ORIO - Wire and Tube Collector

Check out this wire and tube collector by HugoDesign found whilst researching the culture of Norwegian Design.

This image is taken from Inora where more information on the product can be found.

Basically this product holds and organises every tube and wire going to and from patients in a hospital environment. The largest hole is flexible enough to attach round most poles in the patients room.Each of the other holes hold some kind of tube or wire to avoid kinking, entanglement and mix up which could lead to the wrong administration of medicines.

Seeing anyone in hospital with what looks like hundreds of wires leading to and from their body is an uneasy sight and this product gives some visible structure to the system to ease both nurses, doctors and most importantly the patients family.

The ORIO has won two prestigious awards:

• Red Dot Design Award
• Award for Design Excellence, Norwegian Design Council

I'm really excited about this product I think it's a really well designed simple solution to a serious problem.Hopefully looking to take this product and develop a business plan focussing on the financial side for an economics class. Keep an eye out for future updates.

Norwegian Design

Norway, famous for it's fjords, glaciers and black metal. However, in the past few years Norway has become an exciting and innovative country for design.

The Norwegian design culture thrives on it's natural resources. According to the Global Energy Network Institute 99% of the power used in Norway come from its 850 hydroelectric plants and a lot of their products are still being made with wood and ceramics.

The traditional Norwegian houses were built mainly from log constructed together to withstand the elements. This type of architecture was called Vernacular and was used to build houses suitable for the need and resources of surrounding areas. Another example of Vernacular architecture would be igloos.

This picture taken around 1890 shows the constructed log building that would have been used as storage on one of the many farms around the Norwegian landscape.




Now Norwegian products are designed to be timeless and functionality drives the design more than style and aesthetics. I love this bottle opener taken from Norway Designs website. Only after seeing this product you understand how uncomplicated it needs to be in comparison to previous products which offer the exact same function.

Product Development

So basically our Product Development brief is to come up with a multi utensil hand tool. So naturally the first thing I thought of was my Dad. He loves a good multi tool whether it's a Swiss army knife or some king of camping Spork!

Most multi utensil hand tools are aimed at the outdoor/camping market and to be honest a lot of the tools are useless. You'd have to be in a one in a million situation to need a metal saw and tooth pick immediately and simultaneously!

How prepared do you really need to be?

 Don't get me wrong they are useful to have but they usually live in a drawer redundant until I need a bottle opened...

There are many markets for multi tools that haven't been penetrated yet. What about the beauticians and hairdressers? the medical industry? the manual labourers; electricians, plumbers? All possible markets but none I felt passionate about, none I could really relate to.

Sitting looking around the room we noticed the one thing everyone is certain to have. KEYS!
What about a tool to keep all your keys in? Most people carry more than one key around with them on a daily basis and when kept in your pocket they can be particularly uncomfortable.

We researched existing products and found numerous key rings with gadgets and gumf on them but nothing that physically concealed the keys. We wanted the keys to be interchangeable and the higher spec ones to have some sort of security on them. After a pretty amazing brain storm we came up with a few different ideas, target markets and uses -

• The General Tool

A tool for the average Joe who has a front door, back door and garage key all on a key chain in his pocket. They're uncomfortable to sit on and always hard to find. The bog standard tool will have none or little security possible a combination lock found on briefcases depending on the manufacturing costs. For marketing purposes there would be some sort of personalisation available; different colours or patterns etc. Not to mention the every handy bottle opener and torch built in.

• Professional

The higher spec tool for the more frequent key user for example the janitor with more key slots and better security.
Then the piece de resistance! The high security gadget complete with GPS tracking, fingerprint technology, USB and accompanying software, you name it! This would be marketed at businesses such as banks, pharmacies where security is key. (Pardon the pun, cringe.) Even the government could be doing with tightening security with our multi tool.

We would inclusively design the product so that it could be used by everyone. Some features to help would be Braille, a torch and a colour coding system to help those with sight difficulties. Unlike most multi tools the keys could be slotted out and in without any great difficulty.

We're still in the very early stages of designing the product but I think the idea can target a very wide market. It seems to be a pretty simple solution to a common problem.

Should have some concept drawn by next week and hopefully get cracking on this as fast as possible.

Claire (:

The Script So Far

I'm currently a 3rd year student at Strathclyde University which means it's my penultimate year and time, for me anyway, to get serious! I study Bsc Product Design & Innovation; a mix of design, manufacturing, entrepreneurship and business management.


I'm originally from Scotland, South Lanarkshire to be precise. I left school after my Highers to go to university because I needed more academical freedom to do what I enjoyed instead of picking subjects such as 'Cake Decoration' because it was the only class to fit into my timetable.


Third year involves a lot of group work and a lot of idea generation so this blog is basically my train of thought throughout the various projects.


Feedback of any kind is always welcome.


 Claire (: