I started this project by going out on rainy days and observing people using umbrellas. While doing this I saw many discarded and broken umbrellas . I also saw a number of umbrellas turned inside out while people were walking with them. I realized that it is the wind that ruins so many umbrellas, and that became the focus of my project.

While drawing and thinking of different ideas, I also thought a lot about the price of umbrellas, where they are sold, where they are made, and the users interaction with them. I came to the conclusion that the cheap umbrella is a standard of life that is not going away. People won't pay a high price for an overly designed indestructible carbon fiber frame, and China is not going to stop producing millions and millions of the standard cheap model. But if there was an easy and cheap way of making these umbrellas last much longer, it would greatly reduce the waste created by this ubiquitous design.

During one storm I was watching people walk with their umbrellas past a tree. From my vantage point I could see the leaves in the tree blowing and I could easily see which direction the wind was coming from. The people walking could not see this at all: their view was completely obscured by their umbrellas. I decided that people needed a way to see where the wind was coming from to prevent their umbrellas from being blown inside out.

I cut some small triangular pieces from a broken umbrella I found in the street, and attached them to the ends of an umbrella frame. The flags hang just under the canopy, so they don't draw the water runoff down, and are able to blow freely with the wind. By being able to see where wind is coming from and when it changes direction, the user can continually adjust the umbrella so it is tilted straight into the wind. These added flags would cost very little to produce. They could be sold separately or included on the umbrella. They could be made from the scraps of broken umbrellas, and people could easily make their own. I think the added function would greatly extend the life of an umbrella, and reduce the waste from so many umbrellas being destroyed by the wind.

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