Corbin Duncan

Bella

Bella air purifier by ten till: a gray body between two light wooden panels, with the headline “Clean air to last a lifetime.” Jump to final product

the brief

Find and design for a niche in the air purifier market.

research

competitive analysis

A DIY box-fan air purifier built from four furnace filters
DIY alternatives
Cost
$40–50
Filter cost
$8–15
Features
3 speeds
Noise
51–67 dB
Design
Ugly and large
Coway Airmega air purifier, white with a round front panel
The NYT pick
Cost
$175–230
Filter cost
$50
Features
Particle sensor, timers, no Wi-Fi
Noise
24–54 dB
Design
Minimalist, lots of persistent lights, ugly on the back
Levoit air purifier, white and black, with its phone app
RTINGS mid tier
Cost
$190–260
Filter cost
$40
Features
Particle sensor, air quality graphing, Wi-Fi
Noise
24+ dB
Design
Ugly two-tone, persistent lights, distracting with large branding
Blueair cylinder air purifier in gray fabric, with its phone app
Good Housekeeping recommendation
Cost
$240
Filter cost
$50–70
Features
Particle sensor, air quality graphing, Wi-Fi
Noise
25–50 dB
Design
Minimal and clean on all sides, light is not distracting
Proprietary filters increase cost of ownership and limit longevity.
DIY options are effective, but too large and loud for consumers.

opportunity space

  • Furniture forward design

    The design should feel like a piece of furniture, not an appliance or visual afterthought.

  • Existing filters

    Incorporating HVAC filters drastically lowers lifetime cost and improves air filtering quality.

  • Premium materials

    Premium materials should be used to fit in with the home and as a market differentiator.

ideation

Sketch page of purifier concepts: tall tapered forms with wood feet, a bookshelf air purifier, modular stacking units, a speaker top, bent wood and bent metal frames, hidden intakes and an angled fan for airflow
The smallest common HVAC filter is too tall to blend into a space vertically.
Size comparison: a 13 by 15 inch purifier front, a 16 by 20 inch HVAC filter, and the same filter tilted inside a narrow body

modular concept

standalone units

Modular concept: stacked shelf units with a purifier module in one corner
Modularity increases cost and lock-in
Narrow arched standalone concept with a single wood panel
Won’t easily fit a filter
Concept with two tapered wood panels wrapped around a gray body, highlighted as the chosen direction
More dynamic form has the most potential
Boxy wood-framed concept with a flat white front
Over-simplicity feels basic

cad refinement

Four CAD iterations of the wooden panel shape, and the chosen form highlighted at a larger size
Six top-vent iterations, labeled: original vents, still too much gap, cutoff doesn’t feel elegant, doesn’t match display visual language, most cohesive looking (chosen), center feels blank

cmf exploration

Colorway: sage green panels on a black body
Colorway: walnut panels on a black body
Colorway: red wood panels on a dark body
Colorway: cream panels on a sky blue body with a yellow top
Colorway: dark wood panels on a sage body
Colorway: light wood panels on a sage body
Colorway: light wood panels on a brown body

final product

Bella on a hardwood floor in front of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a city at sunset

Now you see me…

Simple one button interface disappears when not in use.

A hand reaching toward Bella’s perforated top, where a wooden “automatic” button glows

Floating on air.

Slotted wooden feet provide airflow and hide the air intake.

Close-up of the wooden feet, with slots that let air in underneath

No lock in.

Uses off the shelf filters for better, cheaper replacements.

Bella with its side panel removed and a standard HVAC filter sliding out

Pastel perfection.

  • Bella in lavender with light wood panels Lavender
  • Bella in sky blue with light wood panels Sky
  • Bella in pistachio green with light wood panels Pistachio

More from me:

Tome

Radian Station

Tofu Tilted

LeafLink

Beam

Dizzy Driller

Work for OrthoIQ

Work for Motiv
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