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A family of Fourteen Paper and Soap Dispensers for public restrooms.
SCA, Tork Elevation, 2009
The project had a successful launch positioning Tork as global design leader. The design was awarded IF Design Awards and Red Dot design award in 2009
Practices:
Strategy
Product
Engineering for production
Colors and Materials
Recognition:
IF Awards
Red Dot Awards
Q&A
You've just designed a line of soap and paper dispensers that will go into public restrooms around the world. From a design point of view, is that a big project or a small one?
This is for a Swedish company called SCA, the 2nd largest paper company in the world. When they have replaced all of their dispensers in airports, hotels, etc., they will have over a million people using them every day, from Sydney to Bombay to Las Vegas. It just shows you what design is. This is not a design statement. Nothing you would see in a fashion magazine. Nothing you can buy in a store. If I never spoke about it, it would just fade into the background. It's probably the most silent project I've worked on, but it's also going to impact more people than anything else I've ever done.
Initial concept sketches. Creation of a "capsule" like simple shape.
Why do you call it "silent?"
Because in a public restroom, you don't want anything to stand out. No design statement. When someone pulls out, say, a paper towel, you want them to feel like they're getting the first paper towel that's ever been pulled out of that dispenser. "Ah, this is my paper towel." So the design language is silent and solid and sculptural. There's a hardness and shell-like quality to all of it.
Any unexpected challenges with this project?
There was one major innovation from a design point of view. People servicing these need to know when they have to refill the paper. That's normally done with a little window on the side. But the window is kind of squiggly and breaks up the whole surface. So on mine, the whole lower portion of the front is a window. I pushed really hard for this. We had to go all over the world to find a tooling method that would fuse the window to the solid part of the box. The clear plastic is co-injected with the solid part. It's a major innovation. And it means better durability and increased hygiene, because there's no seam to catch dirt. So a side benefit is that these will be easier to service and to keep clean. That all started with me designing the window then asking if we could make that happen.
Early form development in cad. Translucent bottom concept.
Engineering development of internal mechanism and detailed form development in cad.
You spent almost three years on this project. What have you learned?
There are 14 different objects in this collection, and they all have to work together. Plus there were a lot of constraints because, as public-restroom objects, these had to meet laws and guidelines of several different countries. What that whole experience has given me is a newfound interest in creating objects that don't say anything, objects that will be accepted by a worldwide audience. I had to dare to do nothing.
Over 1 million people use the design every day, all over the world.
Words By John Bradley
Case Study / Simple Box
A family of Fourteen Paper and Soap Dispensers for public restrooms.
SCA, Tork Elevation, 2009
The project had a successful launch positioning Tork as global design leader. The design was awarded IF Design Awards and Red Dot design award in 2009
Practices:
Strategy
Product
Engineering for production
Colors and Materials
Recognition:
IF Awards
Red Dot Awards
Q&A
You've just designed a line of soap and paper dispensers that will go into public restrooms around the world. From a design point of view, is that a big project or a small one?
This is for a Swedish company called SCA, the 2nd largest paper company in the world. When they have replaced all of their dispensers in airports, hotels, etc., they will have over a million people using them every day, from Sydney to Bombay to Las Vegas. It just shows you what design is. This is not a design statement. Nothing you would see in a fashion magazine. Nothing you can buy in a store. If I never spoke about it, it would just fade into the background. It's probably the most silent project I've worked on, but it's also going to impact more people than anything else I've ever done.
Initial concept sketches. Creation of a "capsule" like simple shape.
Why do you call it "silent?"
Because in a public restroom, you don't want anything to stand out. No design statement. When someone pulls out, say, a paper towel, you want them to feel like they're getting the first paper towel that's ever been pulled out of that dispenser. "Ah, this is my paper towel." So the design language is silent and solid and sculptural. There's a hardness and shell-like quality to all of it.
Any unexpected challenges with this project?
There was one major innovation from a design point of view. People servicing these need to know when they have to refill the paper. That's normally done with a little window on the side. But the window is kind of squiggly and breaks up the whole surface. So on mine, the whole lower portion of the front is a window. I pushed really hard for this. We had to go all over the world to find a tooling method that would fuse the window to the solid part of the box. The clear plastic is co-injected with the solid part. It's a major innovation. And it means better durability and increased hygiene, because there's no seam to catch dirt. So a side benefit is that these will be easier to service and to keep clean. That all started with me designing the window then asking if we could make that happen.
Early form development in cad. Translucent bottom concept.
Engineering development of internal mechanism and detailed form development in cad.
You spent almost three years on this project. What have you learned?
