MUJI Symphony
MUJI Symphony is...
MUJI Symphony is a set of dish-washing tools for millennial partners to find the fun aspect of doing chores and make their life of cohabitation better during the quarantine.
The instore journey is a critical part of the success of MUJI. MUJI Symphony provides a fun, affordable, interactive solution for MUJI to expand the current market by targetting millennial partners.
Role: Product designer
Time: 2020 Spring, 14weeks
Software: AI, PS, AE, Procreate,
Solidworks, Keyshot
Design Thinking
Gamification of Chores
"For every task that must be done, there should be an element of hidden fun."
The design thinking or life attitude above can be applied to chores as well, which are generally considered not a favorable thing to do.
So, how can we find the hidden fun elements of the non-favorable things?
We Hate Washing Dishes
Nothing can be more disappointed when you are stuck from work and want to cook a nice dinner to bounce back, but find out there are dozens of unwashed plates in the sink. No worries, you are definitely not the only one who suffers from this. Based on research, 37% of the people in the US hate washing dishes!
Quarantine life is Hard
During the quarantine, everyone's mental health was affected more or less. For partners, the number of quarrels has increased to a certain extent, which is not conducive to the couple's cohabitation life and mutual feelings. In most cases, these quarrels occur in small things, such as washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, or folding clothes ... etc
Fun Observation
I cannot forget the night when I was washing dishes, and listening to k-pop via my phone. Since I was doing my project, I kept thinking about how to gamify chores in an intuitive way. I looked at the dishes on my hand meanwhile keep the repetitive radial motion of washing dishes. Suddenly, the image of the DJ spinning the discs appear in my mind. I realized that the motion of washing dishes is quite similar to spinning discs, and the bridge to connect those two behaviors is music!
Millenial Cohabitant = The NEXT MUJI Target User
Millenial Cohabitant = The NEXT MUJI Target User
Research
User Features
. Millennial cohabitants are the millennial partners who live together without marriage
. Millennial partners value experience more than words possessions
. Millennial partners tend to have a smaller house and less stuff
Marketing Feature
69%
Most Americans (69%) say cohabitation is acceptable even if a couple doesn’t plan to get married
What affects loyalty to brand?
54% Millenials: Price
28% Millenials: Quality
59% Non-Millenials: Quality
32% Non-Millenials:
Price
. Cohabitation is a trend
. Financial concern
. High quality, low price
Design
Inspiration
market size and features
. Cohabitation is a trend
. Millennials have less money to spend compared with previous generations
. They want the product to have high quality with relatively lower price
Pebble serves as the inspiration to maintain a natural, friendly feeling of MUJI.
Key Sketches
Dish Rack
Acoustic Sound Amplifier
The upper part can be used as am acoustic sound amplifier for the phone. It has a handle. Thus, it is portable to take from the room you are working in the kitchen. Offering a seamless and intuitive musical experience.
Product
Overview
Acoustic Sound Amplifier
for Phone
Base for Kitchenware
Dish Rack Tray
Base for Components
Dish Rack Tray
The disk rack tray is made of black anodized metal and can be removed as a modular, easy to wash separately.
Base
The base of the acoustic amp part can be used as a rest for chopsticks, knifes or scoops.
Brushes
The main forms of the pebble brushes have 2 designs. Both of them are designed to optimize the experience of making dish-washing a musical journey.
Main Form
The brush No.1 has a concave surface to indicate the most comfortable place for holding. And it is easier to clean plates or containers with a flatter surface.
The Brush No.2 has a long handle. It is designed to clean bowls or the container with a certain depth.
Dishes
I choose semi-transparent polypropylene as the package material, since it will make people be curious about what is inside, whcih is an interesting way to introduce a new concept design.
Packaging
The best way to introduce a new design or attract new audience group is to allow them play around with it. And that is also my design intent behind this user experience center.
In-Store
Journey
