Flo 桌上型風扇 by Soyoung An is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 鐵獎 in 暖通空調設計 Competition Category.

鐵暖通空調· 2022

Flo 桌上型風扇

by Soyoung An

A' Design Award 鐵獎 Winner in 暖通空調 Category

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The Design

About Flo 桌上型風扇

Flo係一款小巧嘅桌上型風扇，一年四季都啱用。機頭上有一個撥桿式控制器，向左向右撥動即可喺制暖同制冷之間切換出風模式。機頭上仲有刻度標示，顯示目前選定嘅設定，方便用家因應房間環境或個人喜好作出調節。Flo配備可清洗嘅濾網，可以過濾空氣中嘅塵埃同病毒。風扇積聚灰塵，容易引致呼吸道疾病甚至火警，而呢個濾網有助保持空氣清新。Flo冇設置防護罩，令風扇對小朋友嚟講都更加安全。機身採用ABS塑膠製造，呢種物料具有高耐熱性。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 鐵獎

Flo 桌上型風扇是 A' Design Award 鐵獎得主，這是授予滿足人們對設計精良的創作所期待的專業與工業要求的優良設計的聲望認可。鐵獎得主展現出其創作者的高超技藝、高度專業化、專家級的理解力和創造能力。預計Flo 桌上型風扇將成為一件備受推崇、令人欽佩且被珍愛的創作，既實用又創新。這件贏得 A' Design Award 鐵獎的設計整合了行業最佳實踐，並擁有與專業知識和才華相結合的稱職技術特性。Flo 桌上型風扇因其嚴謹而受到尊重，旨在提供有助於讓世界變得更美好的生活品質改善。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: The most remarkable feature of Flo is its compact design. Flo is a small desktop fan and provides a temperature setting with a stick stuck out of the head part. The stick helps to adjust the temperature setting between hot and cold. So it means users can use flo regardless of the season. And flo has a washable filter to filter out dust and viruses etc. Filtering out dust is a very crucial part of flo. Dust is the cause of respiratory disease and fire. For the most, it assures blow-out clean and dust-free air to users. Additionally, as flo has no grill, it is safe for children to use.
Dimensions & Packaging: Approximately, Width 178 mm x Depth 220 mm x 420 mm.
Tags: Desktop fan, Home appliance, Temperature setting, Dust-free, Washable filter
Production Technology: Flo is available to set the temperature from hot and cold according to the user's preference, moving the stick from left to right stuck out of its head part. Therefore, it makes users use flo all seasons. So users don't have to take out and move around a heavy and bulky fan and radiator every season. Also, flo has a washable filter. This washable filter can use permanently and filter the dust and virus in advance. And this will make users breathe in the pure and clean air. Flo is made with ABS plastic, which has high resistance to heat and deformation.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was coming up with a shape or design that won't get fed up easily by users, as this product aims to be used for all seasons.
So the first thing to consider was design. But, There's a famous quotation, ' form follows function' coined by architect Louis H. Sullivan.
The design had to make a balance with its function and purpose. After lots of research, idea sketches, and prototyping, Flo was designed.
Research: Online sources such as blogs, webs, and internet news were useful sources for the research. It was thought to be the fastest and valuable method to collect as much data in a short period, especially in the covid era. After the collection of the data, the concept sketch and dirty prototyping process have been gone.
Inspiration: The inspiration started from my curiosity and questions when I was washing two fans this summer. One day, I found out there was too much dust on the fans that I was using. Suddenly, I felt it is unpleasant to breathe in the dust from the fans. Then I decided to wash them. But disassembling fans was not easy for me in such weather. Also, I thought that using a fan in summer and a radiator in winter seems not comfortable to move around because they take up too much space. So my experience dragged me to start thinking about an idea.
Project Duration: This project started in April 2021 and finished at the end of June. And it was conducted by myself in my personal residence.
Operation Flow: Flo can easily adjust the temperature with the stick on the head, moving the stick from left to right, heating, and cooling. The gradation on the head states the temperature, making users set the right temperature according to the atmosphere or preference.

Flo has a washable filter. There's an issue of breathing in dust stuck on a fan grill. And the dust stuck on the grill of a fan and radiator can cause a fire in the long-term view. However, FLO's filter will help to prevent this situation.
Patents: Flo is in the process of applying for the design patent. The application was received in July 2021 by KOIPA (Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency). The application number is 210530.
All copyrights belong to Soyoung An, 2021.
Image Credits: All the images and contents uploaded on the main image to the four optional images are created by Soyoung An.