Interview with Kirk Mosna, Co-Founder of OHM

LIFESTYLE - INTERVIEW

by Mehmet Kaplan

When it comes to human physiology, it is difficult to create products that all people can use without problems, even if you are Apple. Three industrial designers, who used Apple® Earpods™ in their daily lives, noticed a fall out problem on their earphones when they were on the move. These three designers, the founding partners of the Canadian industrial design firm OHM, have designed SprngClip as a low-cost, clean-looking solution to solve this problem.

The SprngClip grip the earpod in place with very little pressure. It snaps on to the Apple® Earpods™ stem, by this way users could adjust the perfect position. I asked some questions about this solution to the designer of SprngClip, here is the interview with Kirk Mosna, Co-Founder of OHM.

Kirk, you have a long career in industrial design, can you start by telling us about your career and design experience?

As a designer in Canada and choosing early on to pursue the consultant path instead of the corporate path, you find out very quickly that you have to learn a lot of new skills that are not perhaps what you studied at school. This included graphic design, packaging, branding, mechanical design...and of course running a business.

Steve Orzel, Graham Hills and Kirk Mosna - Photo Credit : Isaac Mosna

Could you tell us about OHM Design and your partners? What type of services do you offer?

Steve Orzel, Graham Hills and myself are all graduates of the Industrial design program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. We each specialize in certain aspects of the firm - and we each bring something unique to the table. Services: As mentioned, we have done it all, but we prefer to concentrate on designing consumer products. OHM is strong in developing a product that can stand the test of time; we try to avoid over-designing products that have too much style. We strive to develop good, clean design with restraint; over-styled products tend to date quickly. Many times we hear from clients that the last firm they used designed some slick looking products but they couldn't be molded. We are known in the industry as the go-to firm that will only design something that can be successfully manufactured and our team has done this time after time.

From beginning to now, you made lots of designs. Which one is your favorite? What was its story?

All design projects are basically problem solving and each has its own challenges and rewards. I personally enjoy developing products for OHM where we can develop everything about the product including the branding, packaging, marketing... The Sprng clip was one of these projects where we saw a need and took it to market ourselves.

Sprng Clips are a solution for Apple® Earpods™. How did you decide to design sprng clips? What inspired you?

The main inspiration was actually the fact that an ubiquitous product like the Apple Earpods would not stay in my ears while I commuted to work on my bike. After some research I found out that it wasn't my ears that was the problem, but the idea that one Earpod design was expected to fit everyone's ears - which was obviously not possible. So we decided to make this little problem an OHM project.

OHM - Photo Credit : Jesse Senko

What are the sprng clips features that make Apple® Earpods™different?

Other designs use a silicone boot to fit over the Earpods but since there are many different ear shapes and sizes they would have to offer several sizes. We decided we could use one part that snaps onto the Earpod and slides and adjusts for different ear sizes. We also tried to keep the product as Apple-esque as possible in it's styling, so it did not look foreign when snapped onto the Earpods.

How can our readers buy Sprng Clips? How many different colors do you offer? Do you have international delivery service?

We have an online store where 4 different colors of sprng clips can be purchased: grey, blue, lime and pink. Sprng clips can be purchased at https://www.sprngclip.com In order to keep shipping costs affordable we ship all orders via Canada Post lettermail to almost anywhere in the world. We also have some international resellers listed on the springclip website.

What are your future plans for OHM Design?

We continue to work as consultants and at the same time, we are also developing our own line of Canadian made handbags, briefcases and a system of personal accessories that utilizes a very interesting, humane and sustainable material. More to come soon:)

Thank you Kirk.

For more information, please visit website of OHM