Eclipse

Role: Senior Design Manager, Joseph Joseph

This project was developed during my time as Senior Design Manager at Joseph Joseph, where I led product strategy and development, aligning design, engineering and manufacturing teams to bring innovative products from insight to market.

Insight

Traditional clothes airers are designed primarily for function, often resulting in large, utilitarian products that dominate living spaces. Research revealed that many people dislike having wet clothes visibly hanging around the home, yet existing solutions do little to address this concern. Drying laundry was seen as an unavoidable compromise between practicality and maintaining a comfortable, considered living environment.

Opportunity

The opportunity was to rethink the clothes airer as both a functional drying solution and a considered piece of furniture. By challenging category conventions, there was potential to create a product that not only delivered the capacity consumers needed, but also reduced the visual impact of drying laundry within the home.

Solution

Eclipse was designed as a premium indoor airer that conceals wet laundry behind a stretched fabric screen, helping to reduce visual clutter and create a calmer living environment. The soft, furniture-inspired form allows the product to sit comfortably within modern homes, while the generous drying capacity and thoughtful detailing ensure functionality is never compromised. By disguising the contents rather than displaying them, Eclipse transforms a traditionally utilitarian product into something people are happy to live alongside.

Outcome

Eclipse challenged expectations within a traditionally overlooked category by combining functional performance with a more desirable and discreet user experience. The project reinforced Joseph Joseph's position as an innovation leader within laundry care and demonstrated how a deeper understanding of customer behaviours and emotional needs can unlock meaningful category innovation.