Hansgrohe SE

Design Factory Melbourne

Self-care anywhere.

One of the 2020-21 SUGAR Projects was a collaboration between Design Factory Melbourne, inno.space at the University of Applied Sciences Mannheim and German company Hansgrohe SE. Masters students from design, engineering and computer science backgrounds were challenged to develop a product that taps into the emerging self-care market and can improve the health and wellbeing of users.

The team created Cirrus, a portable steamer that allows users to practice self-care at home and on the go. The steamer can be used for facial skincare, skin preparation before shaving, muscle relaxation, and more. Temperature and steam amount are adjustable as per user preference, as the steam is produced via ultrasonic transducers. Users can use hot steam to improve blood circulation and increase the skin’s absorption, making usage of products such as serums, creams or essences more effective. Cold steam is beneficial during hot summers and for vitalizing and refreshing the skin.

Cirrus allows for users to easily practice self-care wherever they are, meeting Hansgrohe’s goals of providing products which improve the wellbeing of users.

Concept by Rudra Bahirat (Product Design) & Sonia-Sue Scholze (Innovation & Strategy), and students from inno.space Mannheim; David Keller (Biomedical Engineering), Georgii Kostiuchik (Computer Science) & Marina Kimling (Biomedical Engineering).

Industry Partner: Hansgrohe SE

Cirrus in the original position and in charging dock

Different configurations of Cirrus

Cirrus portable steamer

Cirrus refill tank

Acknowledgement of Country

The School of Design and Architecture respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and knowledge-keepers of the lands, waters and sky that surround us, where we work, learn, create, communicate and make place. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded and this always was and will always be Wurundjeri Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who continue to make a better world through design.

We extend our acknowledgement to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, alumni, real-life clients, and knowledge keepers, who have contributed to our own education diversity and growth. We will continue to ensure that staff and students respectfully honour ancestral connection to Country and Place in everything that they do.

We are dedicated to the notion of design to make a better world and we acknowledge that making tools, shaping place, sharing stories, making meaning, wayfinding and collaborating have long been and continue to be both central and integral to First Peoples' cultures. We recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ cultural contributions have continued relevance to design practice and commit to: reconciling ancestries of design and contemporary practice as well as pursuing culturally and professionally appropriate ways to engage with a diverse population of colleagues, industries and clients. In a time of treaty-making and voice we understand that there are overlaps between caring for Country and the sustainable production of goods, services, experiences, products and buildings.

Guided by the principles of respect, reconciliation, and reciprocity we undertake to indigenising and decolonising design practice by dismantling colonial structures and challenging biases that have marginalised Indigenous voices and design.

As students of SoDA you will be given opportunities to both engage with and educate yourself in Indigenous creative practices and cultural protocols through a lens of inclusivity, diversity, respect, mutual understanding, inter-cultural dialogue in all aspects of design practice. Indigenous people have been telling stories, making tools, and connecting to Country through visual media, placemaking and place marking for more than 60,000 years and these practices are part of an ongoing, evolving and live tradition.