I decided to focus on Bradley due to his more intensive interview. Before meeting both clients, I had to come up with some questions to propel the interview process forward. I had questions prepared on asking about how MS affects their daily life or if they have given up any hobbies due to MS. Although I had thoroughly prepared, I did not get the chance to ask them questions due to the number of people that also wanted to interview them. I still did get valuable information attending the interview and decided to choose Bradley because his history with falling in the shower was something I wanted to tackle.
💡 What would happen if I decided to help Addie with her car issue? Would it have made a difference if I had asked my questions?
This is a drawing I made of my idea to help Bradley. I drew in blue pen, my group mates were in different colour.
The first step in starting a project is to come up with ideas. Each group member had their own idea for Bradley, and I decided to propose a shower vest that can hold him up while he showers. This idea was sparked when Bradley said that he struggles with showering due to his fear of falling. I was thinking about options such as a shower chair, but that felt limiting so I thought of a harness that could hold him so that the user can walk around. This will give them motion and allow them to feel free rather than constrained. As this was a rough design, it might have been better to add information such as spring type/logistics.
Skills
This is the shower vest that is designed to hold up the user. It is encapsulated in a box that simulates a shower.
This is the top view of the prototype where the vest is able to slide back and forth along the railings.
Through the first iteration of the prototype, I learned that the rope would easily get tangled if the user turned. It would also be beneficial to have a system that brings the user up, such as an elastic rope or bungee cord. The vest could also be better suited to have an ergonomic buckle so that users can get in and out of the vest easily.
💬 Lessons Learned 💬
🚀 Make the vest ergonomically friendly
🚀 Consider points of contact and where the rope is attached
First iteration of an ergonomic buckle that didn’t bend properly
Making notes and feedback for my group to finalize the buckle design
This is the final printed iteration of the buckle
The second focus for prototyping was working on the buckle. This is because in the previous meeting, it was advised to do something more ergonomic for the user and an ergonomic buckle would be the perfect solution to ensure that the vest was easy to wear. As a result, there were 4 iterations of the buckles where each time the prototype had to be tested. As a team, we learned about the flexibility of plastics and how we can engineer the shape of the design to be more flexible. As a result, we found the perfect balance between flexibility and stability creating the perfect buckle.