okay engineering · physical products
simple things for problems no one thought of.
We notice the small, stubborn problems everyone has learned to live with, and engineer one simple object for each. One job. One button. Built to last.
01 · the lab
now in the workshop.
The first objects are being sketched, built and broken. Each gets a number when work starts and a name when it's ready.
- OE-01in the workshop a flat object for the desk
- OE-02in the workshop something that stands up
- OE-03sketches a round thing you turn
- OE-04a problem, written down not drawn yet
02 · approach
the rules every object follows.
- job
- one. Each object solves exactly one problem, completely.
- controls
- as few as possible. If it needs a manual, it isn't finished.
- app
- not required. It works out of the box, and keeps working if a company or a server goes away.
- life
- decades. Repairable, with parts you can replace and nothing designed to wear out on purpose.
- materials
- honest. Aluminium, steel, wood and recycled plastic, finished so you can see what they are.
- made
- in small runs. Every object is field-tested by real people before the first one ships.
03 · process
from annoyance to object.
- 01noticeFind a problem so ordinary that nobody thought to solve it.
- 02sketchDraw the simplest object that could make it go away.
- 03buildMake it real: cardboard, then printed parts, then metal.
- 04live with itField-test it in real homes and workplaces until it disappears into the day.
- 05make itProduce it in small, careful runs, built to be repaired.
04 · contact
got a problem nobody has solved?
Tell us about it. The best ideas start as a small, specific complaint.
okay@okayengineering.com