustainability, while also providing users with a deeper connection to the brand’s story and values.
Additionally I created the Brand Manual, a practical guide in A4 format, where there are all the indications for the correct use of the logo and the brand.
Here's the browsable of the Brand Manual
<- Take a look
Conclusion
The final project revolves around two main key elements: multifunctionality and multisensoriality.
Multi-functionality is given by two factors: it is a structure that allows the user to have multiple functions within the same object, but it is also possible to disassemble this structure for personal and selective use, based on the needs and situations in which the user finds himself; it is possible to remove the lamp and transport it without having to carry the metal support, or it is also possible to remove the Noise Machine alone and place it in another place.
This dual multi-functionality will allow the user to experience the object as he prefers and draw variable experiences from it based on his individual needs
The multisensoriality is given not only by the trio Light-Touch-Sound, but also by the choice of materials: between volcanic ash used as a covering for the Noise Machine, the cold given by the aluminum that makes up the support and the silicone of the lamp, it is a real journey through places, colors, textures and temperatures; the elements, easy to handle, are within everyone's reach thanks to the simple and linear shapes.
