KKDU Plum Bike Trailer and Rack

Melbourne startup KKDU Plum has just unveiled their brand new website, in which their very clever Bike Trailer and Rack are showcased.

Charlwood Design recently had the pleasure of working with startup KKDU Plum to develop what we think is the best bike trailer on the market today. This is a great example of someone identifying a solution and doing something about it- and a great inspiration for someone planning to dive into the scary world of the startups!

Founders Astrid and Haydn Sharratt came knocking on our big blue door about 2 years ago with a dream of developing a combined bike trailer and shopping trolley. The initial brief was a bike trailer that could carry all your "stuff"- and easily detach to be taken into the supermarket/shopping centre/market/beach/park/etc. Easy, no?

A page from the first concept presentation.

Well, as with most product development stories, there were plenty of hurdles. First issue was nailing the aesthetics. The "pram" aesthetic was briefly explored- and just as quickly abandoned. Plastic wheels were dismissed very early on. And rolled tubular steel was favoured over aluminum extrusion, to provide a more traditional look. It was very quickly established that this trailer needed to look perfectly at home being pulled behind something like a Pashley, or wandering the aisles of Prahran Market.

An early prototype. As with many projects, we find Water-Knifed Plywood to be a great method of creating mock-ups.

Ergonomically speaking, the trailer needed to not only suit all bike sizes; but also all users. The solution was an incredibly easy to adjust handle that also doubles as the hitching location. The handle rotates up and down to suit a variety of heights of both users and bikes, and connects to a very neat little hitch hanging off the custom bike rack. This also allows for a push or pull configuration when removed from the bike. The rack itself has a multitude of length and height adjust-ability to fit onto most adult bikes, and is an amazing product in its own right.

Head over to the new website to have a look at all the other features. From there you can register your interest and keep up to date with release dates and more.

kkduplum.bike

Melbourne Design Awards 2013

Charlwood Design was delighted to be awarded ‘Best Design Studio” at the Melbourne Design awards recently. We won three different product categories:

• Winner Best Design Studio. melbournedesignawards

• Winner, Medical and Scientific for Mittstrom- Mid Stream Urine Collection

• Winner, Consumer for Classical Fingers

• Winner , Homewares for UpperCup also Best Start-up award.

• Finalist Concept or Prototype MCHUMBA

This adds to the recent BASF Plastics Innovation Award, Sydney Award and Finalist Premiers design Award for the Mittstrom in recent months.

Plastics Innovation Award 2013

The Charlwood Design team was delighted to win the BASF Plastics Innovation Award for the Mittstrom Urine Test Device on 18th September, at the PlastixANZ Plastics Industry Awards 2013.

Mittstrom is an innovative device for the hygienic collection of midstream urine for analysis. It is a low-cost, fully biodegradable corn-starch saddle into which a standard pathology collection jar is placed. Initial urine is diverted from the jar by a thin membrane which dissolves over 3 seconds allowing the midstream urine to flow into the collection vial. Once finished the user simply removes the filled jar and flushes the device down the toilet. This innovative product has been granted patents internationally. Charlwood Design created the simple solution to the problem, using the unique (Plantic) material and tested it for performance.

Paul Charlwood said "this really shows how design can create a new business opportunity through innovative application of materials and insight to the end user’s needs."

Sydney Design Award winners

The Charlwood Design team was thrilled to win a 2012 Sydney Design award for the best product design - business and technology category for the stage management desks designed for the Sydney Opera House.

The project also recently won a Melbourne design award.

2012 Melbourne Design Award Winners

The Charlwood Design team was thrilled to win a 2012 Melbourne Design award for the best product design - business and technology category for our design of the Sydney Opera House's new stage management desks.

The stage management desk controls everything to do with the performance at the venues in the Sydney Opera House in both the front and back of house. The six existing units were well past their use by date and needed to be replaced with a state of the art design to serve for the next 20 years.

This is the second Melbourne design award Charlwood has won, having previously been awarded best consumer product for the catch-all broom design for Oates in 2010.

Charlwood Design's Director discusses the Victorian Governments New Design Strategy in the Age

Charlwood Design's director, Paul Charlwood was recently interviewed in the Age regarding his opinion on the new design strategy launched by the Government.

Besides being the director of one of Australia's leading design consultancy, Paul is also a councillor and government liaison of the Design Institute of Australia.

A short excerpt of the article:
''We need someone in the 'C' suite - whether the chief executive or chief financial officer - as opposed to someone behind the engineering team going, 'I understand design, I've got a black shirt','' he says
It's those decision makers who need to adopt design, Charlwood says.

Additionally, encouraging international companies to establish design offices in Victoria and sending our designers to overseas expos are the measures Charlwood looks to.

''It's not a massive move on [from the previous government strategy],'' he says.
''The proof will be in if they can actually engage business and offshore.

''In Australia, design answers to the engineering manager, so if these programs can assist in getting businesses to incorporate design rather than just being a styling thing at the end, that will be positive.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/premier-finally-raises-the-curtain-on-his-grand-design-20120913-25usx.html#ixzz26lydnko2