Automotive Air Purifier

This project involved designing a small device that would filter the air within one's car and indicate its quality or health threat at any one time. Our task was to modernize the look and feel of the product and help integrate the new technologies better. The project was short term and the product is now in production.

My role was that of a consultant, although it ended up including concept development, presentation copy writing and branding for an international market.

Strange though it may seem, the awareness of Chinese people about air cleanliness is quite high and given the feature-oriented technology market, many products are sold that offer readings of air quality and breatheability. As it is a common product, I was asked to look at the way people lived and interacted with this sort of technology from a outside standpoint to offer pointers on design for the final product and product strategy. I was introduced to the project about 3 days before leaving Hangzhou for my summer travels and told that I should keep an eye on the way people did things in different parts of China and try to observe emergent habits involving small personal devices that could make our product more appropriate for the cramped marketplace. I did this; however, when I returned from my travels the project had already started, as a few of our full time staff had been working on the form for some time. They were then implementing the technology within and thinking about how best to market their new product. I was put on with a group of 2 or 3 other people to develop the copy and brand identity of the project.

The technology used in this project included carbon catalytic converters and ultraviolet light to ensure clean, oodour-free air.

This was an interesting but small task so it was out the door before anyone had a chance to get sick of it. A few weeks later, we presented it to prospective clients at the Canton Fare in south China as a representation of our work.