Portfolio
MeleMai
for fun and families, 2020
Sex is one of the most important areas of life for every adult. It includes not only sexual intercourse, but also touching, kissing or oral sex. It is also a way to establish relationships and interpersonal connections.
Sexuality is an essential aspect of humanity. The WHO points out that sexual health focuses on the social, intellectual, biological and emotional aspects.
MeleMai project concerns a multi functional device which supports the thermal method of contraception. Its aim is to improve the quality of life, especially the intimate one of women and their partners.
Sex is definitely associated with having children. We can divide people into those who want to have children and those who don’t. My project is dedicated to both groups. The main target group are the couples who struggle to have a child and the women who are looking for a healthy, reliable and organic contraceptive method.
My design is a sex toy which touches the problem of intimacy in a relationship and is gives the couples using it a possibility to have fun while trying to get pregnant.
MeleMai
Used programs
Animation: Andrey Bagrichuk
project's goals
help couples to become parents
lowering stress level of getting pregnant process
bring back joy into sex
make it easier to control menstrual cycle
Research
In the first part of my research I focused on fertility and woman’s menstrual cycle. I got to know what obstacles couples have to overcome while trying to make a baby. I also looked through natural methods of contraception to acknowledge their pros and cons.
Ovulation cycle
The average woman’s cycle lasts 28 days.
It starts from the first day of menstruation.
Fertilization can occur 3 days before ovulation and 2 days after it.
Sperm have the ability to fertilize up to 72 hours.
An egg has a fertilization capacity of 24 hours.
Ovulation occurs usually on the 14th day of the cycle.
Getting pregnant
In most cases, there is no fertilization because the couples do not have sex on the right days.
Intensive intercourse does not increase the likelihood of getting pregnant. When a man has a large number of intercourses or often masturbates, the sperm count in the semen decreases.
Stress caused by problems with getting pregnant makes sex an unpleasant obligation, not a chance to strengthen the bond with your partner.
Thermal method of contraception
It’s a behavioral method of fertility control. It involves regulating the timing of intercourse to prevent introduction of sperm into the female reproductive tract, either altogether or when an egg may be present. If it’s used properly it gives a woman knowledge about her menstrual cycle and whether she is fertile or not.
How does it work? A woman is measuring her basal body temperature and note it. Measurement should be made every day, at the same time. The best option is to do it in the morning because it requires to be done after at least 3 hours of rest. A steady rise in temperature, usually by 0.1 degrees C, for three consecutive days means ovulation.
Billings ovulation method
It is another behavioral method of fertility control. In this method women use their vaginal mucous to determine their fertility. It does not rely on the presence of ovulation, rather it identifies patterns of potential fertility and obvious infertility within the cycle, whatever its length.
Pros and cons of natural methods of contraception
reliable
non-hormonal method
learning your own body
no cost
increase in libido
strengthen the relationship
two in one
up to 99.3% efficiency
does not disturb hormonal balance
learning your cycle and symptoms
no need to buy for e.g. tablets
desire for sex and intimacy
sex becomes special
both contraception and method for planning pregnancy
rigorous
long-term
limiting
uncertain
requires regularity
needs few months
gives only 10 infertile days
any deviation from the norm or an error in the temperature curve distorts the result
Clue
Eve by Glow
Lilly
Glow
Ovulation cycle calendar
Menstrual cycle calendar is a widely used by women application. It has a form of traditional calendar but has additional options. Women can log their periods, moods and symptoms they experience during their monthly cycle.
Menstrual calendar is intended for women who are planning to get pregnant or who are using it for contraception and to be extra safe during fertile days. In those cases the logs have to be very precise, and without using thermal method or Billings ovulation method it can be very inaccurate. A lot of women use those kinds of apps to second-guess when their period will start.
Second one part of my research focused on design for women, what they expect, what throw them away and what they find appealing. All of that was for me important but also I didn't forget about men and their needs and fears.
Examples of interesting sex toys
Osé is the first massager that provides both clitoral and G-spot orgasms
Joy sex toys are sex toys that look like household items
INME Toy is a modular vibrator that every woman can adapt to her needs
Sex toys market analysis
There are many types of vibrators on the market. They can be divided according to the materials from which they were made (silicone, latex, acrylic, plastic or rubber). They can be also divided by which parts of the body they are designed to stimulate. I undertook a review of products designed to stimulate the clitoris, vagina and G-spot. I also looked at devices dedicated to couples.
The main goal was to design a vibrator dedicated to women but comfortable for couples. I focused on the needs and expectations of people who don't have much experience with erotic toys. My device is not only a vibrator but also provides other functions. It can be an excuse for couples to buy their first sex toy.
I decided to combine a traditional vibrator with a G-spot massager.
G-spot
You can feel it with your finger as a small, slightly rough lump on the vaginal wall.
