Fonder Studio is a creative+branding agency based in Hong Kong on a mission to build a more mindful world through art, design, and meditation.
Aer, self-initiative project, repurposing an electric motor
Overview
Objective – to deconstruct a handheld electric mixer, then either redesigning it for a specific audience or redesigning the purpose while retaining the internal motor.
I decided to repurpose the motor. Here I capture my design process.
The Challenge – how to improve the experience of a desk fan for students who work at home?
Outcome – Appearance model & final design, carved and shaped out of balsa wood.
Focused on sustainable commentary, Aer is an ergonomic fan fan made with sustainably-sourced wood.
Hand drawn blueprint design of the original product, a handheld electric mixer.
Deconstructed the handheld electric mixer.
Hand rendered an isometric drawing for the original mixer.
The first phase of the project included deconstructing the handheld electric mixer to understand the components of the electric motor.
The second phase included developing concept sketches of desk fans as well as ideating where and how the features would be placed.
Concept sketches of the desk fan.
Prototype #1: testing height of iPhone for the charger, as well as ergonomic design of the fan and button features.
Prototype #2: testing the color features of the desk fan.
After creating small prototypes from foam and play dough, I landed on a final concept design and redesigned parts of the motor to adapt to my design. Then designed the product as an appearance model to be presented.
Final redesign of electric motor, with proper specifications in blueprint design of the final desk fan design.