Ohita – air cleaner enabling you to take fresh air with you Jorge Alberto Treviño Blanco from Mexico was juggling with as many as five ideas for the Design Lab competition, when experience with bad air quality lead him to focus on Ohita. What interests you most about being a designer? My passion for design is the result of a combination of two other passions: art and problem solving. When I was young I used to do ‘legal’ graffiti – it became my life and after years of practice, it nurtured an appreciation for aesthetics, helping me to shape and develop my design style.  With problem-solving, I enjoy thinking about ways to make a better planet, and interrogating the way things are made and done the way they are.  Design is a combination of these two passions and interests. Tell us how you imagine it would feel to experience Ohita in the home? From an environmental perspective, instead of feeling guilt for turning a product on you feel glad to be helping so many people by reducing Co2 and minimising the greenhouse effect.   

You’d be able to enjoy fresh country air and decorate the home with it. What was the inspiration behind your idea? I started working on the first stage submission a month and a half before the first deadline. I explored the three topics from the brief, and came up with five different concepts for each of the briefs.    fellowes 230 plasmatrue medium air purifierHowever, a few weeks before the deadline I realised I couldn’t stop thinking about the product I’m working with.  whynter 5 stages hepa room air purifierThis realisation coincided with a trip I made to Santiago, Chile where I got incredibly sick and suffered asthma attacks because of the bad air pollution.  airpura r600 all purpose air purifier

On my return home I decided I should be working on something that could help people, specifically those living in cities where the air quality is poor. What has it been like to be in the competition? I’ve known about the Electrolux Design Lab competition ever since I started studying industrial design.  I’ve always enjoyed following the competition, so it became one of my objectives in my third semester to take part.   The wide range of innovative and creative ideas showcased in the competition has been a great source of inspiration.  It’s been really great to learn from the feedback given by the Electrolux professionals.  It’s also been a real challenge to improve my design skills, specifically visual development and to organise the project alongside my studies. How have your friends and family reacted to your success in the competition so far? My parents, girlfriend, friends and teachers have always been really supportive when it comes to my studies, and they were really happy when I was named one of the best 100 concepts.

My parents work together in my dad’s dental business and they enjoy telling their clients about my project and the Design Lab.   My parents only just recently told me that my uncles about the competition, and now they are saying I’m a role model for my younger cousins, inspiring them to study harder to achieve their dreams. However, out of everyone I am the most ecstatic.   I am so happy to be a part of this competition, and to have had the opportunity to work with such an inspiring company.  Electrolux thank you so much for this experience.The times of products that are strictly utilitarian and the ones that are strictly for decorational purposes is long gone. More and more products serve a practical purpose, whilst making the environment look better. This is the case with the 2013 Electrolux Design Lab‘s semi-finalist, Ohita air cleaner and replicator, but they have moved one additional step forward. air cleaner and replicator contains bamboo charcoal which balances the amount of humidity in the air.

You can buy several different modules which synchronize with each other in order to have more effect in processing larger amounts of air. Additionally, every module can replicate the features of the air at any place. Just imagine, having the smell of your favorite flower, or even bakery everywhere you go. Yes, even in overcrowded and smelly public transport. The modules are designed in order to let you use them to your liking, creating different decoration forms on the place where you are using your modules. It can be placed on any flat surface, and several of them, when put together immediately synchronize and start breathing in the same rhythm. Moreover, light reflection changes make them seem like they are alive and moving. But their purpose does not end when you leave your house or office. You can take a module with you – on a strap of your backpack or on your T-shirt, for example – anywhere you go and thus stop worrying about the air pollution. Speaking of taking them with you, the middle surface of each module can have different color, making it a lot easier to match with your outfit for that particular day.

Even the features that are there solely for practical reasons are wonderfully designed. For example the ON/OFF button at the top of the module, or the battery and filter life indicating lights on the side. Honestly, there is not one thing wrong with Ohita. [images via Electrolux Design Lab] under Air quality, Environment, Green Products, Green Technology, Innovation It’s pretty easy to control the air quality in your home; you can open the window, turn on a fan, or even invest in an air filter. But in public places it isn’t so easy. Enter the Ohita, a portable air purifier designed by Jorge Alberto Treviño Blanco, an industrial design student in Mexico who suffered asthma attacks that were brought on by smog and air pollution. In response to that experience, Blanco designed the small, diamond-shaped device to filter the air in urban settings. The Ohita looks more like a fashion accessory than an air filter, and Blanco says the concept could be used both in the home and remotely, while moving around in the city.