Ms. Donut : Portable Light -

Ms. Donut Portable Light Module DESIGN REALISM DES7050 YU-CHUNG CHANG Birmingham City University

CATALOG

02

INTRODUCTION

03

PRODUCT BACKGROUND

04

PRODUCT EVOLUTION

06

MARKET POSITIONS

07

BRAND ANALYSIS

08

PRODUCT ANALYSIS

10

EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE

12

DESIGN PROCESS

14

DESIGN ANALYSIS

20

DESIGN NARRATIVE

21

REFERENCES

22

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to describe and to develop a new model of a portable light based on the product designed by Lonna Vautrin for the brand LEXON, “Clover”. In order to create a product that follows the style of LEXON, there are some tasks that need to be achieved. To understand the main point of “LEXON”, it is essential to find the balance and aesthetic. Additionally, this report will develop the concept of the portable light, and create a solution for the main target which is for security for women.

In the first chapter, the report is going to show the history of the portable light, followed by the introduction of LEXON’s product and analysing it in regards to aesthetics, function, and other theories.

The next chapter compares the difference between the LEXON’s product and the products available from other brands. Furthermore, the report will explain the design process when developing my ideas and describing the aesthetic, functional and other creative points of view.

03

PRODUCT BACKGROUND

HISTORY OF THE PORTABLE LIGHT

fig1 Ever Ready wooden bicycle lantern (the flash light museum 1899)

1899 Ever Ready-wooden Bicycle Lantern 1902 Matchless flashlight in the 2 D cell size 1942 USALite-Swivel-Head lights

fig2 matchless flashlight fig3 usalite (the flash light museum 1942)

1900 Ever Ready-Clover Leaf Bicycle lantern 1936 Allbright 2 "AA" cell lights

fig4 ever ready clover leaf bicycle lantern (the flash light museum 1900)

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1942

The First Ba�ery Flashlight

1936

1900

1902

1899

(the flash light museum 1902)

fig5 allbright (the flash light museum 1936)

1950 The Davy Crocke� Pathfinder flashlight 2001 The Arc LS-LED Flashlight

fig7 the arcls (the mcgizmo 2001)

The First LED Flashlight

The thermoplas�c moulded flashlight became available. It developed new forms and sizes.

Later, LED torch became readily available.

2015

1990 Coleman-Powermate 2015 LEXON-CLOVER

2001

(the flash light museum 1950)

1990

1950

fig6 The Davy Crocke� Pathfinder flashlight

fig9 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

fig8 Coleman flashlight model no. Powermate (c. 1990)

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PRODUCT EVOLUTION

fig2 (Ryan, 2008)

1999 Mayday Portable Light Konstan�n Grcic

2004 Naoto Fukasawa for Plusminuszero

fig3 (VanHemert, 2012) 2011 M Lamp

by Juniper

fig1 (designboom, 2014)

fig6 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

fig4 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

2012 NEO KEY LIGHT Design by Kazuya Koike

fig7 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

2015 CLOVER Design by Ionna Vautrin

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fig5 Co, R.K.

2013 Yohei Kuwano for Muji

2014 FINE BAG LIGHT Design by Pauline Deltour

Since the LED light has become more common, the form of the portable light could be more creative in design. There are developments and evolutions from time to time regarding the aesthetics and function. The form of the portable light shows a trend which applied simple materials and shapes.

fig8 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

MARKET POSITIONS Sweden

￡4

Japan

￡17

Japan

￡20

UK

￡25

Spain

￡75

LOW

fig9 (flashlight and hand-powered, 2016)

MID

fig10 Co, R.K.

fig11 (Moto Design Co., Ltd., 2011)

fig12 (Banana, 2016)

HIGH

07

fig1 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

BRAND ANALYSIS The LEXON’s slogan, “design in life”, can be explained as a brand that re-news traditional products in our life with a simple style which highlights their design essence. With a playful aesthetics and fun colours, the LEXON's products show us the simplicity. Despite the simplicity, however, the products are not boring. Unlike other design studios, they create well-designed products at a reasonable value, and they supply plastic with vibrant colours.

LEXON's products reveal identifiable functions and controllable functions, combined with aesthetically pleasing features. For example, Clover, a big, rounded design, fits in a person’s hands with an obvious indication that it is a product, giving symbols instructing how to use it by squeezing the cover and body together to turn it on.

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HISTORY AND FEATURES LEXON’s target group and market are young people. People who are aged 18 to 35, have a steady income, and they want to spend their money on creative products. They would like to get a cute, fashionable product, which they could used to show off their style and good fashion sense.

