By correctly utilising social media, products can be launched onto the market and see immediate success. This project aimed to show how a design can be conceptualised, produced and marketed with social media in mind. It takes the form of a rapid drink chiller that saves space in the fridge by cooling drinks on demand, in only 60s. By rapidly spinning a drink container in a cold-water bath, the warmer liquid is transferred to the outside through convection where it is instantly cooled. My product uses a unique dual-roller belt-drive system which, unlike other coolers, can be used for any shape of drink. Alongside the product is a Tiktok page with videos of the product that gained over 20,000 views in 24 hours, and multiple interested buyers. The project delivers a production-ready prototype, a marketing strategy, and a model for designing a successful viral product.
The second project offers an alternative take on traditional home speaker systems. By blending speakers in with an architectural feature found in many houses, window shutters. They utilise audio exciters to vibrate each of the 4 panels independently to create a large sound system with full directional control. The panels are made from a 10mm honeycomb cardboard panel at the centre, with a shaker-style border made from various laminated paper materials. These trim pieces improve the sound by greatly increasing the rigidity of the panels, while adding minimal weight. They greatly improve the durability and fully conceal the copper tape wiring. Power is transferred to the exciters on the faces by adhesive copper tape, and between panels via the drawn brass hinges, creating a fully wireless aesthetic. The use of hinges in DML speaker panels is unique to my project, the final prototype is intended to showcase the functionality of this discovery, rather than delivering a fully production-ready product.
