jodana
an ecosystem that grows with you
Jodana is designed for immigrant workers in India, where cooking appliances are often unavailable in small apartments or studios, especially in larger cities where living space is limited. As a result, they may have to buy temporary, low-quality equipment that doesn’t last and often ends up in waste sites when they relocate in search of better living conditions.
Jodana offers a modular ecosystem that adapts to users' needs, growing with them as their families and cooking demands evolve.
Academic Project @Umeå Institute of Design / Contribution: Research, Ideation, CAD, CMF, and Visualization / 2022 / In Collaboration with: Electrolux Sweden / Team: Luisa Ebeling / Niklas Muhs / Yash Saboo
Challenge
With Jodana, we transformed cultural behaviors into tangible insights that can be applied in our design. This was made possible through a series of interviews with potential users who face this situation.
For this project, we focused on Mumbai, one of the most populated cities in India. Through our research, we identified a design and business opportunity in collaboration with Electrolux to support immigrants who frequently relocate and often need to buy, transport, or discard appliances.
During our ideation process, we explored different patterns for efficient expansion. Considering that some apartments and studios have limited space, we aimed to make the most of the available area while addressing these limitations.
Based on a square grid, we developed a concept that allows the system to expand both horizontally and vertically.
Once the device is no longer in use, it can be placed vertically to save space, freeing up room for other purposes or activities in the kitchen, maybe even dessert?
On the left is the main module, which provides full control over the ecosystem. On the right is the cooker hood for fume extraction.
Outcome
Jodana is a system that grows along with your family, allowing upgrades whenever needed based on your cooking demands. With a simple system that enables both horizontal and vertical expansion, it doesn’t matter if you live in a small space; There will always be room for more.
