Eco Toaster Concept
Designed for IDSA x Sustainable Minds' "Boast Your Toast" Competition
This toaster concept is designed to have a lower carbon footprint than the average toaster.
To achieve this, the toaster relies on three strategies: fewer parts, a UI that prevents energy waste, and an easily disassembled construction with instructions etched into the bottom.
Instead of numerous plastic and metal parts, the outer body of the toaster is made from only two bent aluminum parts and one bamboo block. Most toasters also have a crumb tray and a few dials or buttons, but these parts were omitted to minimize waste and as an opportunity to rethink a typical toast UI and UX.
In working to create a UI that would prevent energy waste, I targeted wasteful instances of burning toast or toasting one item in a two slotted machine. In a multi-member household, toast will be burnt and energy will be wasted when someone adjusts the dial on their toaster and another house-member does not realize it's changed. By consciously lowering the handle on The Eco Toaster to the light, medium or dark anodized step that corresponds to a toaster setting, the use avoids burning toast and wasting energy. Additionally, a toggle switch allows the user to turn off an open slot if they are only toasting one item, reducing energy consumption by half.
Lastly, the toaster is engineered to be easily disassembled, and the user is guided by instructions etched into the underside of the toaster. Depending on where they live, they should be able to recycle a number of the toaster parts when it's time to get a new one.
The aesthetic is driven by the attributes of being architectural, personal, practical, simple, sincere and balanced. These terms were chosen to appeal to a demographic of younger, design-and-environmentally-conscious demographic. These attributes also allow the toaster to differentiate itself among a product category fraught with doughy and clunky forms.
