These days, it seems environmental awareness has pervaded nearly all aspects of daily life – from social and political discourse, to clothing racks, grocery aisles and parking lots.  While we’re by no means complaining, we are wondering how to assuage our apocalyptic anxiety while still expressing individuality through material product.  Fortunately, we think we’ve found the answer – one that will satisfy the above, as well as temporarily satiate our craving for season two of American Inventor.

While driving a Prius and re-using your Whole Foods grocery bags may be a step in the right direction, people like art student and fledgling product designer Robert Swinton are taking ecological conscientiousness one step further.  And Swinton, a 23-year-old Cleveland Institute of Art alum, is doing so with the help of every graffito’s best friend.

Just this year Swinton debuted his latest invention – a refillable spray can that merges the effectiveness of airbrush technology with the ease of a spray can.  His reinvented can is much more environmentally-friendly than its predecessor, as it uses disposable paint bags and avoids aerosol.  Intrigued, we contacted Swinton - who won this year’s first prize for industrial design students at the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago - to find out more about the life of a twenty-something inventor.

How did you come up with the idea for your product?
The project was my senior thesis at The Cleveland Institute of Art, for the Industrial Design Department. It’s the result of a study of the problems with aerosol spray-paint cans. I tried to find better solutions for aerosol ergonomics, afterlife, health issues associated with paint fumes, and can-storage systems. The final product incorporates the best solutions for each of the four problem categories. 

Has your approach been more design-oriented or science-oriented?
It definitely started from the standpoint of problem assessment. In order to create a product that has real value for the consumer, the problems associated with using the current product have to be addressed. The spray paint can just seemed like one of those things that has a lot of issues users have to deal with. 

Do you see yourself as a user of the product who just happened to tweak it, or as someone who wanted to reinvent it?
I was looking to create a better alternative for it. I interviewed a lot of street graffiti artists who know infinitely more about spray paint than I do. 

Do you feel like people don’t take you seriously because you’re young?
Three years ago I might have said that, but at that time I didn’t know much about materials, production processes, production costs or marketing. Also, I didn’t have the communication and rendering (drawing and computer-modeling programs) that it takes to sell someone on an idea. Teachers and people in the design industry are starting to take my work seriously. 

What’s been the biggest obstacle along the way to making your idea a reality?
From my point of view right now: money. It costs a lot to get an idea off the ground, in addition to knowing the right people that can get things moving. Getting a patent is one of the first steps, and that can cost $7,000. It’s a lot of money to protect an idea if you aren’t sure it will make it to market, especially as a student.

Has anything ever gone seriously wrong with an experimental model? Spray paint is contained under very high pressure and can be quite toxic…
I did pop a few cans in the garbage with a stick. They were empty so it wasn’t much of a blow-out.  On a prototype of the Epic System I used a bag of Capri Sun and the top exploded off near my face. You just need to use common sense. 

Are you more “Weird Science” or “Style Wars?”
“Weird Science” I suppose. I think a lot of times style is ‘hot,’ but can also be arbitrary and meaningless if it doesn’t serve a real purpose for the user (obviously there’s a line between fashion and product). Style is important, but it can also make things more disposable than products designed from a ‘use’ or ‘problem-assessment’ standpoint. 

Do you want to continue inventing other products, or would you rather make a business of selling this one?
My future is in continuing to design products, but I have received a decent amount of interest in this product from some businesses. I don’t plan on building a business around this product -- it makes more sense at this time for me to sell the patent.

~Greg Greenberg