Shower & Faucet Industrial Design | 2018
Florence Design Academy Ruchir Gupta
Brief Design a water tap (faucet) and shower for a company of your choice. Your design should satisfy the corporate identity and reflect the style of that particular company.
This project is solely an educational exercise and does not necessarily reflect the position of any above mentioned institutions/ companies or any associated resources.
Company :
WHAT IS MUJI ?
MUJI’s Philosophy MUJI is more than simply a line of products. It is a way of thinking. Kenya Hara (Art Director, Muji): “To be confident in a simplicity that feels in no way inferior to splendor.” “The simplicity that comes from stripping away frills can surpass splendor.” This design philosophy can be linked with the Japanese mentality of politeness and respectfulness. As Hara states, a good design should not always impose ideas and opinions onto its viewer; instead it should leave room for interpretation and the viewer to experience the work, also from a personal, imaginative level. MUJI’s goal is to give customers a rational satisfaction, expressed not with, “This is what I really want” but with “This will do.” “This is what I really want” expresses both faint egoism and discord, while “This will do” expresses conciliatory reasoning.
“Emptiness is the possibility yet to be filled” - Kenya Hara
Emptiness: It is the simple form that gives users the freedom to develop their own way of handling an object. A treatise against over-engineered objects. Emptiness is a concept originating from traditional Japanese design, it is slightly different from Western contemporary design, which pursues the most rational and functional design. For example: the MUJI mattress with legs can also be used as a sofa. You could also put several together to create an elevated floor. Giving users the freedom to use our products however they wish is what I mean by emptiness.
Advertising campaign Muji 2003. This visual allows users to freely imagine what they feel MUJI to be.While brands around the world strive to create ads that make people want that product, MUJI sends out a message of emptiness.
MUJI also follows three basic principles upon item creation. These are: • Selection of materials: Muji favours natural and unfinished materials. Avoidance of waste in production and packaging: Muji seeks to restrict the use of substances that may have a significant impact on people or the environment and reduce waste by standardising modules, facilitating disassembly, and by reducing packaging. • Streamlining processes • Simplification of packaging Emphasis on recycling No-brand policy: means that little money is spent on advertisement or classical marketing, and Muji’s success is attributed to word of mouth, a simple shopping experience, and the anti-brand movement.
MUJI is like water !
Muji stands for: No-brand quality good Emptiness Affordable Emphasis on recycling Universally understandable and usable Unfinished and natural materials
Concept The faucet and shower head should be reduced to a very simple form and be simple in their aesthetics. The design has to be highly intuitive. The products should fit into a variety of homes/ lifestyles and have to be universally comprehendible. The chosen materials should leave little impact on the environment, like natural and unfinished materials. It’s important that the product is affordable.
Faucet Inlet Plumbing from main water supply to a sink consists of two water pipes (hot and cold) that terminate with shut-off valves under the sink. A sink faucet is connected to the shut-off valves with flexible hoses. - Main water supply line size ranges from 12.7 mm to 19.1 mm (average flow rate to high flow rate). - Shut off valve inlet port typically 12.7 mm female thread. - Shut off valve outlet port ranges from 9.5mm to 12.7mm compression or male pipe thread. - Faucet connectors (flexible hoses) are not standardized but most have: - 9.5 mm to 12.7 mm female pipe thread; and - 12.7 mm male pipe thread. Hence, a faucet inlet typically allows for 12.7mm female thread of hot and cold water pipes.
Sink Faucet Design
115
115
57
Top
10
60 Front
Dimensions in mm Drawings not to scale
Side
120
LED Indicator
Nozzle
Plastic
Metal
Sink Faucet Features Operating mechanism - Electronic (capacitive touch sensors) Faucet type - Bathroom sink Mounting layout - single hole Material - Molded from Thermoplastic polyurethane (isolates sensors from any surrounding metal) Valve type - Solenoid LED temperature indicators Flow rate - 4.0 L/min to 5.5 L/min Flow pressure - 10 psi to 40 psi
Operation Summary
Sink Faucet Mock-Up
Grazie !