Éolienne (French: 'wind turbine') is not a wind turbine, but rather a wind generator. After a century of standard propellor based fans, the goal of this project was to completely redesign the pedestal fan. Looking at what the future may hold for cost effective household cooling solutions, and how the User, Environment and Product relationship can be enhanced; whilst inspiring creativity and simlifying interaction.
Nuer is a hypothetical brand developed for this project. A modern design-driven household-devices company that caters to the 7-10 LSM bracket. Nuer is focused on producing products that surpass their basic functionality and become valuable sculptural objects that enhance the living environment. The brands mission is to develope new systems by developing relationships between the natural evironment and the user.
The style guide I developed for the Nuer fan was based on precedent from existing sculptural fans, natural aero-dynamics, wind-turbine design, modern manufacture and natural forms. I was especially influenced by the
moulded foam blades of the Ventilux Fan and the sculptural treatment of the Bang & Olufsen speaker range.
moulded foam blades of the Ventilux Fan and the sculptural treatment of the Bang & Olufsen speaker range.
USER PERSONA 1: Lisa is a 23 year old web blogger and lifestyle consultant. She runs her business from her office in the apartment that she rents.
The objects that she surrounds herself with exude her high value for style and fashion, while she tries to balance the small space by not having possessions that are not essential. Therefore the products that she does buy are both functional and lend themselves to the overall appearance of her lifestyle.
The objects that she surrounds herself with exude her high value for style and fashion, while she tries to balance the small space by not having possessions that are not essential. Therefore the products that she does buy are both functional and lend themselves to the overall appearance of her lifestyle.
USER PESONA 2: Mike is a 28 year old architect. He runs his own company and works at home often enough to require an office. He leads an active lifestyle of outdoor sports and travel. Mike enjoys doing hand-on work and keeps a dog as a loyal companion. He owns a moderate house that he furnishes within a modern style to keep himself inspired and simplify the job of keeping his space tidy. Mike wants his home to be clutter free and still feel homely despite the minimal decor. He hopes to find a partner to start a family with in the near future, and share his space with.
I used wind dispersal seeds as inspiration for developing an unconventional blade that would churn, rather than chop, the air. I also wanted to create a smooth, sleek and slender form that would comunicate aerodynamics. I looked at the shape of a squid, as it has a distinctly curvilinear and unbroken form. The thin tentacles were an inspiration to do thin legs and draw focus to the main mechanism.
Initially i looked at ways to include functions such as height-adjustability and wind-direction. However as the concept was developed further and i was able to do prototype testing these aspects fell away as unessecary complications and detractions from the simplicity of the form.
After some prototyping i was able to refine the form and move on to the mechanical details of the electronics and assembly.
Further refinement was carried out through CAD. Making sure each component is manufacturable and finalising the assembly process and fasteners.
Using the engineering drawings I produced the parts to scale and made a working prototype. I had some of the parts grown and others i modeled from foam and wood. For the repetitive parts i made moulds of the original pattern and cast plastic and foam multiples. I used a reclaimed fan motor to drive the prortotype.
