Gina Ross
Industrial Design
As an industrial designer, I develop ideas through iterative cycles of prototyping, involving the user as a focus throughout.
Final year project
Reducing food waste produced by students
The Fresher Box
'Reducing the amount of food wasted by students'
The Fresher Box is a simple and minimal solution which aims to aid first-year 'freshers' in organising their food, with a focus on increasing the visibility of food by compartmentalising the space they have available, enabling the food in each drawer to be accessed easily. Invested in by Tesco* and Loughborough University*, this product is given to students free of charge when they move into Halls of Residence and are designed to last them the year.
*no official affiliation
Fresher Box in context
This image shows the Fresher Box being used by students in their Halls of residence.
As fridges are not designed for shared use, when shared by young people at University, the results are crammed and disorganised shelves as students attempt to establish ownership of their own possessions. Along with the difficulties faced by newfound independence and lack of experience in managing everyday life, the current lack of organisation, is the outstanding culprit for wasted food which led to the solution shown above.
Fresher smartphone app
Supporting the use of the Fresher Box, this app is a management tool provided by Tesco* which includes features such as shopping plans and lists, inventory, meal inspiration and a recipe generator, among others. Used alongside the Fresher Box, students are provided with the tools and guidance required to implement good habits at a pivotal point in their life, so that they can continue to practice beyond their time at university.
*no official affiliation
Airbnb Bloom
'Design a mobile app that enhances the experience of domestic energy reduction'
Airbnb Bloom is a mobile app solution that enables Airbnb Hosts to manage energy consumed by Guests that stay in their homes. As holidays are a time for people to switch off from daily life and relax, engaging users in reducing energy consumption in such situations was a real challenge. It was important to keep the experience of the guests at the forefront of the design process, ensuring the magic of going on holiday wasn't lost or overpowered by an attempt to encourage guests to be sustainable.
Airbnb Bloom Storyboard
Guests select an energy tariff at the point of purchase and have a fixed amount of energy to use within their stay. The app helps guests to maintain and reduce their energy consumption by using data from smart meters and other smart data like weather, to prompt users with suggestions on how to keep consumption low through notifications and manage usage for them. In this example, the app suggests hanging the washing out to dry outside instead of using the dryer, since it received information that a wash load has been put on. Any money left over can be saved in their ‘wallet’ or donated to the local community. Any energy used beyond the budget is paid for by the guests.
Stress Relief Pebble in home charging
'Design a product that helps users take ownership of their physical health'
This is a mindful companion device that helps young millennials manage burnout through guided haptic breathing exercises. Extreme or prolonged stress can have catastrophic effects both short and long term. In this modern culture of social media and side hustling, young people are more stressed than ever. Controlling breath patterns is scientifically proven to switch the body back into 'safe mode' and reduce the effects of stress on the body. With practice, this device helps users to calm themselves at the moment, while also helping their mind and body to learn how to de-stress.
Stress Relief Pebble
This 'pebble' is a handheld discrete product that users can carry with them anywhere they go. It uses indicates inhale and exhalation by vibration haptics 'moving' in a circle around the device, which the user can feel through an exterior of soft-touch silicone, with the added benefit of allowing the user to exert some kinetic stress by squeezing.
Back at home, the pebble can be placed into the charging bowl. This bowl can also be used to guide mindful breathing sessions through a light display which rotates clockwise and anticlockwise in time with the 478 breathing technique.
Gina Ross
Final year project
Reducing food waste produced by students
Awards
Diploma in Professional Studies 2022
Work Experience
In my placement year, I worked at spliced studios in Hackney, London. Working within the Joyride responsive furniture brand, my work varied from building, developing and maintaining the company website to leading the team for aesthetics and style design for new and upcoming projects. The nature of being a start-up company meant that design decisions were closely linked to business and strategy, which could be challenging at times, but interesting at the same time.
In January 2020 I had the opportunity to shadow in the CFM departments at Jaguar Land Rover. Here I got to experience the daily inner workings of the design team in a high-end in-house design team. I was lucky enough to attend a presentation hosted only every 4 years on upcoming trends, styles, colours and materials, which was an enlightening and inspiring experience.