Fast development of cognitive and motor skills in young children means that a great deal of development toys have a very limited lifespan. Great for the toy industry, but not so great for the planet and parents. V2 developed a range of RC vehicles which directly addresses these issues. Dynamic control settings allows the vehicle to grow as a child grows; plus the use of materials in manufacture are not only sustainable but also make a positive ecological contribution.
The seven million acres of cork forest around the Mediterranean offset 20 million tons of CO2 each year. Cork oak forests support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats, as well as the highest diversity of plants found anywhere in the world. The trees naturally occur in mixed-plant woodlands and their root systems are excellent water regulators in this semi-arid landscape. They also anchor the soil and offer shade to the biodiverse species. The remaining 108,000 hectares of Portuguese cork oak forests are instrumental in preventing this region from turning into a dustbowl. As an advocate for cork-forest conservation, the World Wildlife Fund is working to protect these landscapes by promoting products from sustainably managed cork-oak forests.
The seven million acres of cork forest around the Mediterranean offset 20 million tons of CO2 each year. Cork oak forests support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats, as well as the highest diversity of plants found anywhere in the world. The trees naturally occur in mixed-plant woodlands and their root systems are excellent water regulators in this semi-arid landscape. They also anchor the soil and offer shade to the biodiverse species. The remaining 108,000 hectares of Portuguese cork oak forests are instrumental in preventing this region from turning into a dustbowl. As an advocate for cork-forest conservation, the World Wildlife Fund is working to protect these landscapes by promoting products from sustainably managed cork-oak forests.
These vehicles are programmed in three stages that add functionality and different play patterns as the child masters each skill, from learning the difference between left and right, to precise manoeuvring at high speeds. Beginner mode; hold down button to travel at a set speed of 1mph and with reduced sensitivity of steering as you tilt the controller left and right. Intermediate mode gives you variable speed control of up to 7mph with increased steering sensitivity. Pro mode can reach speeds of 15mph with sensitive steering control and braking.
The primary material in these vehicles is cork. This gives the perfect buoyancy to boats, impact resistance to cars and lightweight bodies for planes. But our desire to use cork runs much deeper than functionality; we wanted to use this project to showcase cork’s immense ecological contribution. A contribution that is sadly being diminished as alternative methods of sealing wine bottles has seen the substantial deforestation of cork forests.
Cork trees stripped of their bark absorb and store enormous amounts of CO2, release more Oxygen, and protect the great biodiversity that inhabit their forests.
Cork trees stripped of their bark absorb and store enormous amounts of CO2, give off more O2, and protect the great biodiversity that inhabit their forests.
Evolving interaction
This self-initiated project was born from direct insight from over 15 years of working with the toy industry. All prototyping and testing including 3D printing and electronics programming was undertaken in-house. Its sustainability was maintained throughout the project with all plastic parts made from 100% post-consumer recycled high density polyethylene with 100% recyclable packing printed with soy based dyes.
Goodbox
Debit cards alone have already overtaken cash, and by 2021 only 27% of transactions will involve coins or notes. This is a major problem for charities as more than half of donations made are cash.
In order to tackle this problem V2 partnered with technology start-up Goodbox to create a new innovative giving solution for the charity sector.
Working with Goodbox from its inception has allowed us to engage with charities from day one to fully understand the real issues.
Gaining insight, defining a product strategy, helping to create crowd funding campaigns, building prototypes, live trialing a range of beta designs in a number of high profile spaces, iterating designs and all the way through to engineering the final manufactured products.
“V2 immersed themselves in the world of our product, balancing our grand vision with a relentless attention to detail. Their team feels like an extension of our own team; something which as a startup can be the game changer. We are proud to work with such an outstanding group of people.”
CEO & Founder, Goodbox
During our time working with Goodbox we have become incredibly passionate about their role in helping charities to connect with people. So much that we have invested our profits back into the company to become partners in this ground-breaking business.
More than £1,000,000 in donations have been processed for charities across the UK so far.
Desolenator
There is not enough water to go around. The causes are common knowledge: groundwater reserves are increasingly contaminated and becoming saline through pollution and rising sea levels. This, alongside a growing population, and the effects of climate change and industrialisation, has created one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. 97% of the Earth’s water is in its oceans, but current desalination technologies are highly inefficient and dependent upon non-renewable sources of energy.
We have been helping develop a product that only uses solar power to purify water from any source, including sea water. This is especially critical in regions where natural groundwater reserves have been polluted or poisoned or where seawater is the only water source available. A solution that requires very little maintenance; it uses no filters, no membranes, and no pre-treatment chemicals.
As well as being involved in the strategic and technical development of this clean water solution, we have created designs that help to educate the world about the water crisis, funding solutions to help implement the solution into developing countries and ways to re-mineralising water to improve human health.
