Tricks to Display the Oil

Short Story on Oil Windows Design of AIO

The oil window of a vaporizer is an important part and often the last thing most companies consider when designing their products. It's like considering which sunglasses to wear before you leave the house.

But with so many manufacturers and brands coming out with a variety of different oil window designs, what exactly are the considerations? In this short article, I will share what I have observed. There can be good motives and bad motives, as in the case of the toothpaste outlet that was enlarged by 1 mm.

There was no oil window in the beginning, cannabis vaporizers derived from nicotine e-cigarettes. So the form was very similar to e-cigarettes, especially disposable products.

For example, one of CCell's initial releases, the TH001, was a disposable product without a window. In addition to the concept of not having an oil window in the beginning, it was also partly for discretion reasons. Some users may not want people around them to find out he's vaping marijuana.

Labeling of Oil Usage

Problems arose as the market supply increased and consumers increasingly used disposable products. Consumers aren't quite sure if they've vaped all of their expensive cannabis oil until they get to the burnt flavor. So they needed a window to see how much they had vaped and if they were almost done. Accordingly, hardware manufacturers started putting holes in the shell, usually still small. Why small holes, partly for discreet reasons, and partly to prevent breaking the oil cup if dropped. Oil windows in this period were mostly found at the bottom of oil cups for 0.3ml disposable products.

Later on, the market started to demand 0.5 grams and 1-gram products, so the battery that the 1cm diameter cylinder could hold was not enough to completely consume the oil in each vape. To avoid consumer complaints about this, a small oil window that could only allow you to see in the upper center of the oil cup appeared. This tricky practice was later avoided with the advent of rechargeable disposable devices.

Visual Identity for Hardware Brands

Companies that prioritize branding will often design the default window shape as part of their visual identity, such as Audi's taillights or the TrackPoint on a ThinkPad.

However, creating a consistent oil window design for all vaporizers can be a difficult task that requires creative input from industrial designers who follow clear product design guidelines. Cilicon should be recognized as one of the brands that put the most effort into this. Their products are distinguished by the hexagonal oil window.

Another brand, Ispire, has also implemented a uniform teardrop-shaped oil window design for its small-volume products.

Window for Displaying Oil Quality

It is easy to tell the quality of oil by color or thickness of a vape product. This is more understandable, as the transparent and large window allows the user to see the color and properties of the oil being filled. 510 atomizers are a typical example of this. Of course, Crystal Clear is the most extreme in this regard, as its brand name, and its vaporizer oil cup are completely transparent. Of course, some players use brown or yellow cups to enhance or weaken the qualities of certain oils.

Visual Identity of the Cannabis Brands

Stiiizy's oil pods and disposable products feature a trapezoidal design, while Cookies uses the letter C as the shape of its oil windows to represent its brand. Those designs will enhance the brand's image and make it easier for consumers to remember the product.

Furthermore: to Cover the Real Capacity

The capacity of the oil cup is not properly indicated in the end product despite being fixed at the time of design (e.g. 0.5 grams, 1 gram, or more). Some brands may ask hardware vendors to reduce or remove the oil window to falsely label the capacity, making it difficult for consumers to recognize.

Last But Not Least:

Nowadays, the shape and design of the oil window from most manufacturers are random. They are considered based on whether they match the industrial design of the hardware and hide any ugliness. Most companies are willing to customize the shape of the oil window to meet their customers' needs.

Share your thoughts on oil window design in the comments section.