We talked with design studio, SPEXTRUM to hear more about Umbra x Spextrum's Bellwood Cosmetic Organizer.
What was the inspiration behind your design? (ie. time, place, material, other items etc.)
The concept of Bellwood Cosmetic Organizer came to life during the collaboration brainstorming session between Spextrum and Umbra. During our meeting, we pinpointed that dressing table was a location that we use every day without much thought. We understood the importance of this space and wanted to make this space comfortable and organized, so that everyone can start their morning and end their night without having to deal with the frustration of items being unorganized.
When we started designing, the most important aspect that we focused on was the usability. The designers created user scenarios and reflected on user behaviors to ensure our product provided the necessary benefits that the users needed when organizing their belongings. After prototypes were made, we had various groups of people take it home to test out the usability and collected comments/feedbacks.
What problem (if any) were you trying to solve?
The biggest problem that most users face when organizing their belongings are the limitation of visibility. We always have that one or two products that gets lost in our storage as they are placed in a location where it may not be as visible as the rest, which limits the usage of those products. We wanted to design an organizer that can store and organize products nicely and efficiently, while keeping all items visible and easy to access.
Were there any challenges along the way? (ie. material, manufacturing, costing, etc.)
There were many challenges when we were designing this product. For one, we knew that we wanted this product to ship flat (knock-downed). This was very important to us, as we wanted to reduce amount of materials of used for packaging to cut down waste. Designing something to knockdown may sound easy, but it is not the case. There are many more things to consider, such as how to communicate the design intention, will manufacturers and users understand the importance of assembly, will users understand these instruction sheets without any words…etc.
Other challenges were manufacture related. Things like the thickness of the wooden handle had to be tested to ensure it was thick enough to able to hold all the components being screw into it, while not being too thick. We also ran into few challenges in designing the trays as well. We wanted to ensure the trays were big enough to hold products, the right distance apart to ensure placing items in and out of the tray was easy, and easy to assemble onto the wooden handle. And lastly, the biggest challenge was to design an organizer that really stands out in the market and make all aspect of the design intentional.
What is your favorite part about the product?
Our favorite part of the product is the wooden handle and the removable cup. The wooden handle add an aspect of warmth and nature, which you do not see often in cosmetic organizers. The cup allows of versatility and customization based on what the user wants.
What makes this product different/unique/better compared to everything else on the market? A
As mentioned above, the removable cup that was designed to store tall items, such as brushes and lip-glosses, is a distinctive feature. It allows users to take out the storage when needed and store back in when not in use. For example, the user may take the cup with all the brushes out when applying makeup for easier accessibility and put it back in when done using. In addition, the wooden handle provides a comfortable grip for users to use if they require the organizer to be moved around the house. Lastly, the circular design of the organizer allows many products to be stored while exposing all sides to allow visibility to all items in use.
BELLWOOD COSMETIC ORGANIZER from umbraltd on Vimeo.
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