Pentabolt Aries
User research and prototyping for a rim lock with one-hand opening, built during an internship and thesis project at Godrej. It went to market and won India Design Mark 2015.
- India Design MarkAwarded in 2015
- More than 80Users in the researchManufacturers, coordinators, distributors and end users
- 3 patentsApplied for on the projectMetal to plastic, push-type features, two-point receptacle
On this page
Can a rim lock be beautiful, interactive and next generation?
Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems wanted a rim lock that matches modern interiors and is a pleasure to open. Comfortable ergonomics, opening a door with a press of a knob, three locking features and a cheaper material were the aims.
I was a design intern there, and the project became my thesis. I did the user research, tested materials and built working models. The lock that Godrej launched is Pentabolt Aries. My thesis concept was called Intra, and the deck shows both.
A research loop, not a straight line
Show the processThe process
Understand, research, synthesise, imagine, validate, prototype, propose. The wall of sticky notes is how it looked in practice.
The brief and the research
Show the processResearch
A trend-breaking lock that changes the image of a rim lock: interior trends, ergonomic comfort, interaction, personalisation, new materials and cost. The research included an interactive event with users.
No more two hands
A lock serves different purposes through a day, and each one asks something different of the hand.
Opening a latch
A push-type latch is comfortable to use. It makes opening the door possible with one hand.
Five design features
Elite beauty, a built-in handle, the pleasure of opening with push-type buttons, maximum security through a deadbolt knob and an inside key lock, and an interactive indicator.
Three decisions that shaped it
What I chose, and what each choice cost.
Open with one hand
- What we chose
- A push-type latch and a built-in handle, so the door opens with a single hand.
- What it cost
- A new mechanism to test, so I ran endurance and load tests on the receptacle and the latch.
Make privacy a feature
- What we chose
- An inner privacy module that disables the lock from outside, and a personal privacy module for a private space.
- What it cost
- More states for people to understand, so a popping coloured indicator shows the lock status, even from the sofa.
Plastic in place of metal
- What we chose
- Change some parts from metal to plastic, which allows the product cost to drop.
- What it cost
- Strength had to be proven, so the deck compares steel with Delrin on endurance, side load, end load and bang tests.
- What followed
- Three patents were applied for on the project: the material change, the push-type features and a two-point receptacle.
Concept to model
Ideation sketches, the thesis concept Intra, and the working models. Press an image to open it full size.
On the market
Show the processIn the market
The Pentabolt Aries brochure and the lock on shop displays, from the deck.
In the shops
Show the processShop displays
What I took from it
What this taught me about the user
A lock is a small promise you use every day. The best moments were the ones users did not have to think about.
- One-hand opening started from watching how people actually hold a door.
- Privacy and status are about trust, so they became visible and physical.