Lily Pointon

University of Nottingham > Engineering > Departments > Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering > PDM Exhibitions > 2025 > MEng students > Lily-Pointon

My product “Refresh” is a simple, low-tech way to make drinks for the homeless in towns and cities with a design that has been refined to suit the financial and practical needs of the market.

Hi, thanks for taking the time to look at my project! I’ve loved every moment of developing Refresh, it has been so fulfilling.

My name is Lily Pointon and I have just finished my fourth and final year of the Product Design and Manufacture course at the University of Nottingham. I’m very excited to be heading down south for my next adventure, and I can’t wait to find somewhere in Kent to continue designing innovative, new products.

I feel that a particular strength of mine is my CAD work; I always enjoy figuring out how to model new and complex forms, and this project particularly challenged that with modeling the textile elements. I also have used a VR software called Gravity Sketch as a modeling tool throughout this project; it has been really helpful to build my product around human forms whilst in development in order to work out proportions and comfortable movement ranges. I hope to be able to use these skills again at some point in my career going forward as well as grow my experience in a range of areas surrounding design and engineering.

This project was inspired by my current involvement in a Soup run team in Nottingham city centre. Getting their input and suggestions throughout this work, helped to keep me on track and design Refresh to suit their needs. I chose this course because I want to help people and improve processes, and, as you can see, it has given me the skills I need to do that. I look forward to seeing where that will take me!

Please feel free to browse my LinkedIn and website linked below, and please get in touch if you have any questions about the design or my experience on the course!

Lily Pointon, MEng Product Design and Manufacture

Digital portfolio

Mobile Drinks Distribution Backpack – Designed for Soup-Runs

Homelessness is a growing issue in the UK, and many soup run groups are ill-equipped to serve those sleeping rough. My product “Refresh” is therefore greatly needed. It is a simple, low-tech way to make drinks for the homeless in towns and cities with a design that has been refined to suit the financial and practical needs of the market.

The product at its core is a twin tank system with a 6.5L capacity that can be distributed from the wearer’s sides. It has an attachable belt that can also be worn separately, allowing the user to carry three or more metal dispensing cups; these distribute roughly one teaspoon of any powder. It also gives the option for a hooked-on teabag/stirrers bin with integrated cup holders. All of the included elements have been chosen with first-hand experience of making drinks on the streets in mind.

It also offers the use of a cup dispenser, designed for an appropriate 8oz paper cup, and a large pocket on the side of the rucksack which can be used to store personal items or extra resources. With a dual-zip design, it can be locked to protect high-value items while out and about.

For this product, I drew inspiration from country and cowboy aesthetics to mirror the simple and nomadic lifestyle of those it serves. Its low-pressure, trigger-operated taps have a similar feel to a cowboy’s pistols in holsters, which helps to tie the design and aesthetic together. The humble colour scheme and overall appearance has been chosen to allow volunteers to serve without drawing attention.