A reusable DIY Bluetooth speaker kit designed for IKEA in order to decrease the waste of cardboard packaging by creating a new & functioning speaker.
Inspired by IKEA’s vision of a more sustainable tomorrow, KLIPPA is a DIY bluetooth speaker kit that allows users to up- cycle and repurpose their discarded cardboard packaging. The kit includes a reusable chipboard stencil, used to outline and draw the markings; IKEA’s wooden drawing pencil, a recycled plastic utility knife, IKEA’s MALA color pencils, a metal speaker driver and a pre-assembled cardboard component with the bluetooth, battery and switch attached.
CUT, FOLD, ASSEMBLE, LISTEN!
"The product’s USP is in its engagement with IKEA’s DIY assembly line and the brand’s ecological long term goal."
Research
IKEA is a Swedish- origin multinational furniture design company that sells ready to assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, and home accessories, amongst other goods and services. The company is best known for creating products with a balance between form, function, quality & affordability.
Design Opportunity
After researching the brand identity and gap in the market, a design and user specification is drawn to understand how the concept would materialize into a product. The concept storyboard below also showcases the journey of a user purchasing and interacting with the product, which further demonstrates the usability of the speaker.
Utilizing the iconic "IKEA Man" in the user manual ensures consistency with the brand's identity, fostering user familiarity and making the design language easily accessible and recognizable.
Design Process
Drawing inspiration from IKEA's ethos of efficient assembly and sleek Scandinavian design, I began ideations of products utilizing materials such as wood, metal, plastics, and glass to craft speaker concepts characterized by simple yet modern structures, enabling a deeper exploration of both form and function through sketching and scale modeling.
1. Ideation
2. Scale Models
After highlighting the most promising sketches inspired by IKEA's design principles, I created scale models using cardboard, employing techniques like scoring, cutting, and folding. This hands-on approach helped me evaluate size and function, leading to the identification of the final design, which seamlessly merged aesthetic appeal with practicality.
After several iterations, I settled on the primary design concept, which proved to be the most user-friendly in terms of cutting and assembly. I then integrated all the speaker components to assess how the shape of the speaker influenced its functionality and sound quality.
Final Design
The culmination of the design process resulted in a user-centric creation: a DIY reusable speaker kit, intentionally designed to empower users to construct their own Bluetooth speaker from cardboard. Straying from conventional methods, this speaker boasts no screws or external joinery; instead, all components are drawn, scored, cut, and folded by the user themselves, embodying IKEA's ethos of simplicity and accessibility.
The speaker's compact form factor ensures effortless portability, while leveraging the versatile properties of cardboard ensures a lightweight yet durable construction. In essence, this innovative creation not only aligns with IKEA's brand identity of democratizing design but also champions sustainability, optimizing the essence of DIY culture in IKEA and fostering a sense of ownership among users.
To streamline the assembly process, the electronic components come pre-assembled within the kit. This thoughtful approach ensures that users can focus primarily on the physical construction of the speaker, with the only technical step being the attachment of the driver wire to the Bluetooth panel. By simplifying the assembly of the electronics, the DIY speaker kit remains accessible to users of varying skill levels, creating a more inclusive and enjoyable experience.
Exploded View
Assembled speaker
The Kit
The detachable stencil doubles as a puzzle, with each numbered piece rejoining seamlessly like a jigsaw puzzle, accompanied by interactive instructions in a first-person narrative, such as "OUTLINE ME!". This interactive approach not only engages users but also creates a sense of personal involvement, as we tend to value objects more when we invest our time and energy into them. Additionally, the detachable stencil serves a dual purpose by flat-packing into the paper packaging, ensuring minimal use of space and aligning with the product's minimalist ethos.
The instruction manual adopts IKEA's trademark simple and user-friendly structure, emphasizing key details like the grain/flute direction crucial for easy cardboard cutting. To minimize printing and additional paper use, the instructions are printed directly onto the paper envelope packaging, ensuring that users are constantly aware of the product's assembly process. This innovative approach not only reduces waste but also enhances user convenience, aligning perfectly with the ethos of both IKEA and the DIY speaker kit.
Technical Drawings
The technical drawings illustrate both the pre-assembly and post-assembly construction of the speaker, providing detailed insights into its size, measurements, and technical components such as the switch, driver, and other integral parts. These drawings serve as guides, offering a comprehensive understanding of the speaker's inner workings.
Tools
Rhino3D
Keyshot
Illustrator
Photoshop
Procreate
Lightroom
Rhino3D
Keyshot
Illustrator
Photoshop
Procreate
Lightroom