During my time at Auburn, I chose to participate in Emerson's sponsored studio. Our task was to design the ideal Steam Cleaning Product for versatile use that goes beyond traditional wet/dry vacuum cleaner applications. More specifically, this product was to be used in the garage, workshop, basement, patio, and for automobile cleaning. This required re-imagining the traditional forms, configurations, and use methods.

Our studio started out working as a group to research and gather information about the current products in the market. After this preliminary research, we held a focus group to obtain further insight from end-users. From there, we launched into individual sketching and the first phase of form development.

During the first phase of form development, I kept a few core factors in mind. First, I aimed to push the boundaries of what the typical steam cleaner looked like and how it functioned. To accomplish this, I took inspiration from vacuum cleaner and power tool forms. In addition to the aesthetics, I wanted to ensure that this unit would be portable to accommodate any given use case.

After presenting the first concepts to Emerson, I identified two concepts to take into foam models. These included the "Upright Model" pictured on the left and the "Toolbox Model" pictured on the right. From there, I refined these and created two actual-sized foam models. After crafting and presenting the foam models, the "Toolbox Model" was selected for further refinement which led to the third model.

Within the third phase model, I looked to simplify the aesthetic while still keeping the core toolbox storage features. I made the storage area black and entirely removable. To keep the storage area removable, I created the mechanisms that would allow the storage area to be opened and closed. Finally, I designed the first wand prototype.