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Naked UNbrella
Hey, Let me just say I give props to anyone out there thinking green and trying to make the world a better place through design. That being said, mad props to designer Shiu Yuk Yuen. She is out there fighting the good fight, and her latest design inspiration may be a bit of a mis-fire(in my opinion), but still deserves to be dissected, praised or criticized with the best of them. Her “Eco-Brolly” umbrella design might be more aptly named an UNbrella. This “UNbrella” design has you running to find some um… protection, when you need it the most. The idea was to reuse discarded newspapers as the canopy for your umbrella skeleton, therefore making this design “green.” My only issue with this is that if you can’t find a discarded newspaper, you are left just wet, not green. Issue two for me, I am always using my umbrella to break my fall when jumping off of building or falling from the sky, or on my way to work babysitting British children…this just won’t do the trick. Cheerio!
Designer: Shiu Yuk Yuen
Texts from the designer:
This umbrella can re-use and adapt objects such as newspaper, card, and plastic bag and turn it into an umbrella. It can re-use whatever the consumer thinks of reusing. It is a supporting devise when it rains, all the user has to do is unscrew the top lid, poke the lid onto the middle of the newspaper, quick screw to secure it & open it out like an umbrella!
It is used for short distances, but it can be used longer, by clipping the clips at each end of the umbrella onto the newspaper to stabilise it. It is pocket size, lightweight aluminium, suitable for Britain, where the weather is unpredictable, especially for Central Londoners, where free newspaper is available.
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51 Comments »
igreenspot says
hm… mostly umbrella is used during rainy days, I don’t think using a newspaper can help me stays dry. But I really appreciate the idea …
Thomas Prikowitsch [bitspirits.com] says
i would use a plastic-bag for rainy days, but what can we do on a windy day?
i do not see a mechanism holding down the paper…..
Lim says
Yah… I think the idea is defitnetly there, but i think, practicality wise doesnt work. Probally can be use only for light rain.
AM says
I agree with you on that one. It has potential but all in all the logistics are not there yet.
chetan sorab says
interesting……might come in handy
devon knight says
why not just a regular umbrella? once you buy one, they last forever!
ModuleS says
Not where I’m from, the occasional hurrican breaks my umbrella!
So says
Ah ha .. So this is your secretive idea! Haha
zippyflounder says
ummmmmmmmm no, rain and wind are a bound set and that rig is worthless in any wind over the ammout produced by a baby birds belch.
jon says
Instead of buying and using forever a real umbrella, a person picks up a fresh piece of newspaper that, when soaked, will probably end up in the trash can? Obviously, trash cans are more prevalent than recycle bins, so is the user going to carry around a soaking newspaper till they find the right bin? Come on, just buy a real umbrella!
Steve Page says
Could the tube not include a lightweight fabric or plastic, maybe teflon coated cloth so you had a micro umbrella that fits in pocket or handbag that take up very little room, weighs almost nothing and is there for lightweight emergency usage?
Make that fabric reflective and it could be a summer parasol for very hot days?
Evath says
Now, your idea (obvious as it should have been to Shiu) could be an alternative that comes with the unbrella making it that much more versatile an item.
Perhaps she could send along a pattern and people could use that to cut out other “now useless” items that aren’t fit to pass on, or give away, like an old shower curtain liner (often colorful and decorative), or raincoat, (which is very utilitarian), or the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag.
Allowing the buyer to use a broad range of other items would TRULY make this UNbrella ‘green.’
subesh says
absurd……….
Evath says
Where is YOUR ‘better’ mousetrap?????
At least give the girl some love for making an effort to save us from ourselves
and save the rainforest. ;-D
paul sandip says
wonderful!
anto says
greaaaaat
Jerry Chen says
humor
Shiu Yuk Yuen says
Hello, I am the designer of the Eco Brolly. Thank yanko for complimenting on my design and thank all of you here for your feedback on my design. Your feedback has helped improve the design further, so thank u. There is improvement that needs to be made. The design is currently being developed into production and soon it will be out in the market for everyone, not just Londoners.
Andreas says
realy coool
Nanie says
its a great idea but i dont see people rooting around for an already used newspaper. its a cute idea for keeping out of the sun or just from running from the metro station to your office building but i can see those free newspaper stands emptying out crazily as people frantically search for clean paper instead of the kind that the hobos used for blankies.
now if you could open a plastic shopping bag and use that for the umbrella cover, that would be more waterproof and more likely to be used instead of paper, granted people are saying that you need to use the canvas shopping bags but still, plastic makes a more protective thing. plus keeping recycling containers on streetcorners and just outside buildings, offering users to recycle the covers or leave lightly used bags for others to take.
Dave says
The design does not need any improvement. It needs to be abandoned.
C’mon, folks, lets get real! Just because something has the word ‘green’ in front of it, doesn’t give it a free pass. Its also got to work, which this utterly fails at. In fact, even if this product got made, it would be thrown out immediately. That’s the opposite of green.
Nadia says
wot u said dnt make sence… if its in the market then it means it work! .. and u just said it fails… im sure the designer knows about this design well enough to know if it will work or fail.. afterall its her design!
anonymous says
serious, why not just use ur hands to hold the newspaper.. can’t get greener than that
gypsypunk says
a used tarpaulin or plastic bags may be good alternatives for a newspaper… a paper is definitely absurd to use as cover for rainfall…
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