Thursday, September 4, 2008

Experience Enrichment








The safety razor has been phased-out since the 1970s, this was due to the introduction of the modern cartridge type razors, fueled by the need to control the market. This introduction, in a sense was an innovation but new is not always good; why was the safety razor replaced?
For this project I was to re-design the phased out razor to be a more contemporary product for my target market of Business men aged 35 and above, someone who likes grooming and takes care of themselves.
Wet shaving itself is really an art form which is delicate and requires finesse. One can sense a hint of nostalgia when coming into contact with a traditional razor. The design process essentially revolves around the mechanism and the razor blade itself; these are restricting factors when it comes to form, hence the emphasis of the design of the handle. Standardisation was an important factor to consider in my project, with more 'modern' and traditional razors, variable settings were not standardised, where a setting of 1 for example will give a different shave with every razor.
The final design consists of a twisted handle in black chrome or polished black anodised finish which would allow light to reflect in various directions giving an interesting look. The complicated mechanism would also be hidden from view with a larger razor cover along with a standardised measurement of razor height.

5 comments:

Somewhatdamaged said...

loving the old-school razor blade design and I fully agree that this is something that could be brought back into the mainstream. Finish on the model turned out really well, especially the metallics.
I do feel that the handle could have been made a tad longer; although if it was designed with standards in mind then this probably isn't an issue.

warik said...

Well considering that I dont shave often i really don't know what a good shave feels like BUT i love your sketches man!! They're SICK! Anyway Mr Ching i agreee with Rob with the handle, it may have been nicer if it did have a slightly elongated handle but everything else i.e. design and functions are flawless (my opinion)

Eunkwang Seo said...

Interesting idea, re-design the phased out razor as contemporary product and bring back nostalgia and memories to your main targets. Your final model looks good and rationale explained it reasonably.

I agree with others' comments as well, it would be better if the handle length is bit longer.

Ronald Turinuddin said...

Ronald Turinuddin..
i personally find this design interesting and unique, you have presented us with an overall good design by taking an existing obsolete product and putting your own innovative idea to improve the blade aestheticly and ergonomicly.

This product could be improved by adding some safety features to the blade, as the older blade provides a safety concern to the consumer....

Andrew Cook said...

i like the idea and feel it could break the market. love the drawings. if this makes shaving a more pleasurable experience then i would buy it. i like the design and feel it works well with the user. not to sound like a broken record but yeah longer handle would probably improve ergonomics.