Industrial Design: The Design and Presentation
Car Seat Cushion
Meant to relieve pressure on joints and pressure points. Targeted towards people who suffer from Fibromyaliga.
Presentation Board~ At MIAD
The New Seat CushionFoam core
30 x 20 inches at 170 DPI Exhibition Text:Using a website known as photopea which is a free online photoshop, I added my pictures and created a presentation that I will be presenting to a panel of world class industrial designers at MIAD college in Milwaukee, WI. This piece required a lot of research as well as creativity to try and figure out how to improve on aspects that others have already used, as well as try to identify new aspects made only by me to improve and go beyond any other models. My biggest challenge was making a model that could fit every situation.
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P.O.V.
While thinking with an idea for my design, I got the chance to meet a 39 year old mother of 1 who has just beat cancer, has fibromyalgia, and a total commute of 2 hours everyday just to get to and from work. She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 6 years ago and due to this, she is in almost constant pain all day, everyday. Her daily commute adds a lot of pressure on her body, and in the past years has been getting harder and harder to handle on a daily basis. She drives 1 hour every morning. Is busy running around her school for 7-8 hours, and then has another 1 hour commute back home. Even after all of this, her day still isn't over. She gets home, relaxes for a bit to ease the pain, and then an hour later she is standing running around the kitchen trying to cook fresh daily. By the time she gets ready to sleep, her body is very achy and sore. I was amazed to fined out that her biggest problem from her daily life style was how much pain an stress her body is put through on a daily basis. She seems to handle it so well that I can't tell unless it's a really bad day. I think it would make a huge difference if I can design something that would change the pressure her body goes through on her daily commute. Potentially something that makes it feel like zero gravity, or maybe something that evenly distributes the pressure so that the long commutes can be more tolerable.
Chart: See, Think, Hear, Feel
I See Her:
-in daily pain -having to take medicine -using ice packs -constantly adjusting seat -needing help from others to carry/lift objects -walking differently based on how much pain she is in |
I Think:
-a new seat position could lead to less body pressure/stress -some sort of gel pad or foam can help distribute pressure to other areas -so that one specific area isn't as heavily affected |
I Hear Her:
-complain -asking for help -looking for new medicine/remedies to ease the pain -the pain in her footsteps, voice, and even body language/posture -looking for a better chair/seat cushion |
I Feel:
-helpless -sorry for her -like I need to make this for her |
Mind Map
Planning Sketches:
To the right I have 6 different that I was originally deciding between. I ended up making a hybrid of all. I liked different key aspects and after talking with my client, we narrowed the list of wants down to find the ideal seat cushion. It took me a long time before consulting with them on how thick and what dimensions to make the cushion. I wasn't sure if ultra thin or super thick would be better. Planning was harder while doing it alone. Consulting with my client gave me a lot of input and made it easier on me.
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Inspirations:
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My main inspiration was just the simple strive to make my mom's day a little easier. Seeing her struggle and in pain daily not only affects her daily routines, but it also hurts me. I don't necessarily get physically hurt, but I do get emotionally hurt. Having to watch my mom inconstant pain hurts me, and the idea that I can possibly design something to make her daily commute better and easier is what really inspired me to push the limits and find what makes the best compromises between comfort, aesthetics, portability, weight, price, and multiple uses.
Design wise, I got my inspiration from massage chairs, other seating pads, the "Purple" seat cushion, and other gel pain relief cushions. Even the zero gravity sitting position. |
Compare and Contrast Critique:
Mine:
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Compare:
Contrast:
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Inspirations:
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What is Fibromyalgia:
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Fibromyalgia is a disorder which causes widespread muscuoskeletal pain, as well as fatigue, sleep, memory, and even mood issues. The basis of fibromyalgia is over active nerves sending multiple signals to your brain that you are in pain. Any amount of pressure in certain areas can make it feel like you have the weight of the world on one section of your body.
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Meeting one/one and in group:
In Group:
- Give your reason. Have empathy in your design and product. Have your point of view.
- Get opinions of others to understand different view points.
- How does your product include some sort of way to educate other individuals so that they understand the value of this device and why it was created.
- You make this new product for the person, now how can you help the world understand the reason for this product in this persons life.
- Whats your hook? Connect it to every day lives.
- Basically tell a hero's journey.
- Make a story board to show it'll be used and understand the person's daily process while using it.
- Get opinions of others to understand different view points.
- How does your product include some sort of way to educate other individuals so that they understand the value of this device and why it was created.
- You make this new product for the person, now how can you help the world understand the reason for this product in this persons life.
- Whats your hook? Connect it to every day lives.
- Basically tell a hero's journey.
- Make a story board to show it'll be used and understand the person's daily process while using it.
One/one
- Refer to current things already in market
- Keep track of advantages/disadvantage
- Have list of important/unimportant
- Find priorities in the design concept
- Investigate whats out there in the world
- How to transport it/ move with it
- Does it have a cover, a case, nothing, etc?
