To celebrate the company's 2nd anniversary, we've decided to challenge ourselves with an entirely new design concept. The idea is to create something new and profound, something that would redefine cardboard craftsmanship.
Eventually, we arrived at the idea of a three dimensional object, a sphere to be specific. The end result is a new dimension of cardboard product. The Catosphere is our love letter to everyone who's supported us over the past two years.
The Design Principles
You may have noticed that the circle is a very prominent shape in many of our product designs. This is no coincidence. Some theories suggest that our furbabies are naturally attracted to circles. Circles and similar shapes supposedly give off a sense of security and warmth, and in a way, are viewed by our furbabies as a form of confined spaces. While there're limited scientific studies on this particular topic, our experience as cat parents suggests that those theories are true. Which is why we've always incorporated this idea into our design whenever we can.
So when it comes to creating a three dimensional object, the sphere was an obvious choice. Once we've gotten a sphere, the next challenging part was the appearance and structural integrity of the product. A spherical object naturally wobbles, which isn't necessarily a bad element in a product design. But we wanted something robust and furniture-like. We wanted a product that would add a great deal of sophistication to a home environment.
Eventually, we decided to incorporate two sets of legs to ensure structural integrity. The exposed sets of leg also give the product as well as the surrounding area a sense of openness. To take things to the next level, we positioned the sphere at an angle to enhance depth perception. As a final a touch of playfulness, we designed the upper section of the front legs to resemble the ears of our furbabies. Finally, the Catosphere was born.
When it comes to material, we opted for our signature combination, cardboard and Medium-density Fiberboard (MDF). The cardboard component forms the spherical body while the MDF component is composed of the two sets of legs which hold the structural integrity of the product.
Entering the Realm of Furniture Design
Ever since the beginning, one of our main goals have always been to turn the idea of cardboard furniture from an artistic concept to a firm reality. With the Catosphere, we can confidently say that we've officially entered the realm of furniture design.
But this is just the beginning. Over the next season, we'll be launching more products with elements of furniture and interior design, and eventually, products that are specifically designed to be used by both human and cats for different purposes.
The Catosphere will make its officially debut at the Pet Expo Championship 2023 on this upcoming 10 - 13 August.