Anu MT-01

•

Anu MT-01 Multi-Tool

In a market saturated with multi-tools designed heavily for the outdoors-man, sporting an aggressive military aesthetic, Anu serves as the next generation of multi-tools designed for the urban environment and to be approachable for anyone.

An Opportunity in the Market

The actual idea to design a multi-tool originated from my own personal use and fascination with them. I always have one on my key ring and find it incredibly useful, but have not always resonated with their overall aesthetic. I saw an opportunity to design a product that fulfills an area in the market that has not been touched.

Ideation

Moving forward with this project, I had worked out a general idea of how I wanted the multi-tool to work and the overall gesture of it. Ideation was focused around ironing out aesthetic details and mechanical constraints. Often times I found myself switching between multiple mediums including sketching, illustrator linework, and simple CAD volumes to do this.

Design Proposal

The final design is a faceted cylinder butterfly-style multi-tool which at first looks like quite simple in appearance, but in actuality conceals a plethora of tools. Entitled MT-01, which stands for 'Multi-Tool 1', a nod to a potential family of products in the future. The design embraces its accessory nature and was designed to compliment other peripherals the user may wear or carry.

Pull Feature

Figuring out how the user would be able to access the tools without disrupting the faceted form was a fun design challenge. I came upon the solution of notching out grooves in the metal casing, enough for the user to get a nail in the depression of the tool to pull it out.

Types of Tools

From analyzing tool sets of leading multi-tool brands on the market, such as Victorinox©, Leatherman©, & Gerber©, and my previous experiences with multi-tools, I chose a tool set that would be most useful to the average user.

Bottle Opener

Flat Head + File

Flat Edge Knife

Pliers

Package Opener

Scissors

Tweezers

CMF & Packaging Explorations

Once I had the overall CAD complete, I shifted back into 2D to explore CMF and a potential packaging design. I created mood boards for each CMF option, primarily finding imagery in the accessory, tech, and fashion spaces since this product in essence is an accessory and should be considered alongside other products the user may carry daily.

An Approachable Palette

To differentiate from the aggressive colours of existing multi-tools on the market, I chose 4 different colourways, 2 neutrals and 2 colours. My main driving factors were to accentuate the products premium design, and to be approachable for everyone.

Packaging Concept

I also took the opportunity to design a package concept to compliment the design of the product itself. The out of box experience, although a simple one, presents the multi-tool in a way akin to that of a piece of jewelry.

Next Generation Multi-Tool

I am happy with the outcome of the design, and believe I have hit all of my objectives. Moving forward I would like to complete a mechanically functional 3D printed model to fully test the tools usability and feasibility, for now it is just a concept.