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Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen by Zhengliang Zhong and Fangeng He

Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen by Zhengliang Zhong and Fangeng He is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award in Art and Stationery Supplies Design Competition Category.


IronArt Supplies· 2023

Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen

by Zhengliang Zhong and Fangeng He

Client: Dong Guan Jian Lin Industrial Co., Ltd

A' Design Award Winner in Art Supplies Category

39,107

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #144967

Colors

The Design

About Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen

Creator is a modular ballpoint pen that users assemble themselves. The hollowed out metal body reveals the screws, springs and mechanical structure inside. External accessories in different colors, shapes and materials connect through a universal interface, so the parts fit together like building blocks and each pen becomes personal. The body is made entirely of metal. Except for refills and springs, most parts are completed in a single process and the materials are fully recyclable, which reduces energy use and material waste.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award

Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Creator DIY Modular Ballpoint Pen is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
The product has a hollowed-out all-metal pen body. Therefore, some parts such as screws and springs, and mechanical structure can be clearly seen. Users can assemble parts into a pen. Multi-style external accessories are available, so users can freely choose their favorite colors and shapes, assemble external accessories with different materials and shapes together like building blocks through the universal interface, and DIY a unique pen.
Dimensions & Packaging
L:145mm * W:13.3mm * H:13.3mm
Weight:27.5g
Tags
DIY, modular, mechanical structure, hollowed-out pen body, all-metal pen body, 100% recyclable, hexagonal shape
Production Technology
There are more than 50 production processes of traditional metal pens. Therefore, we have optimized the manufacturing process and reduced the production processes by more than 70%. The pen body is all made of metal. Except refills and springs, most parts are completed by only one process, and their materials can be recycled 100%, which greatly reduce energy consumption and resource waste.
Design Challenge
Main challenge: Fast and free assembly as well as adjustable height is realized in DIY process for users.
Solutions: All modular parts adopt universal interfaces, which ensures that users will successfully complete assembly whether interfaces are matching or not in the process. Moreover, the universal interface module greatly improves production efficiency and reduces waste of resources. It still remains 30% of infinite possibilities and expandability after assembly.
Research
Research type: To transform stationery into cultural and creative products.
Research goal: Users can assemble the product in person and enjoy the process.
Market research: Online research and professional research company data
Social impact: It creates a brand-new stationery form, which is personalized and beautiful. And the optimization of process reduces resources waste and energy consumption, which contributes to environment preservation.
Inspiration
Design draws inspiration from water element from the nature, which is hexagonal and can form various shapes in a sub-zero crystallization state. Aesthetics of mechanical structure is integrated, and the shape of the pen is formed finally.
Project Duration
The project finished in September 2022 in Dongguan city and came into the market in Asia, Europe, and North America in September 2022.
Operation Flow
It is a modular pen that can be assembled by users. They can buy multiple styles and freely assemble accessories and the pen into different styles according to their needs and preferences, so they can fully enjoy DIY in the process.
Team Members
Zhengliang Zhong, Fangeng He
Image Credits
DONG GUAN JIAN LIN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.

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