A shame-free, sustainable tampon case.

PEARL.

Creating a Female-Focused Product

Collaborating with two other designers, I sought to carry a physical product from idea to execution using my design process knowledge. We began by brainstorming and ideating centering on our areas of passion. I am drawn to sustainability in the engineering world, particularly reducing the amount of plastic large industries use, so we decided to focus on the significant plastic waste resulting from disposable tampon applicators and their wrapping. We also wanted to solve the problem of having numerous individual tampons floating in purses and backpacks throughout the day. With our potential user base in mind, we prioritized transforming the stigma of periods and reusable applicators as a pain or hassle to a positive experience with a seamless tampon process and focus on keeping the earth clean. My team and I conducted user interviews, met with CEOs of tampon manufacturers, and researched the industry, FDA laws, and current competitors. We developed our product idea with numerous sketches and brainstorming sessions, modifying our product along the way. We moved to CAD, Fusion 360, and brought our cardboard prototypes to life. We met with CEOs of tampon startups and companies out to address similar needs, learning about the industry and business challenges in the space.

Project Overview

Problem

The problems addressed by this product are twofold. On the day-to-day, females experience frustration by having to carry numerous individual tampons loose in their purse. Additionally, the current tampon model uses abundant amounts of plastic, from the tampon itself, to its applicator, to its packaging.

Process

My team and I brainstormed focus areas, conducted ethnographic interviews, created a qualitative survey, analyzed our findings, and began designing our product. We started out with sketches and moved to rapid prototypes, testing a different question with each one. We finally moved to creating a 3D model and digital rendering.

Solution

A convenient, reusable tampon case that empowers females rather than embarrasses them, and holds enough tampons to get through to day.

Skills

Secondary Research

Ethnographic Interviews

Needfinding

Qualitative Surveys

Ideation

Rapid Prototyping

Sketching

Computer-Aided Design

Industry Research

Expert Interviews

Step 1

Finding the Problem.

It started with brainstorming and ideating what problem I was passionate about solving. As a female, I experience the annoyance of packing multiple tampons in my bag every day I’m on my period , not to mention the embarrassment I feel carrying a tampon in my hand walking into the bathroom.

Trying to find a real way I could make a difference, I combined it with the need to decrease waste in the tampon industry. Single-use tampon applicators and wrappers create tremendous amounts of annual waste.

Step 2

Discovering User Needs.

My team and I lead ethnographic interviews with a number of females between ages 18 and 30, and created and sent out a quantitative and qualitative survey to provide raw data to support our findings. We did secondary research on the tampon industry to learn more about the landscape. We also conducted expert interviews with the CEOs of tampon startups and companies to better understand the FDA regulations around tampon production, and the business challenges that come with it.

Step 3

Product Sketching.

I used sketching as a way to break down the mechanics of the design and figure out how it would work. We adjusted our design as we went.

Step 4

Making & Testing Prototypes.

We used a variety of materials to test different design questions with each prototype. We used a medical-grade syringe with the same measurements of a tampon to resemble a tampon applicator.