designing for disasters

Rationale:

My group studied the Russian wildfires and the subsequent heat wave of 2010. Research was undertaken to decipher the needs of the people affected by the disaster. One of the most notable problems was the need for people to keep hydrated during the heat wave. During the research process, the interview with a Russian resident that was in Moscow at the time, revealed that many people were not drinking an adequate amount of water and simply did not have the knowledge to cope with the rising temperatures effectively.

The main focus of my concept was on the recovery and relief. During the disaster individuals had many issues to deal with, such as the smoke inhalation, as extreme smoke was blanketing the area; staying cool (many of the residents did not have air conditioning) and ensuring they did not dehydrate. Children are often distressed in these situations and aren't able to cope as well as adults, I felt the need to design a product specifically for children during the disaster, to not only relieve physical symptoms but the emotional and psychological issues they may face at the time. This lead me to design a water bottle for children to stay hydrated that also doubles as a toy for them to play with in order for them to take their minds off the unpleasant circumstances.

The major feature of the water bottle is that it can be put together like a jigsaw puzzle. The bottles simply slot together and various configurations can be made with them. As the product needed to be highly cost effective, rather than designing a brand new product and incorporating a mass of expensive technology, I found it necessary to take an essential product like a water bottle and add value to it. The inspiration for the logo, was created as a stylised geometric typeface that reflected the Cyrillic alphabet.

The bottle was initially created with transportation in mind; it is square shaped to ensure optimum packing efficiency. The square design allows the bottles to be packed in boxes and minimises transporting ‘air’ or wasted space.

The most suitable material for the bottle is polypropylene for various reasons: it is easily available, cost effective, recyclable, and durable enough to withstand being handled and knocked about. I also wanted to be able to make the bottle out of only one material so recycling would be easier. The bottles could easily be manufactured in Russia therefore minimising the part of the transportation process, this also means they can be recycled locally. By eliminating the labelling it made it more cost effective and by removing extra material it makes the recycling process easier.

Tech drawings:

Product poster:

Scenario:

Reflection:

This project was challenging to say the least. There were so many significant factors to consider in the design such as keeping it at a low cost, making it easily available, ensuring that it is environmentally friendly, and most importantly really understanding the victims in the crisis. Research was one of the most difficult tasks as most of the sources with good information were in Russian and a lot of time was spent translating then trying to make sense of the translated text.

Developing the concept seemed like it would be easier than it actually was, I learned that trying to make something clever and simple is really difficult. The project was very time consuming and I definitely found it very difficult to dedicate the necessary amount of time and I know that the concept development stage was affected by it.

The model making process was extremely arduous, trying to achieve a decent model was not easy due to many factors. I initially made a mould and attempted to vacuum form the bottle, but was unsuccessful. In the end I had to make the appearance model out of wood and paint it up to look like the product, although it wasn't what I had planned I think it still turned out fairly ok.

I can see definitely see the learning benefits of the project; it was a test to grasp the concept of developing a product with such strict parameters (low cost, environmentally concerned, easy to obtain) as opposed to the briefs we are usually assigned. I can honestly say that I'm happy for this project to be over, it was definitely a tough learning experience and the whole process really tested my creativity and skills.

Peer comments:

Charmaine Chen

Ryan Daugherty

Shan Shan Wang

Sam Whipp

Claudia Zhang