Personal doorbells

Re-thinking the doorbell around people’s needs and aspirations for answering the door.  The doorbell is a standard feature on our front doors, offering a one-way tool for a person to make their presence known.  The ‘blind’ nature of the doorbell has not greatly evolved since it was first introduced, even though the way we use it has.

The project takes the form of re-thinking five people’s doorbells in a response to how they currently interact with their doorbell, and how they would perhaps like to.  Five people were interviewed in their home and asked:

“What do you do when your doorbell rings?”

The key quote they gave became the basis for the re-design of their doorbell, creating their own personal doorbell which sympathises with their aspirations for answering the door.

Elsie’s solar powered doorbell – “I won’t answer the door after dark”

Linda’s questions and answers doorbell – “I want to know whether the caller is male or female, a family member, if it’s someone i’m expecting.  I just want some idea of whose calling before I answer the door.”

Lloyd’s mobile doorbell – “I never answer the doorbell, it’s never anyone I know.  I don’t tend to socialise at home, we meet up in town.”

Sarah’s secret doorbell – “I only like answering the door if I know the person calling.  I don’t like answering the door to people I don’t know.”

Glyn’s emergency doorbell – “They are all just time wasters.  I only want to answer the door if I have to, if it’s an emergency or something serious has happened.”