CamelBak + Autodesk
My Role: Co-Lead for Interaction Design
Antonio Borja: Co-Lead for Product Design
Teams: Product and Interaction Designers from AAU
Project Overview: The project was a design challenge involving Autodesk, CamelBak, and two departments—
Product and Interaction Design—from the Academy of Art University. The design brief was to create valuable and
compelling products for active outdoor consumers using vacuum stainless-steel technology.
We aimed to achieve intuitive navigation and attractive visual appeal and integrate new features based on
user observations and feedback. The design needed to be cohesive with the bottle's aesthetics and support
its functionality, ensuring that all user interactions enhanced the user experience, supported the outdoor lifestyle, and were innovative.
Challenges Faced:
Team: Define the challenge and push the status quo. Prioritizing which features and design elements to focus on while
creating a cohesive aesthetic between the product and app designers was challenging.
Cross-functional collaboration: Coordinating between the two very different departments—
Product and Interaction Design- to ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goal.
Technical Constraints: We worked within the technical guidelines for thickness and vacuum gap
when forming and assembling the water bottle.Considerations: Inclusive, sustainable, multi-use, social and innovative.
Steps Taken to Overcome Challenges:
User-Centered Design Approach:
We conducted user research, including surveys, interviews, and field observations. This helped
us to identify the most critical pain points and desired features.We created user personas and journey maps to visualize the user's experience and ensure that
our design decisions were data-driven and user-focused.
Effective Team Leadership and Communication:
We facilitated regular cross-functional check-ins to keep everyone updated and engaged.
These included weekly stand-ups, weekly progress reviews, and design sprints.We established clear communication channels and documentation practices to ensure
transparency and alignment. This helped prevent misunderstandings and kept the project on track.