Design process
After research stage I started creative part of the project with included sketches, clay and 3D printed models, testing different shapes and designing user experience of my design.
Sketches
Models
STEP I ౼ testing various sizes, thickness and shapes
STEP II ౼ analyzing grip
STEP III ౼ making corrections in selected models
Ergonomics
Many possibilities of comfortable grip
Grasp
Vibrator with thermometer
handle which allows comfortable grip during play and taking temperature
it allows to see the result on the built-in screen and provides easy access to all buttons
curved shape and thickened tip
stimulation of the G spot, clitoris and other erogenous zones
thin tip
provides comfort during the morning basal body temperature test
The shape of the handle provides comfortable grip during all kinds of the usage of device. It also allows the user easy access to all of the buttons which control both vibrations and temperature checkup. On the grip there is a display installed under the silicone. This part is essential for the design. It informs women how long it is to the end of thermal checkup. Also women will see there their basal body temperature.
Because of the unique shape of the vibrator it fits many purposes. It can be used not only as a device to measure basal body temperature but also to stimulate G-spot, clitoris and many more erogenous spots on both women’s and men’s bodies.
turn on/off vibrations
change vibrations pattern
display
vibrating motor
turn on/off thermal checkup
thermometer
change intensity of vibrations
temperature checkup
easy application
shape minimizing discomfort
the ability to view the result on the device
G-spot stimulation
adapted shape
comfortable grip
the ability to change vibrations
Charging case
The charging case is an important element of the design. It allows a discreet storage of the device and travelling with it. The regularity of measurements is very important in the thermal method, and thus the possibility of taking MeleMai with you is crucial. The built-in charger, which is a kind of power bank, extends the possibility of using the device without connecting it to the power supply.
clitoris stimulation
comfortable grip
the ability to change vibrations
the ability to change the angle of vibrator for better stimulation
The case provides discretion. Thanks to the inconspicuous appearance, you can leave it anywhere. Most women keep their sex toys in a drawer or make-up bag. The case protects the vibrator from damage and dirt.
It also provides information about battery status. Thanks to lights on the lid, the case warns the user about low battery of the vibrator or general problems with it.
case fully
charged
case battery
low
case battery
run down
case battery
charging
vibrator is
charging
vibrator battery
low
vibrator battery
rund down
Mobile application
The next part of the project is a mobile app. Its design resembles a traditional ovulation cycle calendar. The main and most innovating function of MeleMai app is collecting data from thermometer built in vibrator. All measurements are summarized in a graph.
MeleMai app also collects data about woman’s general sensations relatum to her menstrual cycle. In the chart you can also find information about user’s vaginal mucous which is essential for Billings ovulation method.
During the registration to the app the user is going to be asked few questions about her menstrual cycle and she can choose which alerts she wants to set on.
Beside that she will be presented with instructions how to take temperature measurement while using MeleMai device.
Homepage and calendar are the most important parts of the application. The user can see her ovulation cycle there which includes the period, ovulation, fertile and not fertile days. Based on that she can decide when she should have intercourse with her partner or when to avoid it. She can control if she is using the whole set to get pregnant or as a method of contraception.
On the homepage she can check battery status of her vibrator and also go through mini version of calendar.
menstruation and begging of a cycle
add sensations or mentruation
current day of cycle
missed measurement
information about fertility
ovulation and fertile days
In the chart a woman can see all her temperature measurements. Based on that the app can predict fertile and non fertile days of user’s cycle.
Under the chart there are icons which represent different stages of vaginal mucous.
A woman can download the chart into pdf. format in case she wants to show it to her doctor.
Being able to note woman’s sensation is very important for natural methods of fertility control. In MeleMai the app user can do this via three simple tabs. They are divided to vaginal mucous, menstruation and general sensations (like intercourse, food whim, sore muscles etc).
Final product
The design consists of several elements. The first one is a device that combines an erotic toy and an ovulation thermometer. The second part of the project is an mobile app that records the measurements of basal body temperature taken by the main device. The purpose of the app is to compile the data – as well as enable the user to enter other symptoms easily. The final important element of the design is the charging case. It allows a discreet storage of the device and travelling with it.
Master project
University: Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Poland
Supervisor: doc., prof ASP Agata Chmielarz
Design consultations: mgr Joanna Pastusińska,
mgr Anna Kamieniak,
mgr Michał Dróżdż,
mgr Karolina Nowak
during Erasmus+
University: Vysoká škola výtvarných umení v Bratislave, Slovakia
Supervisor: doc. Ferdinand Chrenka
Design consultations: Mgr. art. Petra Rybánska
photo credits: unsplash.com
Animation music:
Velvet by Peyruis https://soundcloud.com/peyruis
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/peyruis-velvet
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/r-rU0pZdtTA
