After co-founding Morrama with Rob Bye in 2014, I've established a team of talented multidisciplinary designers who have been working with startups to create beautiful products with purpose and consideration. 

Visit morrama.com to find out more and get in touch, or scroll down to see some of our latest projects.

www.morrama.com

How do you re-design a 300 year old classic?

Always looking of design opportunities or ways to improve existing products in our free time at Morrama we've been working on the Angle Razor since the Autumn of 2016. Enjoying the challenge of looking for ways to improve the user experience of a 300 year old design, the Angle Razor is a minimal and beautiful take on a tool used by professional barbers all over the world. 

Focusing on personal grooming we've stripped back the razor to it's bare essentials, ditching the handle and creating an easier and safer blade loading experience. The simplicity of the design draws inspiration from modern safety razors as well as more traditional tools resulting an aesthetic that's both unique and intuitive. 

Studio Morrama

The Angle Razor is the first product of Studio Morrama, a platform for the Morrama design team to launch products of our own. My role is in both the product development, strategy and logistics and in the messaging and branding, ensuring the product remains true to the values of the Studio in both it's physicality and user experience. 

Read more about the development process here.

www.anglerazor.com

Four years ago I set out to start an industrial design agency for startups. I love working with passionate people with great ideas and since I started Morrama I have worked with over 100 of them. I have a hands on, practical approach to problem solving and constantly growing experience in taking products to market. Whether you are looking for an advisor to join you on your product development journey or simply a half days workshop in writing a good design brief; get in touch. 

These are some areas I can support you in:

1. Defining your MVP

Establishing your goal is more difficult that you'd first think. But knowing exactly what you are working towards makes progress both easier to achieve and to review. I can help you review your mission statements and your pitch deck, both making it clearer to yourself, your team and your investors what exactly you are aiming for.

2. Writing a brief

Whether it be for a team member or a contractor, a clear brief leads to better results. A bad or constantly changing brief on the other hand can lead to a waste of time and resources. Having worked with people from many different career backgrounds I understand that everyone does things differently and what might seem clear to you, can mean very little to someone else. Drop me an email if you would like me to help write or simply review a brief before you send it to a creative agency or contractor.

4. Building a team vs contracting jobs out

Taking on full time team members can be daunting, but so can finding the right agency who you trust to do the job right. I can help you review a teams portfolio, assess quotations or even come with you to initial briefing meetings. Having the piece of mind of a second opinion and the experience of someone within the creative industry will help ensure you are bringing the right people on board.

4. The product design process

I have been an industrial designer long enough to be aware of what I don't know and short enough to be passionate, agile and always approaching problems with enthusiasm and creativity. I can take you step by step through the design & development process and help you understand how design and business decisions will affect timelines and resources. 

5. Allocating and managing resources

There's a fine line between investing everything into the product only to stall to a halt when the money runs out and spending too much time trying to please investors with pretty (and pretty expensive) models. Working out the likely resources required as early in to the project is key, and taking the time to regularly review these prevents any nasty surprises. Together we can analyse the high risk phases of your project and budget for potential complications so that you can keep the project moving regardless.

Get in touch: hello@jobarnard.com

The challenge

The Ordo team can to Morrama in September 2017 looking to design and produce the first 10,000 units of a unique electric toothbrush in 4 months. 

Leading the project I worked closely with the whole team to turn around the design phase in just 4 weeks. From here I produced the 3D CAD files needed to begin supplier communications and we began the development journey mid-October. 

Development

Being really happy with the design direction the goal was to preserve it's elegance and simplicity whilst overcoming the engineering challenges as we moved through the design development for manufacture. To speed up the process sat down with the engineering team in person during a trip to China, and we worked together to solve the problems.

The full package

The ORDO product isn't just a toothbrush, but a service and a family of products. The brush cap, stand, toothpaste, presentation box & re-fill packaging went through the same level of design consideration in December to ensure a cohesive brand message and user experience.

The first production run took place the week before Chinese New Year 2018 and ORDO will be on sale from 1st March. You can find out more about the process here.

www.ordolife.com

I've been working with the Mimica Lab team for 5 months now helping them to develop the Mimica Touch label both from a user-experience perspective and in preparation for manufacture. A more technical B2B product, this has proved a very different challenge than the consumer products we typically work on at Morrama. As such it's been really insightful and educational journey so far.

For more information please visit the Mimica Lab website.

www.mimicalab.com

From concept to production

I've worked with the Marlon Travel team since it's conception in 2015. With the Morrama team taking on responsibility for both the design & engineering of the entire product range, I spent much of 2016 in China working directly with the suppliers to bring the products to market.

Moving away from smart tech gimmicks we wanted to create a suitcase that makes the travellers' journey as effortless as possible. Combining the functionality of a compression system and oversized wheels with a stylish minimal aesthetic, we have created a piece of luggage that is designed to last.

The family

Designing three backpacks alongside the suitcase, consideration was made into the form factor, design detailing and functionality between products. The result is a family of travel bags that work seamlessly together. Find out more, or purchase the Carry-on or Backpack here.

As Marlon Travel's in-house design team, the Morrama team have since designed an additional two products due for launch in 2018 and I remain a shareholder and advisor.

www.marlontravel.co