- How maintainable and easy is it to take care of the product?
- Keep track of advantages/disadvantage
- Have list of important/unimportant
- Find priorities in the design concept
- Investigate whats out there in the world
- How to transport it/ move with it
- Does it have a cover, a case, nothing, etc?
- How maintainable and easy is it to take care of the product?
Reflection:
Overall, I feel like this was one of my personal best and most achieving projects yet. I learned so much about the journey product designers must go through, and it has even open my eyes to a potential future career in the industrial engineering and design field. I loved that my work could potentially help millions
What I Liked: I loved being able to work on a project that was for more than just me. This project started off as a way for me to help my mom, and eventually developed into more. With continuous work and determination, I could potentially patent this new device and spread it worldwide to help people in similar situations as my mom. This piece made me feel like I could make a genuine difference in the life of others, and I loved that. I wish I could do everything with those feelings and emotions. Even when I had to backtrack, it was still a step forward towards the final prototype.
Things I wish I could Change: When I started this project, I already had an idea of how everything was going to go and how it would all be nearly perfect with minor tweaks. But after going through the project, I wish I could go back and tell myself to start off with a clean canvas, ask what the buyer wants and needs, and then come up with as many different ideas as possible no matter how dumb it may seem in the moment. I don't think I can put in words how many inspirations I got from mistakes along the way and I think I could've had so so many more if I would have just made dozens of rough ideas and use different parts of my original sketches to make better hybrids, and then do the same with those hybrids and just continued over and over until I finally got to what met the most requirements in the best ways possible.
Challenges: My biggest challenge was making a model that could fit every situation. After hours and hours I decided that I would eventually make different models that are better equipped for different situations, and an universal model to fit most common daily needs.
What I Liked: I loved being able to work on a project that was for more than just me. This project started off as a way for me to help my mom, and eventually developed into more. With continuous work and determination, I could potentially patent this new device and spread it worldwide to help people in similar situations as my mom. This piece made me feel like I could make a genuine difference in the life of others, and I loved that. I wish I could do everything with those feelings and emotions. Even when I had to backtrack, it was still a step forward towards the final prototype.
Things I wish I could Change: When I started this project, I already had an idea of how everything was going to go and how it would all be nearly perfect with minor tweaks. But after going through the project, I wish I could go back and tell myself to start off with a clean canvas, ask what the buyer wants and needs, and then come up with as many different ideas as possible no matter how dumb it may seem in the moment. I don't think I can put in words how many inspirations I got from mistakes along the way and I think I could've had so so many more if I would have just made dozens of rough ideas and use different parts of my original sketches to make better hybrids, and then do the same with those hybrids and just continued over and over until I finally got to what met the most requirements in the best ways possible.
Challenges: My biggest challenge was making a model that could fit every situation. After hours and hours I decided that I would eventually make different models that are better equipped for different situations, and an universal model to fit most common daily needs.
Bibliography:
Seat inspirations:
https://myslumberyard.com/accessory-reviews/purple-seat-cushion-review/
https://gofortem.com/product/seat-cushion/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/homedics-shiatsu-massage-pillow-715589
https://www.amazon.com/Hemorrhoid-Protector-Prostate-Pregnancy-Fibromyalgia/dp/B07HB24DD1
https://myslumberyard.com/accessory-reviews/purple-seat-cushion-review/
https://gofortem.com/product/seat-cushion/
https://www.verywellhealth.com/homedics-shiatsu-massage-pillow-715589
https://www.amazon.com/Hemorrhoid-Protector-Prostate-Pregnancy-Fibromyalgia/dp/B07HB24DD1
ACT Response Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause and effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
One direct effect I saw from my inspiration is that I really like organic free flowing lines. This is seen all over nature and in few older art movements. I also got the idea of going through stages from the picture I found online.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding your topic?
The author is very much into the movement. His word choice, and the way I read it make me come to the conclusion that this is a movement he is comfortable and interested in.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while researching inspiration?
While researching, I realized that many people would rather have something that really works for them even if it is kind of an eye sore. I never realized how hard it was for people with fibromyalgia to complete daily activities without being in pain.
What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
The central idea I had while researching mainly revolved around the creating a product that i hope can one day help my mom as well as many others around the world.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
while researching, I had to make inferences on what aspects and design qualities would be most important to my client.
One direct effect I saw from my inspiration is that I really like organic free flowing lines. This is seen all over nature and in few older art movements. I also got the idea of going through stages from the picture I found online.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding your topic?
The author is very much into the movement. His word choice, and the way I read it make me come to the conclusion that this is a movement he is comfortable and interested in.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while researching inspiration?
While researching, I realized that many people would rather have something that really works for them even if it is kind of an eye sore. I never realized how hard it was for people with fibromyalgia to complete daily activities without being in pain.
What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
The central idea I had while researching mainly revolved around the creating a product that i hope can one day help my mom as well as many others around the world.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
while researching, I had to make inferences on what aspects and design qualities would be most important to my client.