There are 14 different objects in this collection, and they all have to work together. Plus there were a lot of constraints because, as public-restroom objects, these had to meet laws and guidelines of several different countries. What that whole experience has given me is a newfound interest in creating objects that don't say anything, objects that will be accepted by a worldwide audience. I had to dare to do nothing.
Over 1 million people use the design every day, all over the world.
Words By John Bradley
Case Study / Surfboard
Meyerhoffer Surfboards
Visit our website for more informationthoughts about the surfboards from a different perspective
Q&A
Why the radically unique shapes of these boards?
The first question people always ask is "what makes them better? Are they faster?" I want to say, "It depends on whether or not you had a burrito before you went surfing." Because it really does. It's your own perception of that experience that matters more than anything, and your experience is about a lot more than just the board you're on.
Performance still matters though, right?
Of course. Obviously there are new categories and innovations all the time. There's always a kind of design movement, which is good i guess. But within that context, you still have to design a product that really works. Shaped skis took a while to catch on, but they performed so much better. Now everybody needs them.
What's the ultimate goal with this project, then?
The same as with any sporting project: A product that gives the user a better experience within his or her abilities. Designing to their abilities is super important, and that's what I want to get across with these shapes. Stop thinking about how a piece of equipment is supposed to look or how it's supposed to perform for someone else, and focus instead on your own experience.
If a beginner tried to surf Kelly Slater's board, he might give up surfing.Even a lot of pros can't ride his boards. It works for him, but not really for anyone else. So, do you want Kelly Slater's board, or do you want a good experience while you're surfing?
So if something looks like more it will be fun, it will be?
That's what this project is about: Open your mind and feel your experience. Don't search for something that doesn't exist. Don't search for performance, because performance is only perceived by yourself.
These boards started out as an experiment and they've taught me to be more patient in everything, to always search for that higher experience. It might come from an unexpected area or an unexpected angle.
Or an unexpected shape...
Exactly. It's so important that you don't follow the tracks that were laid so many years before. When you are tasked with creating the next generation of something, it's hard to take a big step forward. I feel like 98 percent of design is just refinement of what has existed before. So objects become more complex, diluted versions of the initial clear concept...There's no need to do anything in this day and age unless it makes a change.
Words By John Bradley
Photography By Nick Allen
Recognition:
IDSA Gold Award
Australian International Design Awards, Gold
ID&d, Silver
ID MAgazine Best of Category, Cunsumer
Chicago Athenaeum, Good Design
Press
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE.
The 9th Annual Year in Ideas.
December 14, 2009. Words by Jesse Ashlock.
Read PDF
I.D. MAGAZINE
Ahead of the Curve
October 2009. Words by Allan Weisbecker
Read PDF
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Going Beyond the Waves to Reshape Surfing
July 14, 2009
Read PDF
Case Study / Sport Equipment
Sport Equipment
Helmets and Goggles
1999 to 2011
For the last 15 + years I have designed sport equipment for many leading brands like Smith, Flow, Neil Pryde, and Scott.
Many of the products have become iconic brand builders and several are best sellers. Some have changed the category forever.
Case Study
It all started in late 80's with the V3 goggle for Smith, the first modern goggle with a "wrap around" lens. It became a huge success for Smith and changed the category forever. The collaboration with Smith lead to design of several other successful goggles.
Smith V3 goggle - The first wrap around lens goggle. Designed in the 90's
Another game changers was the Warp. It was the first goggle with "outriggers", an innovation that most helmet compatible goggles use today. They where a success also in motocross. The designs helped define Smith as an innovator and leader in the category.
We then designed a wide range of goggles and helmets for Scott helping to repositioning them from a fading brand - to one of the leading brands in Europe. The design development included, brand strategy and product range development.
For Smith we designed the V3, Anthem and Warp - Commercial successes.
Scott MS1 helmet - The first in mold helmet with integrated ventilation features.
Design and Engineered in CAD for Production
It also included Fit and Sizing development as we developed the product range from scratch. Through these multitude of project we have developed a broad experience in developing head and eye wear from concept to production. All of the projects where engineered and developed for tooling in CAD by us.
We develop the products in CAD for production. Tooling ready files.
How we work with sport brands
We have worked with several leading brands to develop new concepts and brand directions. While we like to be involved early on to set the direction of the brand together, we take pride in developing innovative design that we are able to take all the way to production. We are currently developing packaging for a leading surf brand that is both environmentally friendly and shows off their good in the right way. In short - we like challenges.
Capabilities
Strategy
Brand Development
Concepts
Product Development
Prototyping
Engineering for production
Packaging
