“We need an industry leading design that supports our technology
for wireless and wired products”

Our goal is to revitalize the aesthetic design of the Trane AirFi wireless sensor so that the advanced
technology incased on the inside is well represented with an equally modern and unique exterior.

TRANE Collaboration - MY ROLE:

Ideation and sketching, 3D Modeling and Rendering, Research, Process Book and Graphic Design.

THE Challenge

We need to maintain the lifetime battery, reimagine the product aesthetics, increase ease of use for users, Maintain a low-cost product,
and win against the competitor’s design. These were our pillars to achieve a successful design process.

Inspiration &
Ideation

We studied modern product design that gave us a sense of the current market and what is on trend.
We explored logo treatments, materials, form and color.

Research

On our research we focused mainly in 4 pillars of design: Market, technology, Architecture/Interior Design and Form inspiration.
The current market for zone sensors is outdated and it lacks a sense of modern design, architecture and interior design played
a huge role in our ideation since the zone sensors will live in traditional and modern commercial spaces.

IVY, OLIVE, PALM

Nature and sustainability paired beautifully and subtly with minimalistic modernism to create a unique and timeless design. 

We created 3 concepts based in one form development, but with sleek changes that would make the designs divergent, modern
and simple for every environment. We thought about form, material and user interaction, LED lights and back-light icons.

Internals & Pin Closure

Minimalism was a key aspect of the LEAF aesthetic, so we implemented a hinge mechanism that opens by inserting a pin into a discrete hole to
maintain a seamless exterior. Hinge mechanism for easy open and a pin-hole to unlock the sealed housing and front.Additionally we mimic the
current housing and internals to maintain trane’s technology and manufacturing process.

Design Language

Overall the 3 concepts we kept the same design language for important details, such as logo treatment, LED dot display, vent perforation
and material treatment.

We decided to design the logo to be debossed with a matte finish to compliment the modern minimalist design of our three concepts.
The debossment uses the play of light and shadows to display the logo without pulling focus away from the sensor as a whole, and the
matte finish creates a subtle contrast with the surrounding glossy material.

LED DOT DISPLAY

We chose to incorporate the LED Dot Display for because of its low power consumption, its overall look, and its ability to be concealed
when not in use. These three aspects of this display made it the one obvious choice for our designs. It is very energy efficient, since it’s
comprised simply of small LED lights that consume no power until activated.

Color & texture variations:

With the every shifting change in interior design and the vast variation of environments these sensors will be installed in, we provided several
different color options to choose from. The choices are white, gray, brown, and black. They merge with different surfaces and texturas.

Faceplate design

One of the key factors in our design process was making sure that the sensor could integrate into any environment and not detract from the
architect’s intent for the space. So why not make it disappear? We created a faceplate to incase the sensor that could be custom painted or
covered by the client to blend it against any surface without taking away from the sensor’s functions, making it virtually invisible.