Ashtray - self initiated  product design

This project began as a personal exploration—an attempt to rethink the ashtray beyond its conventional form. The intent wasn’t to focus on practicality, but instead to explore abstraction and reinterpretation.

After numerous sketches and iterations, I arrived at a form that carries little literal meaning. Yet, in its ambiguity, it suggests the idea of a standing object—one that could be an ashtray. This process reminded me of the value in occasionally stepping back to question the familiar. Such creative detours often open the door to new forms and fresh design languages for the objects that surround us.
The current prototype is made in aluminium and has been left in its raw, natural state. The exploration is on pause for now, but I intend to return to it—with the hope that it might evolve in a direction that feels more intuitive and less abstract.
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© Ajay Shah Design Studio 2025