Schnap was created in order to make an accessible sleeping environment for people who have to stay overnight or take a quick nap at the office or school. The idea came up while observing a friend of mine who seem exhausted and told me that she didn't sleep for 2 days because she stayed overnight at school to do her school projects. It is pretty common in design schools to stay overnight to work on stuffs.

Because it's 'a nap in a snap!' Schnap derives from the idea of a school nap, and I find the word "Schnap" is pretty catchy. It also implies that my product is practical, simple, and user friendly.

- Aqil Raharjo

The inspiration itself came from most of the design students from a facebook group that particularly is made to share funny pictures of sleeping people in my university, it's called 'OCAD Sleeping Beauties.' As I said before, design students often stay overnight to work on their projects and I find the empty space below the desk is potential for people to sleep since it is quite.

- Aqil Raharjo

It was a five-week long school assignment, however it took one week to create the product and the packaging (from idea to final product). Initially, I had a lot of different ideas in mind but I decided to go with this idea one week before the project is due so I had to remake everything.

- Aqil Raharjo

I used my creative thinking, strategies and crafting skills and applied that to the Schnap by using items in a new and creative way that they had not been used before. I also use the technology of laser cutting for my product.

- Aqil Raharjo

Something that kickstarted this idea was when I read an article about how naps can improve productivity. However, the problem in our school is that there's no comfortable medium to sleep on. The Schnap is a 'nap on the go' tool that can be utilized in many different ways. Since I'm a student, it was developed with the idea of students pulling an all nighter at school to finish homework. Although it was inspired by students, it is a product that can be applied almost anywhere.

- Aqil Raharjo

I did have a few issues while creating the Schnap, one if the biggest ones was the time I had to make it in. It was initially a 5 week project, however I changed my idea at the very last week before the project is due. I also had a few issues with the packaging and the overall design because I really want to make them user friendly and practical yet aesthetically pleasing.

- Aqil Raharjo

There were a few refinements to the core product along the way but I managed to apply my skills and produce something that fit the vision I had laid out. There will still be some refinements and tweaks as we are developing the product to be marketable and available to the public; considering aspects of its design, safety, durability, as well as versatility.

- Aqil Raharjo

About Aqil Raharjo

Aqil Raharjo is a 19 year old international student from Indonesia. He arrived in Toronto two years ago, and he's glad because it was the best decision he has ever made. As a second year graphic design student at OCAD University, he has a high interest in branding, package design, editorial, and layout design and is currently expanding his skills in motion graphics and 3D animation. He received a scholarship from OCAD University last year and was selected based on the grades of the graphic design students. You can find more of his works on his Behance profile or website.