Angelo Kotsis The Dolphin Torch

Angelo Kotsis was born in Marrickville Sydney and received a bachelor of Industrial Design from the University of Western SydneyAngelo is a product designer. He designed the new Dolphin torch for Eveready. He worked with other designers and an engineer to develop and test the design.http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/designersatwork/about.php?ID=1The design processAngelo and a team of designers begin their work when someone asks them to develop a new product. For the Dolphin torch the client was Eveready who asked them to redesign the old Dolphin. Eveready wanted the new torch to look modern and stylish with extra features to make it appeal to customers.

The designers researched the other torches on the market to find out what the competition was like. The group of designers brainstormed creative ideas for how the new torch could look and work. The client, Eveready, helped to pick the design they thought would appeal most to customers. It was Angelo’s design that was chosen to develop into a real torch.

Then Angelo and the team had to work out how to construct the new torch. They worked with engineers and manufacturers to test and develop the design using models and prototypes until the new torch was complete. The Dolphin was in production in 2003 and for sale soon afterwards.

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/designersatwork/how.php?ID=1The factors that affected the design were the strict instructions from Eveready as to what the torch had to do these instructions are called the design brief.

They had to make sure the new torch:could be used with existing types of batteriescould use a particular type of lampIncluded a stand (this was a new aspect they had to design into the torch).

“The aim of the design was to have the rugged look of the product, and to retain the practical and functional aspects of the product but to give a more modern theme to it, a bit more water-like because it is a waterproof flashlight.”At the end of the process, the design team produced a large document that they gave to the manufacturer. It had drawings and specifications of all the items needed to build the torch. They also gave the manufacturer a model of the torch, and a 3D computer model that the manufacturer used to create the tools to make the torch.

Teamwork is an important part of designing products. Angelo cant do it all on his own. He works with model makers to work out how the product will look, and engineers to solve the problem of how it will work and be put together. He works with the manufacturers to develop the tools to make the product, and improve ways the product can be made.

“The biggest challenge was the initial ideas, the looks and the aesthetics of the product. Making sure it fitted in well with the iterations and making sure that there was a natural evolution of the product was one of the major tasks. We had to make sure that was right first off.The dolphin torchThe design team ensured that the torch met the clients criteria. The torch uses the existing types of batteries, uses a particular type of lamp and includes a stand.

The Dolphin torch was released onto the market in 2003. All early signs indicate that the new design is selling well. Angelo was happy with the design but thinks the success of the torch is due to it being a long established product that has been tested and proven. All he really had to do was improve it and enhance it.

“With every design project the sustainability is a very important part – always minimising materials, sizes wherever we can, use of non-recyclable plastics and so forth. With the Dolphin design we use as little material as we can and use recyclable material. There’s also the shelf life and the product life of the flashlight. It’s a long lasting flashlight so in that way it’s sustainable in itself because you don’t have to keep buying the product. Angelo Kotsis