Chameleon
Victoria University of Wellington - 2022
Project Overview
In my final year of my Industrial Design degree, I was tasked with working with Kohler. Co to produce a design. Kohler is an American company that manufacturers bathroom products and plumbing. Due to the current state of the environment, I was tasked with developing a sustainable, innovative design for bathrooms.
One of the largest factors contributing to the environment's depletion is that of water wastage. To combat this I chose to create a sustainably manufactured bathroom sink that displays users water usage.
Chameleon is a sink made from 3D printed biopolymer that changes colour when wet. How this works to aid sustainability is by physically displaying ones water usage, encouraging individuals to use less water when carrying out simple bathroom tasks like brushing teeth or washing hands.
How does it work ?
This is a thermochromic biopolymer, a 3D printing filament designed to change colour dependent on temperature. In this case the filament remains a blue/lavender colour when idle or subjected to room temperature. When contact is made with a different temperature, the sink changes colour. Colder temperatures produce a darker shade and warm to hot temperatures produce a lighter shade.
Design Process and Research
Concept research
The basis of my design was based on the fact that individuals are oblivious to the amount of water consumed. To prove this, I tested myself by carrying out every day tasks using the bathroom sink. I then highlighted the amount of water in the sink and concluded that it is indeed very easy to become unaware of water usage, therefore being careless.
Concept Sketches
When designing my concept I sketched a number of concepts and evaluated each using the criteria, “is it sustainable to produce, is it practical, is it ergonomic, and is it aesthetic”. From this I was able to determine which designs would work for this concept and the final dimensions.
Scale Print Tests
After 3D modelling an iteration of my design in the thermochromic filament, I tested it using different water temperatures. These images show the test print reacting with different temperatures.
Final Print.
This is the final 1:5 scale model. These images show the model submerged in cold and warm water as well as room temperature in junction with warm water.
