Towards a Better Mask – 1

An internal project under Rattl has been to try create a better mask for the (Covid) times.

While it is possible we fail to actually create an ideal one, the exercise so far has been a learning one.

Some basic criteria considered:

• protection against the virus (> handkerchiefs and cloth masks, at least)
• affordability (pointless if a solution for a global problem is not affordable by everyone)
• breathable (one reason a lot of people wear it on their chins, etc., is because many masks aren’t exactly easy to breathe in for more than a few minutes)
• address the gaps on the sides of the nose that are not adequately covered by masks without the nose wire/pin

Good to have features:

• transparent (at least around the mouth), to enable quality interactions
• good circulation (ideally explicit unidirectional channels for inhaling and exhaling

Will share any findings or updates as and when I get to work on it.

To start with, these were some initial sketches. Faces 3 & 5 were a quick rough digital trace from an image.

Some advantages of a full-face mask are:

• less strain of elastic bands on the ears
• an ignored aspect – the relatively more ‘breathing room’ inside the mask, while being better shielded

Next post Towards a Better Mask – 2