Ekaterina
Tomilov
Design Brief​
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Design a humidifier that is safe to put within reach and promotes interaction from household pets, specifically cats.
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Target market consists of cat owners, volunteers and pet boarders/daycares who either own a cat or take care of one with upper respiratory infection (URI).
Research: Market​
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Upper respiratory infections are common in pets, especially during winter months as there is more dry air and less humidity in the air. Kittens, puppies, elder pets, or pets with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to getting pneumonia.
The symptoms of URI may include stuffy nose, difficulty breathing, lethargy and refusing to eat. Increasing humidity to an appropriate level will help reduce illness transmission between pets, improve dry skin, relieve breathing problems (allergies, asthma), and improve sleep
Industry Solutions​
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Competitors in the category of humidifier which are qualified safe to be used for pets, except for RCOM Brooder RCU, there were no humidifiers made to be compatible with pets - Opportunity to further explore with HumiPet!
Highlighted- HumiPet's targeted features
Initial Ideation​
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Exploring shape through sketches and rough prototyping for volume representation
HumiPet is a combination of a standard humidifier; portable room humidifier, with the allowance of safe placement within reach; on the floor, as well as promoting interaction instead of hiding and putting it out of reach.
A skeletal prototype was made to represent scale and usability for user testing in combination with simple renderings.
The focus was on the grip area at the base, as well as user interface preferences.
Concept Development & Ideation​
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After user testing, feedback was reflection were applied to the concept development. A second prototype was created to for a volume representation of the product as individual parts interacting with each other to make a whole.
Final Concept​
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More ideation after feedback... looking into ways of solving the following:
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More in depth research on internal components with physical humidifiers at valley village.
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Filling from the top, while the outlet tube being in the way.
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Manufacturability of all parts and their assembly.
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How to separate the reservoir from the base while avoiding spilling.
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How to include reservoir handling affordance without making a drastic change in concept design.
