I have always had trouble praying in public places like empty classrooms and parking lots, because if a non-Muslim passes by they get confused. I would like to be able to carry around a pocket sized sign that I could put up next to me so that people couldnt get confused. This would make me and passerbys more comfortable. I am not a designer myself so I am not sure these sketches make sense but I did a quick video with my friend Abdullah to demonstrate how it could work. Comments from the community and professional industrial designers about the usefulness/feasibility of this product would be much appreciated.
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11 Responses
I am in 4th year industrial design program at Ontario College of Art and Design and will be finishing my degree in a month or so. Currently I’m working on a project with the city of toronto that will bridge the gap between the trourists and city.
Being a designer I really admire the fact that there are muslims who are thinking about the community and the challenges we as muslims face everyday. I really think its time to upgrade.
The problem described is very genuine and i’m sure every muslim has faced it at least once. I have faced it quite a few times while taking the subway. On a deeper level the problem has a lot to do with “shattered confidence” and how one can gain that confidence to pray in public and also let others know what is going on at the same time.
I will post a more in depth analysis on monday and some possible solutions to the problem.
Ali Wasti
Industrial Designer
[Reply to this Comment]
Assalamalaikum Ali:
Thank you so much for your comment. Your point about building confidence is extremely well received and I think building a product like this will bridge the communication gap and do exactly that i.e. build confidence. There is a lot of focus in North America about signage and the presence of informative signs helps to promote efficient and safe living. I would love to see your analysis and further solutions to the problem.
Thanks again.
[Reply to this Comment]
Assalaam ‘alaikum guys.
This is a great initiative and I hope it can become a place for inventive Muslims from all over to share thoughts and collaborate to take useful ideas to fruition, insha Allah
The Muslim Prayer in Progress Sign (MPiPS) is a wonderful concept which attempts to solve a long-standing problem that practising Muslims in the West have always faced. Non-Muslims in the West are extremely receptive to visuals and signage so the thinking is fundamentally strong.
A colorful pyramid-shaped object in front of the Muslim would warrant at least some interest on the part of passerbys and could even, in the process, serve to fulfill the obligation of the sutrah which a Muslim is supposed to use whenever praying. Also, the fact that the object can be folded up to fit inside a wallet is makes it very usable.
However, I can’t imagine that a non-Muslim passerby who is unfamiliar with the concept of salaah would move close enough to this mysterious individual to be able to read the message or understand the image. People in the West are well-mannered and quite respectful (even when bothered) and I don’t think they would stand and stare (to see) even if interested in knowing more. Additionally, the Muslim’s first obligation is to focus on his/her prayer so you don’t want the individual to be disturbed by people coming close and/or staring because that could distract the Muslim from his/her ‘primary’ objective. So the signage must be easily viewable from far and the message should be succinct and direct, to give a clear and concise message in one glance.
A friend of mine, who went for Hajj, bought a prayer mat that was so soft that it could fold into a pocket size rectangle. It was also water-proof. How about printing a message on a bright cloth like that or using a smaller size to prop up as a sign (thin foldable stand?) with a web address like http://www.praying4u.com (something more engaging/relevant) which would provide information about the Muslim prayer. Just a thought.
Anyway, that’s my two cents. Hope to be back soon to see the progress!
Jazaakum Allah khair.
Mahmood
Entrepreneur, Tech Enthusiast
[Reply to this Comment]
Critic from my business point of view.
- It is too small to be noticed
- Making it bigger than a wallet size will mean not to buy the product.
- Light and the wind will take it away when praying outside
not a lot of people care as I don’t see muslims praying outside that much unless they are traveling.
- When the profits are less than a dollar you better depend on volume and I dont think you have volume.
- If the product proved successful and people loved it then you will be faced with competition left right and centre. Anyone can make it.
- I will only do it after extensive survey work and I wont give it my priority unless you just want to do this to help your muslim brothers.
[Reply to this Comment]
majid Reply:
7.19.2009
Good points Zeyad. This is exactly what ProductMuslim is all about – rapid conceptualization of products and immediate feedback from the community through which we can assess their viability. Wikislamics in action! It appears that if we wanted this product to work it would have to be bigger, quite colorful, have some unique features and visible.
[Reply to this Comment]
From the video, it looked too small to notice. Just my two cents…
[Reply to this Comment]
Awesome feedback on muslim prayer progress sign. Being an industrial designer this type of feedback is vital because it determines how viable is the product and where it needs restructuring the design so that it becomes possible.
Before entering the sketching phase I did my own survey and asked people on the road “what they thought about prayer indicator” by showing them exactly the same product and here is the synthesis of what I got:
1. An interesting take on the problem but how big is the market. How many muslims pray outside therefore leading to a very small market.
2. The product it self is too small to be noticed therefore needs to be redesigned, meaning bigger than wallet size, which means we leave the original design premise.
3. The product caters to people who are praying standing up not sitting down(in the subway) therefore cutting down the market even more.
4. Giving it a vibrant colour might make a difference but we have to keep in mind that people still run into pylons which are massive when compared to this.
5. Do muslims really need this product to show people that they are praying, since Islam is the fastest growing religion.
The above are a few points that pretty much say what the public has to say and what do they think about the product.
Now lets not get distracted by the comments and lets focus on “How can we make this product work”. Since we are in the age of technology/information revolution and constantly looking for new materials, for instance Sony has developed a new type of screen that bends. Check out the youtube video.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rn10mRyBqAE
Still talking about the materials we already have an example of folding prayer mat that fits in your pocket mentioned by mehmood. This shows that we are moving towards finding new materials and we can hope that we’ll have a material in a few years time that will fit in wallet and at the same time will be
able to educate other about what is happening. I’ll be posting some concept sketches for the product I think it will be in the future.
Ali Wasti
Industrial Designer
[Reply to this Comment]
majid Reply:
7.19.2009
Very interesting thoughts Ali. The questions about the market are absolutely valid. We really have no clue how many people who be interested in purchasing something like this. Another use might be having it as a free give-away from Muslim owned businesses.
[Reply to this Comment]
Salman Reply:
2.28.2010
Hey Ali,
Hope you are well. I was just reading through the thread and I know its been a while since your last post, however I was looking forward to seeing these concept sketches. If you have a few kicking around please do post them.
Salman
[Reply to this Comment]
People will think you’re praying to the blue trianglish thing, or that it is a part of your prayer
[Reply to this Comment]
AbdelRahman Elsayed Morsey Reply:
3.2.2010
This is exactly the same thing I was thinking. I have always avoided praying in front of conspicuous/standing out or living objects (e.g. tree) so that people passing by do not think I’m actually worshiping that object.
I’m think this concept may also be very useful, for example, in an office environment. Take 5 minutes break for salah, leave that sign on your desk.
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