Circular Design
Circular Design was the theme for my capstone project. Circular design is a way of designing products and services sustainably to meet the needs of the circular economy. The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.
Process: Research, Discovery & Ideation, Opportunity, Concepts, Preliminary and Definitive Design, UI/UX, Manufacturing
FURNITURE WASTE PROBLEM
Furniture waste is an emerging issue because of the overconsumption of fast furniture. Fast furniture relies on design fads, low-cost harmful materials, and mass production. However, its disposable nature intensifies the staggering issue of furniture waste. According to the EPA, annually, over 12 million tons of furniture is added to our landfills leaching harmful toxins into the environment over hundreds of years. This rapid production of fast furniture embodies a linear economy further worsening climate change.
EFFECTS OF FAST FURNITURE
| Illegal & Unsustainable Logging
| Toxicity in the Environment
| Biodiversity Loss
| Occupational Health
DEMOGRAPHIC
Evolving families residing in urban cities face a significant challenge: the balance between practical, sustainable, and transportable furniture that can seamlessly cater to the ever-changing needs of family life stages.
INTERVIEWS
Through interviews with ten diverse families representing various life stages, we gathered insightful statistics on frequently replaced furniture in household settings. Among the findings, children’s beds, mattresses, and sofas emerged as the top three items most commonly replaced within family homes.
OPPORTUNITY
Humans typically spend about one-third of their lives in bed, making the bed an essential component of health and wellness. Through interviews with numerous families, it became evident that children's beds are among the most frequently replaced pieces of furniture in a household. Considering that a single child may go through up to three beds during their childhood, this adds to the problem of furniture waste. Thus, there is an opportunity to develop a bed system that encourages circularity and long product lifespan to address the wasteful cycle of repeatedly buying new furniture for children as they outgrow their current beds.
EXISTING MECHANISMS
01 Furniture Dolley
Examining an already existing furniture dolly, the integration of injection-molded corners and metal rods resulted in a telescopic frame, offering an intriguing method for expanding and collapsing the structure. It also came in a very compact package for transportation.
02 Snap Lock Mechanism
This locking mechanism employed a snap-lock latch, providing a fascinating solution for securing the frame at a specific length. This feature was particularly intriguing since it effectively held the telescoping rod in place, showcasing an innovative approach.
03 Wooden Bracelet Maker
This telescopic wooden piece incorporated a butterfly nut screw mechanism with a central support. It presented another captivating telescopic method, notable for its predominant use of wood—a sustainable material that offered intriguing possibilities for craftsmanship.
SMALL SCALE PROTOTYPES
Inspired by Wooden Bracelet Maker
This prototype was weak and fragile. Reinforcements were needed, and the stress points of the expanded telescopic position was inadequate.
Inspired By Furniture Dolley
The structural integreity seemed stronger. However, there was a lot more pieces needed. Therefore, harder to keep track of and build. Transportation of parts would be difficult and costly.
Interchangeable Panels
However, with this prototype, the idea of interchangeable panels emerged with the use of connectors. Certain side panels could be exchanged for a different headboard style when expanded.
LARGER SCALE PROTOTYPES
01 Dovetail Dado Joint
02 Kane Tsugi Joint
03 Castle Joint
04 Half Lap Joint
05 Half Lap Joint with Corner Bracket
06 Final Model (Fastener is in center of the bracket and hidden)
07 Single Dovetail (additive manufacturing)
08 Double Dovetail (subtractive manufacturing)
09 Single Dovetail (subtractive manufacturing)
11 Recycled Aluminum Dovetail Channels (Final Model) | pivoted to aluminum rather than wood because wood warps under certain temperatures, this method is long-lasting)
10 Full Rail Prototype (successful expansion)
Joinery
The idea of using joinery in the bed design was to avoid the use of toxic adhesives or additives to strengthen the assembly of the furniture piece. Inspired by ‘Sashimono’ (a Japanese furniture technique of assembly using simple and complex joints). Various joinery styles were tested for strength, user interaction, and ease of assembly.
Dovetail Rails
After testing the small-scale prototypes and conducting further research on wood joints, the idea of dovetail rails validated the telescopic mechanism implemented in each bed rail. I tested various manufacturing techniques, angles, and quantities using wood to ensure strength and to assess the full telescoping of length and width.
SASHIMONO WEBSITE ITERATIONS (INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE)
The Sashimono Bed comes with an e-commerce platform that promotes circularity. Through the website, customers can access a take-back program using a 3D product tool configurator. When it’s time to upgrade, customers can customize their bed and track their transitions. They receive credit each time they exchange parts and purchase the next conversion kit. This process ensures that all products and materials are returned to the local manufacturer, creating a closed loop system.
Simplifying the user interaction from 7 major interactions to 5 based on user feedback.
Female | Age 21 | UX student
User flow is very straight-forward, however, there are too many interactions that does not give a direct task flow or user objective.
Male | Age 29 | Soon-to-be father
Works effective as an e-commerce platform, but, was confused on how the 3D product configurator fit into the services provided.
Female | Age 35 | Mother of 2
Loved the concept and would wish she purchased it for her children. Would love to see a whole system of the idea of circular design as she was not familiar with the term.
