Challenge

I knew I wanted to develop a reusable water bottle because of the growing social concern over global plastic pollution. I believed it was going to be a growing industry, perhaps even boosted by lawmakers. But, of course, designing a great looking water bottle wasn't going to be enough for me. At the time, I was very intrigued with modular and multipurpose designs in appliances or furniture, which then became an integral source of inspiration for conceptualizing the OMNIA Bottle.

Approach

The project had two main objectives: develop a prototype and develop a Kickstarter campaign.

Since I didn't have much experience with CAD design or manufacturing requirements for CAD designs, I found and hired a professional that specialized in taking a sketched design and turning it into a manufacturer compliant CAD drawing or technical drawing. From there, I was able to find a Chinese firm that specialized in the entire process of product development from start to finish. After some iterations, a prototype was finally produced and shipped to me. Unfortunately, it didn't pass my mechanical tests, and the concept would have to be reimagined. The prototyping of the initial design, on of the goals of the project, was completed. However, the redesigned bottle has not been prototyped yet.

While I was waiting for the professional contractors to submit their work for approval to me, I was working on the Kickstarter campaign. I developed the entire campaign artifacts myself using Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator after researching successful campaigns and deciding on elements I liked. However, because the prototype failed to prove the concept, I never launched the Kickstarter campaign and shelved the entire project due to becoming too costly.