AUDIO Product's reference : LA100V5 Weight : 515 g Color : Green Powered by : Rechargeable battery on USB plug Size (cm) : 14x4x8 cm Size (inches) : 5,5 x 3,1 x 1,5" Material : silicon rubber

CLOCKS

fig2 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

Product's reference : LR132G Weight : 140 g Color : Grey Powered by : 2 x AAA batteries included Size (cm) : 11 x 9,7 cm Size (inches) : 4.21 x 3.8 Material : rubber ABS Master carton : 20 Inner carton : 0 Master carton weight : 4.4 fig3 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

LIVING and OFFICE

fig4 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

Product's reference : LH38CW Weight : 1150 g Color : White Size (cm) : tasse : 6,5 x 8,6 cm Material : porcelain / silicon rubber Master carton : 8 Inner carton : 4 Master carton weight : 14

Product's reference : LD121B Weight : 70 g Color : No Size (cm) : 5 x 5 x 16 cm Size (inches) : 2 x 2 x 6.3 Material : rubber ABS / Stainless steel Master carton : 60 Inner carton : 20 Master carton weight : 6.7 fig5 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

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PRODUCT ANALYSIS

CLOVER

ďŹ g1 Lexon design in life | collecďż˝on 2016

Aesthetic Clover is an elegant portable light produced by LEXON and designed by the French designer Lonna Vautrin. It was unveiled at the 2015 Ambiente trade show in Frankfurt. Clover has four LEDs, which are installed behind its matte cover, and has two brightness levels. The power of the LEDs comes from charging by a micro USB.

Clover has a simple but gentle aesthetic. The smooth surface shells, which revealing an elegant and modern atmosphere, are made of plastic. It also changed from the impression of a light bulb by minimized the shape of nuts without other details.

Function The USB which recharges the LEDs are installed inside the plastic cover. The anti-water surface lets you take it into any environment, such as walking in the rain. However, the soft silicone string, added in order to hang, might cause it to swing, which might blur the vision.

Interaction To turn the light on and off, the user needs to push the two parts together, which provides an interesting interaction.

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PRODUCT DESIGNER

IONNA VAUTRIN Ionna Vautrin’s work is where poetry and industry come together.

When designing everyday objects, her goal is to bring an element of surprise to things which are simple and obvious. Combining both geometric and organic forms with a playful and colourful spirit, her projects deliver intuitive functionality while exuding a warm and familiar presence.

(Lexon design - Ionna Vautrin)

fig2 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

fig3 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

CLOVER

Rechargeable nomad lantern Rain resistant Can be hanged with his rubber string Product's reference : LH44B5 Weight : 95 g Color : Blue Powered by : On USB port (cable included) Size (cm) : Ø6,65 x 9,8 cm Size (inches) : Ø2.6 x 3.9 Material : ABS / PC / Silicone Master carton : 20 Inner carton : 10 Master carton weight : 3.8

fig4 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

11

EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE

LED

fig1 (Solu�ons, 2010)

Due to the invent of Shuji Nakamura, LED has changed the product industry through its great advantages of low temperature, low energy costs and tiny sizes. Designers now can expand their creativity further to experience the variety of shapes, sizes and materials.

fig2 (Rayennur, 2015)

Shuji Nakamura “The LED light bulb is more than ten times the efficiency of regular incandescent lighting, so it can save the world hundreds of billions of dollars in electricity costs.”(Illumina�ng lecture, 2016)

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fig3 (Rayennur, 2015)

fig4 (Save resources with LED, 2015)

fig5 (Solu�ons, 2010)

EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE

fig1 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

USB CHARGE

fig2 (InLine ® Micro-USB 2.0 cable, no date)

USB is short for Universal Serial Bus, and it gives you a standard plug to apply to most of the devices. The lithium polymer battery is a rechargeable battery which could be tiny and therefore light weight. The combination of these two elements creates more possibilities for the portable devices such as mobile phones, and electric torches.

EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE

MATERIAL

Rubber is a good material for creating flexible projects. It can twist or pull to reach the shape and position you want it to be.

Adding a rubber string on the device could provide an interactive function for people to play with it.

fig3 Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016

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DESIGN PROCESS

BRAINSTORMING

Use brainstorming diagram to branch out different possibilities of using a portable light.

Then analysis the information to get the best target to design with. Set up a persona to support the main concept. fig1 (Su�erfield, 2015)

fig2 (Weekly, 2016)

(Kidman, Lui, and Villas-Boas, 2016)

DESIGN PROCESS

SKETCH

First of all, drew out the shape of a bottle cover, then modify and simplify it to get some better clean geometric shapes. The main idea of this cover is that it can turn the water bottle into a portable light. However, according to the suggestion from Nuno, the function of this light may be so complex that deviate from the simple light.

15

DESIGN PROCESS

SKETCH

Later, drew out the shape of a simple light with a ring which is added as a handle.

According to the suggestion from Graham, he considers that turn the ring into a wristband or a watch is a good idea. A wearable light can be truly described as a portable light.

