TIMO YLILUOMATimo YliluomaINDUSTRIAL DESIGNERIndustrial Designer

WHO AM I?

I am an observer, lover of aesthetics and a problem solver. A designer.

I was born in the year of 1983 in Finland. For my youth I did a lot of sports and some arts, such as drawing and painting. Nowadays I still do a lot of sports and more drawing and painting. But for a living I design things.

Since the year 2005 I have worked with a Finnish watch and sports instrument company, Suunto Oy.

INSPIRATION

UNTITLED, 2014

I am a highly aesthetical person and a perfectionist. In my everyday life I take great pleasure in seeing the beauty in things. The beauty can be found anywhere, for instance in a funny shape of a tree, from a reflec-tion in a window or in an artwork of a great painter. All kinds of beautiful things make me happy.

The perfectionist in me likes things neat and tidy. I like to arrange my things in an order so I can find them later. And folding my shirts in a certain way just gives me pleasure. Things need an order.

I empower this perfectionism in my work by paying attention to every little detail in every product I design. The appreciation of aesthetics pushes me to lay-out these important details in a beautiful order.

On right there’s a picture I made recently. It’s inspired by the contrast between two worlds: The nature that has always existed and the digital world that man creates.

WORKING

I have my professional background in model making and craftsmanship. Originally I started my career with design as a model maker. This gave me the basic un-derstanding of how things are made. I learned how to use tools, 3D-model and CNC machine materials. Later I studied the theory and practice of Industrial Design at Aalto University in Helsinki.

Nowadays my core strengths as a Designer are in de-signing durable but size-optimized electronic devices. In my work I like to closely collaborate with engineers. I believe the best solutions are created together in a multi-disciplinary team which consists of Design, Mar-keting, Mechanical Design, Electronics and Software Engineering and Project Management.

I my current role with Suunto I am used to partici-pate in wide range of Product Design tasks: Creating Design and Marketing Concepts, Validation, Sketching, CAD-Modeling, Model making, Designing for Manufac-turing and Rendering final Product Illustrations.

DESIGN PROJEC TS

SUUNTO AMBIT2 SAPPHIRECHIEF DESIGNER, 2013

Suunto Ambit 2 Sapphire is the flagship watch for the Suunto Outdoor products.

This product has been designed based on a brief to create more premium product variant for the Suunto Ambit Family. Suunto Ambit is a hard core outdoor watch with an integrated GPS-technology in it.

The premium looks and feel of Ambit 2 Sapphire is based on 2 things: the use of materials and surface fin-ishes and shapes that emphasize the choices material.

The Sapphire glass is extremely durable and scratch re-sistant. Thanks to this solution, the glass does not have to be protected by the metal bezel around it, which

allows sleeker appearance. Stainless Steel 316L, the material of the bezel around the glass, is a corrosion resistant steel. This part is first machined, then IP-Coat-ed and finally finished by brushing and Diamond-cut-ting. These finishes are carefully chosen to emphasize the look and feel of steel. The four-directional details derive from Suunto’s heritage as a manufacturer of compasses and outdoor instruments. Graphical details are etched and ink-filled.

The overall chiseled form language of Suunto Ambit 2 Sapphire is also chosen to support the choices of ma-terials and to create the look and feel of an Authentic Outdoor Instrument.

DETAILED VIEW OF THE BEZEL OF AMBIT 2 SAPPHIRE

CIRCULARLY BRUSHED STAINLESS STEEL

IP-COATED STAINLESS STEEL

ETCHED AND INK-FILLED DETAILING

DIAMOND-CUT FINISHING

EXPRESSIVE PRODUCT ILLUSTRATION OF SUUNTO AMBIT 2 SAPPHIRE, RENDERED IN 3D STUDIO MAX, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, 2013

THIS DETAIL VIEW IS CREATED TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE PREMIUMMATERIALS AND SURFACE FINISHES OF THE PRODUCT.

SUUNTO DXCHIEF DESIGNER, 2013

Among Divers around the world Suunto is known as the leader in Diving computers. Suunto DX is the top of the line diving computer for diving professionals or for anyone that is interested in technical diving and premium outlooks.

The design challenge with Suunto DX was to combine two approaches: the seriousness of advanced diving and the style and ergonomics of a premium watch. This challenge boiled down to a combination of premi-um materials, interesting form language and advanced technology.

The appearance of Suunto DX is soft but precise. This style is designed to remind the user of the natural flow of water. Over all soft shape was then pulled together by emphasizing the seams on the product. This was

done by chamfering the edges of the individual parts, creating precise and beautiful seams.

The design work of Suunto DX led into creating a unique style that we started calling as a hydro-dynam-ic form language. This streamlined styling was also a great starting point for size-optimizing the watch into as sleek and small package as possible.

Suunto DX is based on its award winning predecessor, D9tx. I worked as a Chief Designer also in this project.

EXPLODED VIEW OF SUUNTO DX, RENDERED IN 3D STUDIO MAX, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, 2013

I CREATED THIS IMAGE TO COMMUNICATE THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TECHNOLOGYTHAT IS CONCEALED BEHIND THE SIMPLE DESIGN OF THE PRODUCT.

PROFESSIONAL DIVER ANDREAS PETERS WEARING SUUNTO DX ELASTOMER

EXPRESSIVE PRODUCT ILLUSTRATION OF SUUNTO DX ELASTOMER, RENDERED IN 3D STUDIO MAX, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, 2013

EMPHASIZED SEAMS BETWEEN PARTS GIVE A FEEL OF PRECISION AND AUTHENTIC INSTRUMENT

Suunto D4i Novo is Suunto’s entry level, wrist watch sized diving computer. It is designed to appeal to younger consumers that are not very experienced in diving but bold in their personal style.

