Design Process
Summary of Design Process including Idea generation, Ideation, 3 Concepts and the Final concept
Idea generating
In order to start the ideation phase, it was important to explore multiple issues and solutions that our co-designer could face in his daily life. One input for this research was the co-designer themselves, since they had come prepared with some issues that they had on their mind already. The other input was researching issues ataxia patients face and already existing solutions which could be used for inspiration.
Our co-designer was very keen on us exploring solutions, which helped him carry his cup of coffee without spilling, from the beginning. For this reason, there was a lot of idea generation done surrounding this specific issue but in addition other issues like trembling during shaving or fine motoric tasks were explored too.
Ideating
Once a certain task and issue was defined the team started ideating to find multiple possible solutions which would help Jack perform the action he struggles with now. In this case it was transporting a mug or glass from one destination to another. Furthermore, Jack struggles with grabbing his mug when it is standing on a table, since his tremors make it hard for him to grab the handle. Therefore, the team focused on finding solutions which would prevent Jack from spilling his drinks and help him grab a mug when it is standing on his desk or side table.
3 Concepts
Once the ideation was finished the ideas were presented to Jack and together it was decided which ideas to iterate on further. The result was three concepts of which two are lids for cups that keep the co-designer from spilling his drink when carrying it from one place to another. The third concept would work as an addition to the lid and includes a coaster which keeps the mug stable when Jack tries to grab it, as well as a small side table which can be attached to his armchair. The side table would have a similar feature as the coaster integrated into it, which would keep the mug from rotating when the co-designer tries to grab it.
1st Concept
The first concept is a lid which uses a conical shaped base which allows it to be placed in mugs and glasses with different diameters. Furthermore, the lid uses grippers which stabilize the lid when exposed to shaking and shocks. These grippers use a clamping mechanism which loosens if the top part gets pressed together and tightens when released.
2nd Concept
This concept works as an addition to the lid and tackles the issue of grabbing the mug when standing on a desk or side table. The main idea is to create a “jacket” for the mugs which can be adjusted to varying sizes and uses either a magnet or thread to connect to the coaster or side table. The connection between the mug and coaster is supposed to prevent unwanted movement of the mug and therefore making it easier for the co-designer to grab it.
3rd Concept
The last concept is another lid which uses a hose clamp mechanism that tightens around the mug to prevent spillage. To tighten and loosen the mechanism the button on top needs to be rotated. When closing the lid, the material will wrap around or expand withing the cup to close it off. This will allow the co-designer to carry his mug or glass without spilling.
Requirements list
Resulting of the context mapping study and meetings with the co-designer, the design team gathered requirements that the product must/should/could fullfil. The requirements were split up according to the MoSCoW prioritization and material, design and functional requirements. These Requirements were then used to choose a final concept.
Final Concept Choice
For choosing the final concept there were two important aspects to consider. One of them was the requirements list which was established after the research phase and adjusted during the ideation phase which stated all the must-, should- and could-haves of the final product. The second aspect to consider was Jack’s opinion. To figure out which concept the co-designer preferred a presentation was made which included drawings of all the concepts, which were then presented and explained to him. After every concept Jack was asked to rank the functionality, style, and future usability of the product. The concept which scored the highest in the end was concept 1, with 4/5 points on the design and 5/5 points for functionality and an assumption of it still being usable after 5+ years. The co-designer's main criticism about the other concepts was that he was not convinced that the mechanisms would work well for him. Furthermore, Jack would like the side table from concept 2, which can be attached to his armchair, to be universal for different armchairs too.
With this feedback the group now had to compare the compare the concepts to the requirements. Since the second concept was more of an addition the feasibility of it would depend on the time available to the group to create a working prototype. Therefore, the first and third concept were compared to the functional requirements. The group decided that the concepts would perform similar for most of the requirements, except for the mechanism being operable with just one hand and it still being usable in the later stages of the co-designer's disability. Using Jack’s feedback, the group decided that the first concept would be the best fit for his situation, with further iteration on design and measurements still needed. Furthermore, the group decided to drop the idea of concept 2 since it would have been too time consuming, and the focus needed to be on creating a functioning lid which would fulfil the set requirements.