16

DESIGN PROCESS

SKETCH

Finally, I choose wristband as my design element which a donut-look and developed its structure and function.

17

DESIGN PROCESS

MODEL MAKING

At this stage, I used 3D software, SolidWorks, to build the model and render it.

Then I modified the size and structure to make sure that there are enough space for battery and LEDs. The basic form of model could be built by the 3D printer. And the semi transparent cases of LED were made by the vacuum forming.

DESIGN PROCESS

PACKAGING

Use the iconic donut as the logo of the product, and expose the part to show the identity. Use minimalist method to attract people's attention of its fashion-look.

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DESIGN ANALYSIS

Ms. DONUT

Aesthetic

Function

The minimalist shape of the Ms. Donut has a round structure referring to a modern jewelry.

The iconic donut shapes indicates the idea of fashion and security during the women go home at night.

It is designed to be multifunctional. In the day time, it could hang on the bag or wear on a wrist. Then it transforms to a torch for you to light up the path at night. It could also stand up to provide the light for your reading or playing phone before you sleep.

USB rechargeable It could simply rotate any part to expose the USB socket, then you could recharge it.

DESIGN NARRATIVE WHAT

Donut portable light, charge via USB.

WHY

Fashion and security.

WHO

Young women.

WHERE

Wear on body, on table and on bag.

WHEN

When women go home at night.

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Banana, S. (2016) KANGAROOLIGHT™ - A playful, portable, interac�ve personal light. Available at: h�ps://kangaroolight.com/ (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Coleman flashlight - model no. Powermate (c. 1990) (no date) Available at: h�p://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Coleman-Flashlight-Powermate-Orange-Plas�c-Mini-Swivel-Head-with-Clip-2AA-1990 (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Co, R.K. (no date) MUJI. Available at: h�p://www.muji.com/uk/ (Accessed: 4 December 2016). designboom (2014) Konstan�n grcic - panorama at the VITRA design museum. Available at: h�p://www.designboom.com/design/konstan�n-grcic-panorama-vitra-design-museum-03-28-2014/ (Accessed: 4 December 2016). flashlight, L.L. and hand-powered (2016) LJUSA LED flashlight, hand-powered - ,. Available at: h�p://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30190857/ (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Illumina�ng lecture (2016) Available at: h�p://news.uwlax.edu/nobel-prize-winner-in-physics-to-discuss-inven�on-that-led-to-led-lamps/ (Accessed: 6 December 2016).

InLine ® Micro-USB 2.0 cable, USB A male to micro-b plug, 1m (no date) Available at: h�ps://www.projectorshop24.co.uk/en/inline-r-micro-usb-2-0-cable-usb-a-male-to-micro-b-plug-1m.html (Accessed: 6 December 2016).

Kidman, A., Lui, S. and Villas-Boas, A. (2016) Ask LH: How can I study while working full �me? Available at: h�p://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/06/ask-lh-how-can-i-study-while-working-full-�me/ (Accessed: 7 December 2016).

Lexon design in life | collec�on 2016 (no date) Available at: h�p://www.lexon-design.com/ (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Mahmoud, A. (1954) Available at: h�ps://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2014/nakamura-facts.html (Accessed: 6 December 2016). minerals, F., Flashlights, Photograph, L. and Schneider, S. (no date) Fluorescent minerals, picture frames, Halloween, flashlights, and more. Available at: h�p://www.wordcra�.net/index.html (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Moto Design Co., Ltd. (2011) MONDO. Available at: h�p://www.mondo-web.com/ (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Rayennur (2015) Rayennur – smart transporta�on systems – led display (indoor & outdoor). Available at: h�p://www.rayennur.com/en/led-ekran (Accessed: 6 December 2016).

Save resources with LED ligh�ng now and later (2015) Available at: h�p://101waystosurvive.com/survail_�ps/save-resources-with-led-ligh�ng-now-and-later/ (Accessed: 6 December 2016).

Solu�ons, vb. (2010) LED’s for home ligh�ng. Available at: h�p://forum.digit.in/consumer-electronics-everything-else/162396-leds-home-ligh�ng.html (Accessed: 5 December 2016).

Su�erfield, S. (2015) Things to know when you go hiking. Available at: h�p://www.socialcamper.net/things-to-know-when-go-hiking/ (Accessed: 7 December 2016).

VanHemert, K. (2012) Kickstar�ng: A modern take on the classic miner’s lamp. Available at: h�p://www.fastcodesign.com/1670964/kickstar�ng-a-modern-take-on-the-classic-miners-lamp/3 (Accessed: 4 December 2016).

Weekly, C. (2016) Best front bike lights for under £100. Available at: h�p://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/best-front-lights-under-100-143490 (Accessed: 7 December 2016).

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