Price point-wise this watch is positioned to be in the bottom of the Suunto Diving series.

For this project the design brief from the business unit was very open: Update the current design of Suunto D4 to support a major software update. We did a study of the target consumers and ongoing trends. Consid-ering the price point and the young target audience the solution was obvious - Bright and colorful but calm and confident diving watch, that is also perfectly suitable for everyday watch use.

Suunto D4i Novo was created alongside establishing larger scale color and material design strategy for Suunto Design. This product was released as one of the first watches that possess the bold and colorful appearance that has become an important trend also in other areas of consumer electronics, such as mobile phones.

Suunto D4i Novo Lime is a great example of raising brand visibility with a strong color identity without compromising the high technical quality of the mate-rials and execution.

SUUNTO D4I NOVOCHIEF DESIGNER, COLOUR AND MATERIAL DESIGN, 2011- 2012

EXPRESSIVE PRODUCT ILLUSTRATION OF SUUNTO D4I NOVO LIME, RENDERED IN 3D STUDIO MAX, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, 2013

THIS IMAGE IS MADE TO SUPPORT THE STORY OF PLAYFUL AND COLORFUL CHARACTER OF THE D4I NOVO.

SUUNTO CORECHIEF DESIGNER, 2010-2014

As its name tells, this product is in the Core of Out-door Watches: It is robust, timeless and has the most essential outdoor features - Altimeter, Barometer and a Compass.

Originally Suunto Core was developed in 2006. It was well received by customers and quickly became one of the most important products for Suunto. After a couple of years of its launch the sales started to slow down and this product family needed to be refreshed.

I listed all the available Suunto Core variants and quick-ly noticed that the line-up seems messy and needed to be re-organized. I designed a new offering based on 4 different price points: Premium 1, Premium 2, Instru-ments and Lifestyle. You can see an illustration of this line-up on the next page.

On right there’s a picture of Suunto Core Brushed Steel. It is the Core Family’s newest member and takes the product offering into new and more premium level, without forgetting Core’s heritage of being a carefully crafted outdoor instrument.

PREMIUM 1: STAINLESS STEEL AND SAPPHIRE GLASS

PREMIUM 2: ALUMINIUM CASE AND BEZEL

INSTRUMENT-STYLED PRODUCTS

COLORFUL LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS

retail price

EXPRESSIVE PRODUCT ILLUSTRATION OF SUUNTO CORE BRUSHED STEEL, RENDERED IN 3D STUDIO MAX, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, 2013

IT’S SIMPLE SHAPE, SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL GLASS AND BRUSHED STAINLESS STEEL HOUSING IS A SALUTE TO SUUNTO’S HERITAGE IN OUTDOOR INSTRUMENTS.

STANDARDIZATION OF BUCKLESIN SUUNTO WATCHES

THESIS WORK, AALTO UNIVERSITY, BACHELOR OF ARTS, 2012

Until the year 2012 there were more than 37 different watch buckle assemblies in the whole product portfo-lio of Suunto. For my thesis work I saw a great chance to fix this: Designing a standard buckle solution for Wristwatch sized Suunto Products. As a thesis work this was a fantastic topic because I got to do a de-sign project that touched many aspects of a product creation process: Sourcing and materials, price impact and business, usability and ergonomics, and of course design, manufacturing and aesthetics.

Buckle in a watch is a necessary component. Its’ purpose is to close the strap and attach the product around the users wrist. However, a good buckle should not withdraw attention to itself. It should be so easy to use that it’s almost unnoticeable. Once noticed, it would attract the user by its sophistication and atten-tion to detail.

During my work I had many meetings with Suunto’s internal sourcing team, business units and mechanical designers. I for an example studied how much different buckle solutions cost and what drives the cost chang-es.

To understand the process better I traveled to China to visit a couple of factories that manufacture buckles. In following pages you can see some photos from my visit.

As a result of my thesis work I delivered a ready design of a standard buckle solution, which is constructed of modular components, is more price-efficient and has improved ergonomics and outlook than previously made product specific buckles.

STAMPING, FORGING AND DRILLING OF BUCKLES IN A CHINESE FACTORY, 2012

SURFACE FINISIHING OF BUCKLES IN A CHINESE FACTORY, 2012

READY, POLISHED WATCH BUCKLES IN A CHINESE FACTORY, 2012

TOOLS FOR MAKING WATCH BUCKLES IN A CHINESE FACTORY, 2012

ILLUSTRAION OF HOW THE STANDARD BUCKLE LOOKS LIKE IN SUUNTO D6I WHITERENDERED IN 3D STUDIO MAX, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR, 2012

Battery free signal light for bikers was made for a competition that was arranged between students of industrial design in Aalto University’s School of Design, University of Lapland’s Faculty of Design and Lahti Institute of Design.

The task was to design simple yet intelligent electronic devices.

I created together with a fellow student Ilmari Mansik-kamäki a simple device, that is cheap, manufacturing is free of assembly work and does not require batteries.

Our design won the first prize.

R

Magnetic induction offers battery free power source

BATTERY FREE SIGNAL LIGHT FORBICYCLISTS

COMPETITION, UNIVERSITY PROJECT, 2009

LIGHT DIFFUSING FRAME

LED

COIL

CONDUCTIVE SHEET

Construction of this bike light is unique: The body is injection moulded directly on top of the electron-ics.

This creates an ideal solution for a bike light: it is cost-effective, weather proof and battery free. This automatic light is suitable for every biker out there.

THANK YOU FOR TAKING INTEREST IN MY WORK. IN CASE YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT ME AND HEAR MORE, YOU CAN FIND MY CONTACT INFO FROM THE FOLLOWING PAGE.

TIMO YLILUOMAINDUSTRIAL DESIGNER

YLILUOMA.TIMO@GMAIL.COM+358 40 569 37 91