Yoshimura Family
Project for Tatic Design Studio
March - May 2023
Lund University
Brief: The project aim, given by Alex Tatic, owner of the Milano-based Tatic design studio, was to create a unified design language for a chosen brand and target audience. The specific focus was the creation and development of a trio of cordless camping products, including a kettle,
a lamp speaker, and a fan-heater.
The Yoshimura Design Family consists of three cordless electric products designed for the renowned mountaineering brand Sea To Summit. Taking inspiration from the spatial art of origami folding, these products offer an immersive experience of enhanced portability. Through the seamless integration of interconnected hexagonal elements, the design achieves a perfect balance between stability and flexibility.
The overall design process involved comprehensive market research, the formulation and exploration of design themes, iterative sketching of the chosen design concept, and extensive 3D modelling and rendering.
Inspired by mountaineering brand Sea to Summit's commitment to quality, innovation, and sustainability, my design family introduces an origami-inspired foldable structure to enhance their renowned collapsible cookware, by incorporating an origami-inspired foldable structure. Tailored for snow trekkers and mountain climbers, and experienced winter hiking enthusiasts, the Yoshimura design seeks to elevate camping products for those who navigate challenging terrains annually.
The design themes that I chose to work with are origami-inspired and faceted products that inspire foldability, which also match the design language of Sea to Summit.
My initial set of five ideas revolved around integrating different types of collapsible folds, such as telescopic, bellows folding, and waterbomb techniques.
The Yoshimura folding pattern is the main design language for my product line. This versatile origami technique involves repetitive folds that form a dynamic and intricate structure. Initially, I explored incorporating the pattern as a surface mapping but pushed the concept further by fully integrating the pattern to establish a cohesive collapsible design family.
The Yoshimura Family (吉村) consists of three cordless camping products: a lamp-speaker powered by USB-C, a collapsible electric kettle, and a regulated fan-heater. Each product utilizes the Yoshimura folding pattern in distinct ways, serving various functions such as speaker mesh, collapsibility, and air circulation. All three products feature carabiner slots for convenient portability and intuitive user-friendly interfaces.
The main body of the kettle is designed to compress to a quarter of its original volume and half of its height, facilitating convenient transport and storage, particularly in camping rucksacks.
