Minus Vandfilter by Anastasia Klimova is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award i Jern in Bæredygtige Produkter, Projekter og Grønt Design Competition Category.

JernBæredygtigt Produkt· 2021

Minus Vandfilter

by Anastasia Klimova

Client: Anastasia Klimova

A' Design Award i Jern Winner in Bæredygtigt Produkt Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About Minus Vandfilter

Minus er et bærbart vandhanefilter designet til at være genanvendeligt og affaldsfrit. Minus udnytter trykket fra vandhanen til at presse vand gennem et filter af aktivt kokoskul, som fjerner kemikalier, bakterier og lugt. Kroppen er lavet af rustfrit stål med en gummibelægning for et bedre greb, når den er våd. Et naturligt indigofarvestof inde i filteret udvaskes gradvist med brug og viser tydeligt, hvornår en udskiftning er nødvendig. Det brugte filter kan sendes retur, hvorefter det rengøres, genoplades og genbruges, hvilket undgår det affald, som engangsfiltre efterlader.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award i Jern

Minus Vandfilter er vinder af A' Design Award i Jern, en prestigefyldt anerkendelse, der tildeles gode designs, som opfylder de professionelle og industrielle krav, man forventer af veldesignede skabelser. Jernvinderne viser stor dygtighed, høj specialisering, ekspertforståelse og kreativ kapacitet hos deres skabere. Minus Vandfilter forventes at være en højt estimeret, beundret og kær skabelse, der er praktisk og innovativ. Dette design, der har vundet A' Design Award i Jern, integrerer branchens bedste praksis og har kompetente tekniske egenskaber knyttet til knowhow og talent. Minus Vandfilter respekteres for sin grundighed og er designet til at levere forbedringer af livskvaliteten, der er med til at gøre verden til et bedre sted.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Minus is a zero-waste tap water filter that fits in your pocket. It uses tap pressure to push water through the filter, instantly cleaning it from chemicals, bacteria and odour. Filter's natural indigo colourant washes out with use to let the user know when their filter needs replacement, eliminating any guesswork. Combined with easy filter return service (drop off at any post box) followed by recharge and reuse, Minus is the first water filter designed to be truly circular and sustainable.
Dimensions & Packaging: Minus size: 190mm x 37mm x 53mm
Filter size: 80mm x 35mm x 35mm
Box size: 350mm x 100mm x 47mm
Tags: circular design, sustainability, water, filter, zero-waste, reuse, activated charcoal, plastic pollution, portable, travel
Production Technology: Minus is made of durable stainless steel that is rubber-coated for better grip when wet. Both lids are food-grade rubber. Inside there is precision-manufactured seal designed to fit all common tap sizes. Filter media is made of activated coconut charcoal infused with silver particles to prevent bacterial growth. Carbon is wrapped into the ion-exchange textile for enhanced filtration. Carabiner and front part of Minus body feature threaded fastening and are removable for easy cleaning.
Design Challenge: Designing a simple visual way of communicating that filter has reached its capacity, instead of relying on generalized time periods that are currently an industry-standard, was a challenge. It took a lot of research and prototyping, exploring various materials as well as mechanical, non-mechanical and electronic means of counting water volume to land on the beautifully natural solution of indigo colourant.
Research: Market analysis, user interviews, shadowing, and user testing fueled the design process. My goal was to identify pain points in scenarios when users try to stay hydrated in areas with contaminated water. It helped to fuel brainstorming sessions. I have interviewed people who live in these areas and those who travel there. The users have ergonomically tested several functional prototypes. As a result, an unmet need for a portable zero-waste filter that could be used on the go was uncovered.
Inspiration: In 187 countries, tap water is hazardous for citizens or visitors. It can contain chlorine, lead and bacteria that cause long-term health damage. Available filtration solutions are incredibly wasteful: discarded filters can not be recycled and often become toxic waste, leaking chemicals into the environment. It arguably makes them worse than plastic bottles. I wanted to create a truly sustainable water filter by applying the principles of the circular economy to enable reuse and recycling.
Project Duration: The porject started in April 2020 in Mosocw, Russia, and finished in June 2020.
Operation Flow: 1.Find a tap, turn on the water;
2.Open Minus's both lids, prepare the bottle;
3.Press Minus against the faucet, wait for 5-10sec;
4.Put the bottle against the edge of the sink. It takes around 10sec to fill a 0.5l bottle;
5.When the bottle is full, remove everything from the tap. Turn off the water;
6.Turn minus upside down and shake to remove all the excess liquid;
7.You can now enjoy clean water!
8.If Minus is not in use for more than three days, disassemble it and let the filter dry to prevent degradation