Joss Nichols Industrial designer and multidisciplinary creative.
A little intro to me as a designer
OME
Comfort & wellbeing
A new take on at-home-fitness
SLOWDAYS
Sustainability through circularity
COLLAB
Merch production
STOW
Cross industry convenience
THE SMALL STUFF ATTABOY
Quick-fire projects
03
04.07
08.11
12.15
16.17
18.19
20
Ome is a light designed to promote comfort and wellbeing. The table lamp fosters a calming and inviting environment through its focus on soft and warm lighting, which when combined with a textured face, to add depth, leads to a cosy and comforting space. Due to it’s small squat design, Ome doesn’t impose on a room but rather blends in seamlessly and pulls the light levels below the eye, having a minimal impact on melatonin production and subsequent sleep. Ome is designed to enhance a room in the later stages of the day to allow the user to de-stress naturally.
A squat “chubby” design ensures Ome easily blends into a space and is soft and non threatening on the eyes.
The textured face adds a deep shadow which the soft glow of Ome’s wireless light can travel across.
Stacking pulp-based packaging for safe and sustainable shipping and storage.
the process
01
Beginning the design process with a focus on “chubby” design as a proven method for calming silhouettes.
02
Sketch modelling was essential for determing the size and proportions for both aesthetics and usability.
03
Initial CNC prototyping for proof of concept and user testing, finished in water based paint for colour testing.
04
Final prototype finishing by hand to remove any imperfections that could impact on the final light quality and form.
brief introduction
These are not your father’s Kettlebells...
Attaboy Kettlebells bring a fun and considered design to your home workouts. The playful and exciting forms replace the bland, archaic design of fitness equipment so your interior space doesn’t have to suffer.
Attaboy Kettlebells are designed to be displayed, until it’s time to grab them and get a great full body workout in.
the
process
Initial concepts exploring form whilst retaining the functionality of a kettlebell - pushing and moulding the conventions of the traditional design without losing purpose.
With fitness and wellness growing as both a trend and a lifestyle, over 60% of Britons are now physically active.
And over 50% of people who exercise do so in their own home, turning spare bedrooms, garages and the living room floor into their personal gym. The era of bland gym equipment in the home is very much upon us. Cast Iron and steel objects are now taking over the corners of bedrooms, the hallway, or are hidden in any nook and cranny that people can spare. But what if we didn’t have to lose storage space for our equipment or sacrifice our feng shui for a set of dumbbells?
This is where attaboy Athletic comes in, the attaboy kettlebells are designed to be displayed.
Attaboy Kettlebells bring fun and considered design to complement your home decor, all whilst retaining the key functionality. The design style goes hand in hand with the functionality of the equipment - kettlebells promote a full body strength workout as well as cardiovascular endurance with minimal equipment.
Slowdays is a footwear model which uses 100% waste leather offcuts from English tanneries. The current model focuses on producing a durable and versatile “mule” style shoe which is designed to be in circulation for an extended period. Slowdays aims to tackle leather wastage in the UK by utilizing waste materials meant for landfill particularly through cyclical design and repair culture and bringing sustainability to the forefront of footwear design.
The driver for this project is the unsustainable state of the footwear industry. Currently, the footwear industry is responsible for 1.4% of GHG emissions, having produced 22 billion pairs in 2023, and set to produce more in 2024, overproduction of unsustainable virgin materials will continue to pollute and harm the environment. To combat this, Slowdays sources 100% of its leather from ethical waste streams in the United Kingdom. By combining usable, ethical waste with a durable design and a cyclical repair system, Slowdays bypasses the need for virgin materials, reduces the strain on landfill, and provides the user with a long lasting and versatile shoes.
A focus on outerwear and technical fashion design aims to bring a functional and versatile aesthetic to outlast trend.
The biopolymer sole is designed to be replaced by the brand without having an impact of the environment.
Reclaimed “waste” suede from C.F.Stead tannery in Leeds, makes up the durable double stitched uppers.
the process
The process of Slowdays began with identifying a reliable and ethical waste stream supply. This came from English tanneries which throw away perfectly good leather offcuts due to extremely strict standards. Using this leather as much as possible, from the uppers, to the straps and the midsole cut down the waste produced, adding ethical materials around this to fill in the blanks. Combining this with an aesthetic inspired by outerwear and Japanese Americana, aims to remain timeless and outlast trends.
Love Saves The Day
( Merch production )
Collaboration
This project was working creatively with Fashion Communication and Promotion students at NTU to design and prototype an item of merchandising for their collaboration with the Love Saves the Day festival. The outcome being a minimalist heart shaped padlock, which expresses the inspiration behind the festival. Opting for a minimal aesthetic, and taking into account the current “gorpcore” styles became the style drivers. Aligning the design with the iconography of the festival links to the ‘radio-tower’ imagery featured on their branding. Created through CAD modelling and prototyped through 3D printed PLA plastic which is featured in the photoshoot and final brand presentation.
Stow
( - ed away )
Cross industry convenience
Stow is furniture peice designed for inside and outside the home. The visual concept of the stool takes inspiration from Japanese and Korean outdoor products.
Crafted from maple with a canvas seat, Stow folds away to be easily stored when not in use.
Clean lines and soft colours make it an easy addition to the home whilst retaining the key functionality.
The Small Stuff
Big tree
Bigtree is a piece of outdoor play equipment designed to be used in and out of lesson time. Aimed at providing a space for teachers to educate about nature and the lifecycle as well as an exciting and stimulating piece for equipment for play time. With Bigtree there are no defined rules and the product can empower the children to decide how they learn and play, taking inspiration from the Reggio Emilia learning approach.
Locomo
Locomo is a playful furniture piece designed to bring fun to the user’s home. Constructed from a light wooden interior and finished with a shag carpet alongside a “handle” backrest encourages the user to pull or carry Locomo around their home and enjoy the furniture in as many places as possible.
