It’s been a month already since I updated my blog. Times goes by fast. Still, a lot has happened till then.
User test final video
Just after my last blog post I edited the user test observations. I categorized and structured all the footage. Below you can see then final video. Note though, the video is 20 minutes long of people fiddling with weird shapes as a remote. Also, it’s in Dutch.
This footage was a great foundation for my object design. I based a lot of decisions on this material. Also, editing takes way to much time.
The remote, form, materials and features
At the mock exam the main comment was that have I to improve my artistic standard. On a practical level that meant designing the object more in advance. I really did my best to achieve this since then. So I have been sketching, drawing, touching, building, shaping and making aesthetic choices to get a coherent object.
Sketching wit the aid of materials and forms. Notice the ping-pong paddle for handle inspiration.
I started with defining the gestures and haptic feedback in the remote itself, because this is the most important part. I went through the video again and again; how the test persons hold the objects, how they interacted with it. I made a quick sketch how the object is hold in different ways. I focused myself on the cylinder shaped object, because this was the most interesting object by far in the user tests.
different holding positions that are used through the observation video.
Next to defining the gestures, I also went looking for materials, materials I could use as a base for the remote. I’ve went to a fabrication lab (better known as a FabLab) to find out my options how to build the remote. There they had a variation of materials I could use. There I got to know that I could use a form of rubber, to make the object squeezable. I have to make a mold out of plaster, where I could poor the rubber in. According to the worker there, this is to best way to do this.
a different gesture for each function. Ab bit hard to see, but this is a good basis for the object interactions.
You can see in the sketches that the object design is really basic, here it’s still a neutral cylinder form. I did this because I want to design the form (and choose the materials) in the next step. I want to incite the user the particular gestures, almost that the object speaks for itself, by designing the form and the right material to support this. Think for example about a handle, soft area that you want to squeeze, a proper back and front and so forth. Although I have a great interest in this subject, I’m not an expert in this area. That’s why I asked some feedback from experts in this field. I’ve went to a friend of mine, who had a history in industrial design and he has more experience in object design than me. He and I made some sketches, some extremes how the device could look like.
Extreme object sketches, some cylinder-like alternatives to look at other possibilities.
During several iterations (by designing, making, evaluating and scrapping some results) the overall conclusion during this process is that I want to keep the shape as simple as possible. I want to avoid a Homer car, with a kinds of crazy shapes and features. By using simple curves I want to hold on to an aesthetic design. During some sketches with the industrial designer I came up with a form which i was satisfied with. I used the Anthropometric database of TU Delft to base some of the sizes on. I didn’t went to far with this, because it’s not my specialty. Below you can find my technical drawing.
My friend made the top one, i made the technical sketch of the final design, a bit hard to see.
Most important was that it fits in your hand nicely, and it had proper separation of functions. After this, I made a 3D shape for the printer at the FabLab.
final 3D model for the 3D printer…
…and the result. Here it is still drying.
This model I can use for making the mold. The final object is going to be of rubber, with a solid core (where I will put the haptic mechanics in). With a mold I can make multiple objects, so I could change some small features for each one. Making the prototypes will be done next week. I will get some help of an interaction design student, who has some more experience in making objects out of a mold (he did an exchange at the Fine Arts department). He will help me on Monday with the first one.
final user test
The goal is to be finished with the remote next week. After that, I hope to do an observation test soon, to evaluate my design and different features for one final time. Then I will change some small aspects of the remote to make a solid final prototype.
promotion video
My final product (next to a remote) is going to be a promotion video. in this video I explain the functions of the remote. This week I also set up a scenario of the movie. I have to translate this in a script, and then into a simple storyboard. I hope to start with filming before the end of the month. So I have to put some effort to make a good promotional video.
Usability Lab
Next to my project I took up a small side project. There is an usability lab on our floor meant for students. Unfortunately, the lab is in a bad shape. There is no proper equipment and the furniture & decoration is kind of crap. It is a bit of a shame, because nobody uses the lab because of this. So I decided to improve the test lab, so I can use it too for my final video too. I got a small budget from the one responsible to buy some stuff. Also, a guy of the IT department is taking care of the equipment, like camera’s, computers and capturing software. The walls have already been painted, I only have to put up some posters and decoration.
To conclude this post, there is still a lot to do for my project. It’s gonna be a loooong and though summer.
