LAGOM - modular hairdryer
Lagom is a modular and thus easily repairable hair dryer. Being more durable and sustainable than conventional hairdryers, it wants to counteract the development towards wasteful consumption which unfortunately is very common nowadays. By following the Cradle-to-Cradle model, parts and materials can be returned into the cycle, making the design regenerative.
Cable Management
It can be quite a pain to wrap the power cord around most hairdryers. It never stays and often even breakes. That’s why the cable management was an important aspect when designing Lagom, to makes it easy to store without creating any chaos. The cord is wrapped around the belly-shaped handle and the end clips to the rest of the cable for a nice, tight bundle that can be put away quickly.
Service
Lagom is not only a product concept, but also a service model. By repairing or replacing broken parts, the hairdryer is given a longer life. Depending on how easy the localisation of the problem is and on the technical affinity of the users, they can open the product themselves or just send the whole product to the repair service.
Modularity
Thanks to its modular design Lagom is more durable and sustainable than conventional hairdryers. Nowadays whole products are often thrown aways when they don’t work properly any more even though they could be repaired, hence creating clutter for landfills. By offering the possibility of repairing or replacing components, Lagom wants to counter this wasteful aspect of consumption. Users also benefit from lowered costs when replacing a broken part rather than buying a whole new product.
Materials
The handle is made out of aluminum, a material that is easy to recycle, and the housing is made out of recycled plastic (PP). Using mono-materials, it is easy to separate each material and thus recycle it. In this way the materials can be put back into their biological or technical cycle, following the Cradle-to-Cradle principle.
Prototype
To make the product ergonomically comfortable to handle and enjoyable to use, we developed different shapes and evaluated them in foam mock-ups. While being able to feel the shape, we gained a lot of important insights, which enabled us to improve the product in iterations up to the details.
The fingertips, which are most responsible for the grip, can easily find their place, when almost sliding into the concave handle. While the convex part of the handle volume is only indicated, it makes the handle complete and thus cuts the material and weight to a minimum.
2017/18 | teamwork (2 students)