Chelsea’s Luke Kauranen has a passion for innovative product design

Mixing his artistic and creative skills with unique innovation, Chelsea’s Luke Kauranen recent product design idea was a big hit with the International Housewares Association.

Kauranen, a junior at Western Michigan University, has been honored with third place in the IHA’s Global Innovation Awards.

The IHA created this student design competition in 1993 “to invigorate the housewares industry with the fresh ideas of top student designers and to encourage young talent to consider careers in the housewares business. Now in its 31st year, IHA’s competition is unique in the U.S. as the longest-running, industry-sponsored, merit-recognition program for industrial design students.”

Hearing this good news with a local connection, the Sun Times News (STN) followed up with Kauranen to learn more.

Kauranen told STN, “I was happy to have my work recognized and excited about all that it entails, including a paid trip to Chicago for the home and housewares show to showcase my idea.”

photo courtesy of the Inspired Home Show webpage

His idea is rainwater recycling. With the idea that access to water is very important and is so is becoming more self-reliant, Kauranen created this new product idea.

He said of the project, “while its initial design was targeted towards people in urban environments, my vision was for it to function as a stand-alone product that had useability across different domains.”

In his overview of the project, he said, “Home residents lack access to efficient and practical rainwater recycling solutions, highlighting the pressing need for innovative, under-friendly alternatives to promote sustainable water usage and address environmental concerns.”

“When I was researching various issues, rain recycling initially interested me because I was unfamiliar with the topic,” he told STN. “When doing some market research, it became apparent to me that there was a need for a user-friendly rain recycling product for the home. Existing options were not user-friendly, and users had to often DIY their own solutions. This motivated me to develop an accessible product that does not depend on a traditional gutter system for the recycling process.”

This project and competition was not only an exciting endeavor for him, but it’s also helping him prepare for his future career. Kauranen is a product design student at Western Michigan University’s Richmond Institute for Design and Innovation.

He said product design enables him to use his artistic and creative skills, to collaborate and produce products that improve people's lives.

“I am looking forward to growing my career and driving innovative ideas into products and services that delight consumers,” he said looking ahead. “I am also looking forward to working in a creative environment with a diverse group of disciplines to learn from.”

To learn more, go to https://www.behance.net/gallery/191002365/Rain-Recycling.