Initial Ideas: Cupboard to More storage

 In this blog post, I will be drawing some initial ideas for the cupboard that transforms to reveal more storage. 

My plan is to finish my development by the end of week 6 as I want to start create my items on software and my design boards during week 7 and 8.

Additionally, once I have my final development complete, I can focus more on the testing of the colours, the materials and components. I always leave the materials last as my ideas change drastically over the stages, therefore, I will research for materials more specifically once I have everything done.

Once I have my initial ideas ready, I am planning on researching all this week and then develop all of them in week 6 to finalise my products. I will be looking at more research in the next blog posts. 

These were the designs I came up with:

DESIGN #1:

This was my first design. My first ideas was to create a squared shape cupboard that the user would be able to pull upwards to create a rectangular cupboard. Even though at first this seemed like a really good idea, I soon realised that the items stored would not be secured when the storage unit is inverted. This would cause the items to fall and potentially cause an injury. Additionally, it would be very inconvenient to constantly lift it up and down to have access to the products.

Looking at this, it definitely is not suitable for a storage unit. It would be very frustrating and inconvenient to use by the users. I just realised this as I did not realise it when I was designing it. 

If the cupboard will be opening, it either needs to slide open to the right or to the left. Lifting up and down is not suitable as it would invert all the items inside. 

DESIGN #2:

This has a very similar concept to the previous one. I like this idea better than the previous one as the items stored will be safe and in place when opening the cupboard. Additionally, this design is very spacious which would allow the user to store many items inside. The cupboard could also stay open for the person to place everything in there.

As it can stay open, the items inside would be exposed to dust. I could potentially add a thin rolling curtain at the side of the cupboard in order to cover and protect all the items inside. 

The issue with this is that it might be too bulky for a university accommodation room. As I like the concept of this design, I could potentially use the same idea to develop it in my development stage by adding different shapes to make it more aesthetically pleasing. 

The installation of it would be a lot of hustle. Additionally, it is very tall which might not be convenient in many apartments. There might be things on the wall such as TV, electrical box, shelves which might intervene with this design and not allow it to be set up. I need to look closely into measurements and do some testing to ensure that my design will be accessible to most. 

DESIGN #3:

This is the final idea that I created based on those two previous concepts. This one is my favourite idea which was inspired by dizz concept. It opens up on both sides to form the storage which I feel like it is the most sufficient.

I really like the square shape as I feel like it is very elegant and compact. Additionally, I like how the opened up version is horizontally long as it looks more suitable for an accommodation.

DESIGN #4:

This design was inspired by a sliding mechanism I researched. Even though I like that this is more modern, I feel like it would not be very stable. The purpose of this cupboard is to be able to be kept open or closed, depending on what the user desires. It should be designed in a way that when it is kept open, the design looks natural as though it was designed to be open.

With sliding door, this would not be achievable as it would constantly slide in if someone lightly pushed it. I want it to be stable and sturdy when it is opened up.

I want to look at more shapes and possibilities before developing my own work :

DESIGN #5:

The vision I had with this design was to create a parallelogram like shape to make it look as though it creates movement when it is opened. I really like the concept of this, however, the execution is not good. Additionally, I feel like it would be a problem in some apartments as it is curved.

DESIGN #6:

In this design, I decided to create a square shape that can be opened up to form a triangle. I like the concept of two different shapes being created when the furniture transforms; however, similarly to the previous ones, the items stored inside would get inverted every time someone opened it. 

Additionally, I feel like this design looks at the aesthetics way more than the function. It does not provide the user with sufficient storage as the triangle shape does not utilise all available space. It also has a lot of sharp edges which might not be ideal. I am discarding this idea as I do not feel like there is room to improve.

DESIGN #7:

In this design, I decided to take inspiration from royalty. They say that time is precious and a luxury which is why I indirectly linked it to royalty. I created the cupboard to be a triangular shape that transforms into an hourglass when opened.

However, there are many problems with this design. Regarding safety precautions, there are many sharp edges and areas where I person can injure themselves.

Additionally, triangle is a very specific shape that is not seen commonly. I feel like it would not match many rooms and people would be very picky with this design. It does not provide a lot of storage and it will not be an effective and efficient solution.

What I like about this design is that when it is closed it forms a triangle and then transforms into an hourglass when opened. I like the idea of the shape transforming as the product itself is transforming too, as though they are different product.

I will look into this in greater depth and see what other shapes can be used to create this illusion.

DESIGN #8:

This is definitely a design I am discarding. I feel like it takes up a lot of unnecessary space and the shape of the closed cupboard resembles a coffin. I feel like this would not match a lot of room aesthetics and would not entice people to buy it. It has a lot of sharp edges which again might lead to a an unsafe environment.

 Just like the previous one, it is a very specific shape that might not be ideal for a section in the market. This would not be a problem if I was designing high-end furniture as those are meant to be unique, one of a kind and accessible to only a small section of the market.

I am designing something that can be utilised by many students. 

I can look at how shapes are related to the themes I chose and develop it using those. I am not extremely happy with the shapes I came up today except 2-3. I will be developing my ideas in the development stage. I made the mistake of including many designs that you could lift upwards as I did not realise that all the items stored inside would get inverted. 

My opinion: I really like the third design as I feel like it combines many positive features I looked at in one design. I feel like it would be the most convenient to be placed in a space. I am definitely interested in developing that and see where it goes.

Just like the previous times, I wanted to receive some feedback from the four people. In my development, I will be asking more people in order to see the grand scheme of things and gather more opinions. However, as these are just initial ideas, I am only contacting 4. 

Person #1: I like the first ideas concept of transforming from a square into a rectangle. It is unfortunate that the items placed inside would be inverted and would fall. Maybe you could find ways to develop that and see if there is room for improvement. I also like the third design as it is very simple, however, it looks neat and clean.

Person #2: I was confused when I saw design 4 as that does not reveal any more storage. All the other designs open up and form more shelves. However, number 4 only provides sliding doors, it does not provide with extra storage. I dislike that idea. I would suggest a cylindrical shape to try out in the development stage as it might be interesting to implement this shape. 

Person #3:  Design number 2 stands out to me as I like the elongated shape created. I feel like it looks like a fridge which I do not mind as I think that it would be a good illusion in the accommodation and would look very coherent. I think that it looks like a fridge because of the way it opens, so maybe you could experiment with other ways of opening. 

Person #4:  The concept of design 6 is very interesting. However, I would like to see the development in number 3 as I feel like it has great potential. 

How does this product stand out in the market?

I have met multiple people that want cupboards that are open and exposed in order to display books or figures they want to show. However, I also met people that want the cupboard to be closed as they are not always very tidy. Personally, as I am also messy, I would love to have a closed cupboard to store everything inside but also have the opportunity to open it up and display items of my choice on there. Such product can transform an area and people can open it or close it whenever they want in order to redesign their room. I am really intrigued by this concept and I really like it.

After the initial ideas, I will then spend the rest of the week analysing and researching various elements and then spending the rest week to develop and finalise my work.