Heal’s Collaboration
Interiors, lighting and furniture is a passion for all our designers at V2 Studios. In 2004 the Vitamin brand was born to allow our team to design, produce and collaborate with the best craftsmen, manufacturers and retailers in this industry. The Vitamin for Heal’s collection launched on the 20th February 2018 and is available exclusively at Heal’s, in all stores and online.
Collaborative DNA
“Collaboration has always been a part of the Heal’s DNA. Yet for me, this was exactly what was missing within the Heal’s Lighting collection. The process therefore began by seeking out partners who share our passion for beautiful design. Vitamin were an obvious choice – modern, forward thinking and with an ethos for functional and contemporary design.
“The brief was to create a simple yet thoughtfully designed range with a clear collaborative DNA. The response from Vitamin was a series of beautiful, charming, clever and unexpected designs.”
Head Lighting Buyer, Heal’s
Subtly unique, materials finishes & production
The challenge in this project was to create a collection that not only delivered unique lighting experiences but also a high quality of production and finishes for a very accessible price point. To achieve this it was important to cleverly adapt the materials, finishes and manufacturing processes to have a subtle uniqueness.
Tailored for the Heal's customer
Heal’s has always been one of London’s most iconic design conscious stores. It is a place we have visited and shopped for the past 20 years. So the opportunity to collaborate was extremely exciting.
The project allowed us to combine our skills from both businesses. V2 Studios developed a full understanding of the Heal’s market, including consumers, brand, price point and opportunity; while Vitamin brought its more experimental, organic creative process and a deep understanding of lighting and manufacturing.
The result was the creation of simple lighting solutions tailored to the Heal’s customer, completely complementing the brand’s existing lighting ranges. A further challenge was to deliver an accessible price point for the range, so it was important that we clearly selected the correct materials and manufacturing processes to achieve this.
Additional Photo Credit – Heals
Nano Tech Cooker Hob
Coway Air Purifier
V2 are working on a range of products that embrace Coway’s design philosophy of “Elemental Simplicity”. Just like water and air that are invisible but naturally exist in daily life, Coway strives to create products that permeate into and harmonise with their surroundings.
Advanced technology, unique features and new experiences are shrouded by a simple and harmonious form. This premium hybrid air purifier combines a humidifier with a water tank sterilization function and 5 stage filtration system.
The desire to seamlessly integrate products into the home has led V2 to work on the development of next generation products that embrace a fresh, innovative look at materials and finishes with a more interior-styled aesthetic.
Monster Headphones
V2 was tasked with the design of a headphone range (wireless over-ear, on-ear and in-ear) that focussed around audio quality, comfort and simplicity. Advanced driver technologies deliver low bass, clear mids, crisp highs and true sound reproduction that’s rich, powerful and dynamic. The result was a pure, minimal design aesthetic which was lightweight, ergonomic and pillow-soft for long wearing comfort.
Philips
Philips was one of V2’s very first clients and over the years we have designed a portfolio of products including vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, kettles, toasters, baby bottles, TVs, hand mixers and irons.
Furby
Over 40 million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production in the late 1990s. V2 was tasked with following up this phenomenal success with a reboot of the original toy. The world is a very different place now both technologically and culturally and for a new Furby to succeed we needed to embrace those changes. Furby became much less about aesthetic updates and more about the discovery on an immersive, connected and compelling play cycle.
“Furby Connect had a phenomenal record breaking success topping the toy market for two consecutive years.”
Furby becomes a link and interface to the digital world with an AI personality that would evolve and change based on the type of interaction it had with its owner. A link to child safe digital content including audio, video, games and its own app.
Cycling Shoe
In the world of cycling shoes it is generally agreed that the stiffer shoe gives better performance. The rigid reinforced soles transfer power more efficiently and reduce and disperse pressure preventing fatigue. But in terms of overall foot health the inability to flex the shoe at the metatarsals can cause serious problems. V2 went through numerous rounds of prototyping and analysis in order to develop a cycling shoe sole that improved foot health and comfort without compromising performance.
We experimented with a carbon fibre sole that had zones that could flex independently whilst maintaining an extremely solid connection to the bike's power train.
One of the most important and overlooked aspects is the tilt and angle of the forefoot. Studies show that 96% of all cyclists are misaligned in their connection to the bicycle, decreasing comfort and efficiency. This misalignment occurs as soon as you clip into a pedal because the pedal is flat. We looked to refine the amount of flex in order to spread out and bring the pressure under the first two toes.
Evidence now shows that maximising the power at the 3 o’clock position, when the cranks are both parallel to the ground, is the most beneficial for forward movement. Taking this on board we went about optimising a sole that reacted to pressure in this 3 o’clock position due to the angle and intensity at this point.
