Wallnut | A Better Way to Art
Wallnut was a new wall art brand developed from the ground up in 10 months aimed at improving the full wall art purchasing experience for the customer. View the Wallnut project page >>
Smart Home | Infrared Heated Bath Mat
I advanced this concept from its initial idea to proof-of-concept, creating multiple functional prototypes by hand for consumer testing and feedback. I received a patent for the 2-part textile system.
I sourced different heating elements that could be integrated into a flexible construction. My research included using infrared thermal imaging tools to evaluate nichrome alloy, carbon fiber wire, kapton film heaters, and graphene thermal elements. I also sourced custom lithium-ion batteries and tested their efficiency and power draw, which helped to narrow the heating elements and battery capacity to use for consumer testing.
We constructed over 30 working prototypes with different configurations of batteries, heating elements, base pads, and cover fabrics, to be sent to pre-selected consumers to test the viability of the concept. I fabricated all of the electrical wiring plus completed most of the sewing with close guidance from a co-worker who had plenty of experience sewing dissimilar materials coming from her work in costume production on Marvel movies.
Home Storage Innovations
Ruggable aimed to disrupt home storage with innovative solutions for apparel and accessories. Functional prototypes based on my sketches shown below were built and used for extensive focus group testing.
Storage Research
Bin Label Concepts
Wireless Charging Label Concepts for Nightstand with Integrated Power
Washable Pet Bed
I contributed research and concept generation for Ruggable’s new pet bed collection, slated for launch in late 2024.
Bedding Innovations
Duvet cover changes can be a hassle and Ruggable saw an opportunity to make them easier. We designed and tested several innovative prototypes with new fabrics and custom 3D-printed trims to improve the duvet cover changing experience. Large-scale user testing with limited-production samples helped us validate demand and gather valuable feedback to ensure our solution truly addressed the challenges faced by consumers.
