Bridging Security and Style
In-Production Wifi Camera
Designed on a 6 month
Internship with studiomem
Challenge
The client approached studiomem wanting a new wifi surveillance camera aimed at a high-end, European market.
Time Frame
6 months
Full Production Cycle
I was very fortunate, with support from my fantastic team at studiomem, to lead my own client project on the internship. The 6 month duration meant I was able to see the design from initial sketches all the way to production.
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**Note: On this project, there were alternative concepts proposed and refined alongside the final presented, but remain the confidential IP of studiomem after final client selection.**
De-Tech Your Tech
The client wanted to replace their large, outgoing model with something small and aimed at a higher end market.
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Research of benchmark competitors consistently showed the same color palette and materials, something we changed to help the product stand out by turning down the "tech" look.
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Inspired by external geometries of vintage film projectors
Refining the proportions of the film projector
Too soft! Precision
edges give a desirable higher-end feel
Why does this happen?
To attract a higher-end market, it would need special features over a standard model to increase user value.
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There is a recent phenomena of people using physical objects to cover their web camera. It a symptom of a need for privacy and a distrust of software. This need for items to be "obviously off" was a guiding insight in the design.
The final design contains geolocating, it knows when you are in proximity by your smart phone and turns off recording for privacy. The lens rolls into the body to make it visually impossible for the camera to see you.
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When you are far enough away, the camera returns to a surveillance mode.
"Obviously Off"
Sculptural + Quiet
An expensive market would not want something cheap or unsightly in the home, the minimalist form of the camera
seamlessly blends into the home when not in use.
Small Sells
A key selling point to this design was its tiny volume, the cube is 57mm to a side. This meant a lot of back and forth rearranging and resizing components and planning tooling molds.
Lens and PCB
Tilt and Pan Motors
Speaker and Microphone
Engineering
Working with the production engineers, we figured out how to place all the interior components and the part separation lines. The concept pictured here, illustrated one way to handle the lens: sandwiched on either side. For the target market, we need to reduce and eliminate unsightly part lines.
Mounting Hardware
The design works functionally and aesthetically inverted,
if the user desired to mount to the ceiling. Matching brackets we designed to integrate with the geometry harmoniously.
Micro SD Card
Power Input
Reset Button
Speaker
Microphone
Hidden Part Line
Buttons and
Input Features
Privacy and Security
Design is a team sport, thanks to my colleagues and friends for their discussions, critiques, and feedback.
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Thanks for reading!
Special Thanks for this Project
Rudolf Voigt and Anne Schlösser
Bert, Vicent, Abi, Alina, and Loreena
Karen Hofmann
Michael Sans and Robert Ball
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