In order to detect what characteristics made objects be perceived as “friendly” I took several objects that people identified as such and break down their features, compiling lists and sorting them by affinities groups. I found four big branches that could group this characteristics and labeled them as: Social Value, Uniqueness, Form factor and Emotional attachment. Arranging all these elements into a branched graph allowed me to identify which were pertinent for the product at hand and how to combine and highlight them.
Its main body is produced in moulded silicone while the fixture is made of injected ABS plastic.
It is very simple to install, and once in place, taking advantage of silicone’s flexibility the screws used to fix it to the wall are kept hidden from view.
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Toilet Paper Holder
This is a toilet paper holder that was aimed to be labeled as “friendly”. The research looked into what are the defining characteristics that makes a product to be perceived as friendly and used that information to combine certain elements to make a product that stands out. It looks playful, with warm and appeasing colours and material and is easy to use.
It was designed as easy to install and use as possible, as well as simple to manufacture. This meant designing the parts in order to make it clear how it’s supposed to be installed, to hide the screws and highlighting the functional sections.
Its main body is produced in moulded silicone while the fixture is made of injected ABS plastic.
