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Franz tiny world

Pro Bono

Pro Bono

Franz tiny world

Design and development of in-house products for the Franz Sales Haus in Essen.

The Franz Sales Haus is home to and employs people with disabilities. In addition to a carpentry workshop, a hotel, a tailor shop and an industrial finishing area, there are numerous other facilities where employees can work, depending on their impairment.

Im Zuge von mehreren partizipativen Workshops mit den Beschäftigten unterstützen wir das Franz Sales Haus bei der Gestaltung und Entwicklung eigener Produkte, die von den Beschäftigten selbst hergestellt werden und in weiterer Folge vom Franz Sales Haus direkt vertrieben und vermarktet werden können. Unser Hauptaugenmerk bei der Konzeptentwicklung lag auf der möglichst einfachen Herstellbarkeit unter Berücksichtigung der unterschiedlichen Handicaps der Beschäftigten vor Ort. Ein weiterer wesentlicher Faktor war die Umsetzung der Ideen und Wünsche der Beschäftigten sowie die Förderung der Identifikation mit den selbst hergestellten Produkten.

Crazy Cube

Among other conceptual approaches, the Crazy Cube is a modular piece of furniture designed according to the employees' ideas. As a piece of storage furniture, the cube bundles the employees' personal belongings in one place. Finding their belongings quickly, which often have a high emotional value, was an important criteria here. Both as a cube and in the form of a wall board, the piece of furniture allows an orderly overview and makes the employees' "treasures" visible to fellow residents and visitors. In the case of the cube, an integrated secret compartment also conceals the most valuable items so that they are kept safe in the highly frequented context - the shared apartment.

Developing together at eye level 

In participatory workshops, we explored topics that are interesting and relevant to the employees' everyday lives, such as: Organization and showcasing of objects, mobility, connectivity and craftsmanship. 

Identification with own products

Using various design research methods, needs and requirements for products were extracted from the identified areas and transformed into conceptual approaches.

Design and manufacturability

Design concepts form the basis for possible in-house products. The next step is to investigate and adapt production processes and, if necessary, develop tools to ensure that the employees can create their products as independently as possible.

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