authors: Sara Dobrijević and Mia Dragičević
3rd year of industrial design at the School of Architecture in Zagreb
mentor: Sanja Bencetić, doc. Mr. sc
period. is a system of female hygiene products which deals with an extremely important, yet neglected and stigmatised issue of menstruation in the eye of the public. At the international competition for students of IHA (International Houseware Association) in Chicago, it has been awarded with an honorary acknowledgement, a first to be awarded to an IHA faculty outside of the USA. The authors of the product, design students Sara Dobrijević and Mia Dragičević, were taken aback by the lack of interest and knowledge within society regarding the artificiality of products for menstrual hygiene, as well as their harmful impact on women and the environment. With further research, they registered an increased positive trend of using cloth sanitary pads, which many women might view as impractical, uncomfortable and hard to maintain, even if they are completely ecological and non-invasive to the female reproductive system. By recognising a large potential in that, the students designed a system of products which allows the woman to feel clean, safe and connected with her natural self. period. Consists of a cleaning product, a box for drying and the sanitary pad itself. The ergonomics, aesthetics and function of the product have been carefully considered to allow for maximum utilisation.
Without beating around the bush (pun intended), the name of the product is direct – period. Apart from the term being used colloquially for menstruation, the period at the end of a sentence is the sign of a completed thought and the beginning of a new one. The period at the end communicates the directness of the product, and initiates a breaking of the taboo.
The sanitary product. The biggest problem of cloth pads which women face is the storage of a used pad, and carrying it with one’s self, together with the remaining things (i.e. in a bag). By interviewing their users, the students found out that most of them wait for the end of the cycle in order to wash them, which means using a large number of pads, a spread of unpleasant scents and creating unhygienic conditions. If a woman washes her pads daily, she ends up wasting unnecessary amounts of water. That’s why period. enables an instant cleaning of the pad, regardless of the woman’s situation. A minimal amount of water is necessary, along with some sanitizer. The woman cleans the pad without difficulties, and without ever getting into direct contact with the blood. So the process of cleaning allows for the woman to have some intimate time during which she connects with herself.
The drying box. This product transposes the values that make the foundation of the entire project, which is additionally shown by displaying it to the public. The physical function of the box is the drying of the cleaned tissue, which is made possible by the form of the product itself. In public, it serves as a statement and a fashionable addition to suit any woman’s style. The products sends a very clear and crucial message about normalisation of menstruation, while the design does not disrupt the woman’s confidence. She is the one to decide whether the product will be an addition or a public message to the society.
The pad. The material is supposed to be both hygienic, ecologically acceptable and quickly dryable, while the form of the pad is optimally adapted to the female body. The sets come with three different sizes of pads for the variable intensity of menstruation during the cycle.
The attitude of society towards one of the most important phenomenons of humankind – menstruation, step by step, turns towards its normalisation. The authors of this product encourage the suppression of the prejudices towards natural processes of the female body, and encourage women to regain their autonomy over their own bodies.
For that’s where it all starts.
