Bronze Pet Care, Toys, Supplies and Products for Animals Design · 2023
Ocean View Cat Litter Box
by Shibing Yang
- A' Design Award 2023 Bronze Winner in Pet Care, Toys, Supplies and Products for Animals Design
- Awarded April 15, 2023
- CLIENT: Ziel Home Furnishing Technology Co., Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 27,703
- Verification code FB1792C9C3 · Verify this award
About Ocean View Cat Litter Box
Ocean View is a cat litter box shaped like a small contemporary villa. The structure is made of injection-molded polypropylene panels and arrives flat-packed, so assembly needs no tools. The curved roof is a sisal mat held by two magnets, and the mat can be replaced when worn by scratching. A tinted front panel and a shaped polyurethane door keep the interior dim, which suits the cat during use. A planter box on one side holds small to medium plants. All parts can be separated and washed, then assembled again once dry.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Ocean-view is a design project that aims to combine litter boxes with plants, it comes flat-packed, and can be assembled without any tools. Its appearance is an asymmetrical villa with a contemporary design, on one side the user can put the small to medium-sized plant in the specially designed box to complete the villa look, making the litter box more of eye candy in the space. It creates a nice little house within the home, its plant compatibility also creates a more natural environment.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 570mmxDepth 590mmxHeight 460 mm
- Tags
- Cat furniture, Litter box, Greenery, Pet friendly, home decor
- Production Technology
- The litter box is structured by a set of PP plastic panels made by injection molding technique, the roof is a changeable sisal mat that is magnetically connected to the box body, the cat door is a piece of polyurethane sheet cut in shape fixed onto the front panel by a plastic hinge.
- Design Challenge
- The first challenge is to understand cat behavior to truly design a good litter box. It is known when excreting the animal is in a vulnerable state, so they tend to find hidden places, so it has a tinted front and door to prevent light to go through. Another challenge is transport cost, we see flat pack as core criteria, we thought of using flexible material, and combined with the need for scratching from cats, we decided to make the curved roof out of sisal mat, one material that cats really love.
- Project Duration
- The project started in Shenzhen in April of 2022 and completed in Shenzhen in June of 2022.
- Operation Flow
- The product serves as a normal litter box in general, in addition to that the user can create their own little plant composition on the side of it.
To scoop the litter, the user will have to roll up the sisal mat roof and scoop it from the top or the side.
To clean the box, the user can take it apart and wash it separately and assemble it back when dried.
The roof is designed to be changeable with two magnets connectors, so once it is worn out from cat scratch, the user can simply change a new one. - Research
- Our study has shown that cat owners found it hard to purchase an ideal litter box from the market, the main reason is that most products neglected the fact that as a part of home furnishing the litter box has to look good. As other studies point out, symbolic meaning will help consumers appreciate products more, and we see the potential of the litter box as a focal point of space.
- Inspiration
- Growing up we loved to build tiny houses imagining living inside them. Inspired by such interesting activity and mindset, the Ocean-view was created to convert a litter box into something more interesting with a contemporary look that resembles to a vacation home. Referencing modern architecture, it has minimal form with a curved roof, beneath the cantilevered roof there is a planter box where customers can grow cactus or succulent plants inside, making it a scaled-down ocean-view villa for cats.