Following is a teaser video to showcase the product being presented.
This poster highlights the process taken to produce the final design.
Below is a brand poster showcasing the models on which the product was based as well as how it utilizes the brand styling.
The following are 2 technical posters indicating the function and usability.
Lastly are 2 engineering sketches depicting all the components and how they assemble.
Project Reflection
Reflecting back, I personally found this project very interesting as well as challenging. The design aspect itself and all the complicated features accompanied as always were very fascinating and intriguing as it provided me with the ability to learn new tricks and tips as well as improve on my design ability.
The challenging prospect was the user input as it was my first project solely based on user considerations, compared to my other projects that had relatively limited input. My users were very understanding during the design process, although the trouble came when either describing processes that, to me automatically formed and worked in my head, now required me to put pen to paper and visually explain all the necessary steps. Another element was that no personal input was given on the design, only solely on the mechanical forefront. This was due to me placing focus on the mechanical development, where the user’s main concern was aesthetics, function and ergonomics.
Their initial input helped me to gain a perspective on what appliances they would prefer and what tools they had. All this information aided my process in what tools to design around, from which they could select a product to move forward with.
The secondary input aided in narrowing down ideas, as I personally always spend quite some time analyzing each idea before moving on. This thus sped up the process extremely.
The users came through tremendously in the 3rd input phase, by pointing out features that I would not have noticed until the final assembly as I was too focused on my proof of concept, to show that the project had the ability to function. These inputs guided my final phase. It allowed me to explore all the possible angles as well as step back and evaluate what the main concerns were and how to solve it the best way possible. They also provided great feedback in terms of the ergonomics and brand styling. It was challenging however as it had the ability to be quite diverse options and solutions. This then rested on me to make the final input on how to approach the design.
Although my design wasn’t intended to please all 3 users, as that was deemed an impossible task to achieve, in the end it was found appealing and interesting by all 3.
Overall I think designing for users, although difficult due to not solely designing on your own merit and preferences, is quite eye opening. It provided me with a different perspective and background to consider as well as aid in things that were not even considered when designing. The only main downfall was time constraint. The users were either delayed in their responses, were too busy for one on one consults or limited my time personally as their free time provided me with a very short time frame to complete the required models or sketches.
