Beach umbrellas are usually standardized structures and various companies compete more on distribution and Point Of Sale, rather than quality and usability.
Terra-nation, currently the only brand worldwide marketing products specifically for the beach environment and experience, wished to raise the standards of the beach umbrella and this could be accomplished in many different ways. Some have already been implemented and others activated for future use. One of the ways was to improve the standard features both in terms of aesthetics as well as efficiency.
The locking mechanism of the standard beach umbrella has been a component of average feel and performance in which we saw opportunity for improvement and expression.
The main aim was to design a locking mechanism that would reflect the TERRA NATION (www.terra-nation.com) design language.
While in dialogue with the object, the user should feel the locking action. The definition of resistance as well as the clicking sound satisfied our effort for appropriate response of the object to the human intention. Specifically, we considered that it should be imperative for the user to feel when the umbrella has been unlocked to adjust its height and then, while locking into the new position, to know when the mechanism is just about to lock and ultimately when it has been locked.
It is highly improbable that the future user of this beach umbrella is going to realize that there has been a change that makes them feel safer using it. However, we are strong believers that most of an objects behavior communicates discreetly with the person’s perception. We believe that good design is discreet design. We call this principle “seamless integration” of the object into the users daily experience.
