Overview

Straw is an industrial design project aiming at the creation of a rechargeable vacuum cleaner, targeted at office workers, fulfilling their daily "emergency" cleaning needs around their working surface.

It is engineered in a way that makes it easy to assemble and disassemble. With the use of only snap-fitted parts and 3 screws, it makes future repairs really easy and straightforward. The absence of adhesives also aids in the recycling process at end of life, increasing the overall sustainability of the design.

Design Process

The project was kicked off with a study of the act of vacuuming, the office environment, and the user group. Use scenarios and personas helped frame the context and mood boards captured the aesthetic goal.

All that information was squeezed into sketches that revolved around the human hand and its position in relation to the office desk. The favored cylindrical design was developed further into a functional design that can properly accommodate the required internal components.

The end result was a 3D printed prototype that matches the shape but lacks the materiality of the final design. 

Final Design Showcase

Intuitive

The power switch is conveniently located at the top of the device. LEDs around its perimeter provide a visual indication of the remaining battery power.  

Twist & Unlock

The waste collection pin can easily be removed and emptied by twisting the whole body and splitting it in half. No waste bags, just a compact basket. 

Perforated Aluminium Design

The aluminium enclosure allows for proper airflow through the perforation pattern. No matter how tightly you grab it, there will always be enough holes to effectively let the air out.

2 in 1 Waste Basket

The wastebasket features a dual wall design. The space between the walls makes up the suction tubes. Waste is pulled from below the basket, all the way up through the walls and straight into the wastebasket. This allows for fewer parts, offering a sturdier construction.

The Project

Straw is a student design project. Originally designed in 2013 for the "Studio VI" course, part of the curriculum of "Product and System Design Engineering", the Integrated Master's program of the University of the Aegean.

In a team of three, I was involved in everything from user and market research to conceptual design. The area where I contributed the most was product engineering and design for manufacture.

Straw was also featured on "GREEK DESIGN = GOOD DESIGN", a design event, organized by OBI (Hellenic Industrial Property Organisation) in December 2013. Straw was very well received by the public for its simplistic design as well as its mighty performance.

The Team