P R O D U C T D E S I G N P O R T F O L I O
A L E X PRODUCT
C A L E R O DESIGNER
D E S I G N
I S
C O N N E C T I N G
Design is all about progress and surprising, making the difference. Always with the aim of improve ourselves, as a society and as a human being. The final goal is always the same, connecting humans, and in order to do so, both technology and psychology play a fundamental role. I am a creative and versatile person, whose devotion is to be challenged with projects that can change the way we live. I find inspiration in our multicultural societies and the simplification of what surround us. Within this portfolio you will find those projects of which I am especially proud of.
E D U C A T I O N 3 years - grad 2018 integrated product design msc 4 years - grad 2014 industrial design engineering
E X P E R I E N C E 6 months - 2017 3 months - 2016 1 year - 2015 6 months - 2014
cultural sensitive design student assistant ulises mĂŠrida graphic and product designer biomechanical institute of valencia intern apertus project intern
S K I L L S adobe photoshop illustrator indesign cad & 3D solidworks rhino 3D autocad keyshot workshop woodwork and painting model building additive additive manufacturing
L A N G U A G E S first language fluent basic basic
spanish english french norwegian
S T R E N G H T S empathy efficiency aesthetics creativity
4
9
14
18
21
DEMENTIA - CONCEPT DESIGN - DESIGN FOR EMOTION
P E O P L E
D E S I G N
I N S T I T U T E
S A R A N G
Individual project carried out during the Advanced Concept Design course, in collaboration with the Japanese company People Design Insitute.
communication and interaction between people with dementia and their informal caregivers - that is, family, or friends.
The company, which is specialized in designing products that improve the quality of life of people, proposed a very simple design brief: to improve the
My proposal consisted of a pair of twin computational jewels that serve as a nexus between the couple when they are separated.
The project was a great challenge for me, since I did not want to incur in designing a product that would limit or stigmatize the end user. It is precisely for this reason why I decided to focus on couples where one of the two members is in the earliest phases of the syndrome. Due to the origin of the company I decided to study the Japanese culture in order to find inspiration for the project. In particular, the technique of repairing objects with gold -kintsukuroi- as well as the legend of the red thread, were some elements retrieved from the analysis which helped me define my end proposal.
Since it was a jewel -an emotional jewel meant to be used everydayaesthetics were fundamental. Inspired by the minimalism of the Zen philosophy, I carried out a form study that concluded with a simple and pure design, where exclusively the red color of the thread stands out.
The purpose of Sarang is to connect both partners at any time without negatively interfering in their day to day. People diagnosed with dementia struggle to keep up with their normal rhythm of life. In the course of this, certain situations often occur making them aware of their ‘new condition’, inducing fear in them. It is precisely at this moment when Sarang appears on scene, serving as an artifitial physical connection between the person with dementia and his or her partner. When caressing the jewel the person will receive an automatic stimulus that will serve as a support to overcome any emotional crisis or identity threat, while notifying at the same time his or her partner. In the moment both people are touching Sarang, jewels will light up slightly, representing this human warmth for both of them. The principles of this project are based on the studies on ‘Design for emotion’ carried out in the last years by Professor Pieter Desmet.
ACTIVATE STIMULI
AUTOMATIC WARNING RESPONSE
RED LED ON
OVERCOME CRISIS RISE AWARENESS CALL IN
DEFENCE - EMBODIMENT - ENCOURAGING SUIT
T N O H Y B R O T E C H
The HybrOtec project was carried out by a team of six design students for the course Advanced Embodiment Design in collaboration with TNO, the largest research organisation of the Netherlands. The objective within this project was to design an adaptable protective suit for defence -including
soldiers and civil forces- operating in Chemical Biological Radioactive Nuclear (CBRN) environments. Under this situation, heat stress implies a burden that affects wearer’s security. Adaptability in the suit (from external ventilation to completely sealed) helps in thermal regulation and reduces the risk of experiencing a heat stroke or any other complication.
The team organized several creative sessions with all the stakeholders involved in the project, including not only TNO and final users but also the Dutch Ministry of Defence. Every idea generated during this phase had to be validated, since the project’s premise, protecting humans from CBRN agents, was particularly delicate. The selected concept involved a ventilator with an adaptive control which creates a negative pressure difference to increase the airflow within the suit. The airflow is guided inside it using several pathways placed on the ribs and the back which are also responsible of maintaining a minimum distance between the suit and the human skin. The airflow passes through those parts of the body that contain the vital organs and tend to overheat and exits through three outlets located in the nape and the sleeves.
1 VENTILATOR CONTINUOUS AIRFLOW
2 PATHWAYS TRANSPORT AIR
3 O-SHAPED ZIPPER ARMS + LEGS
Even if validating the concept was already a challenge for the team, the design of the suit itself came to be especially relevant for the end user. The interviews conducted with soldiers and firefighters showed that the experience of use of current garments is very negative. Furthermore, it also demonstrated that professionals actually care about what they wear. In order to solve this, the team envisioned an encouraging suit that will empower the user under any stressful situation. In total, ten concepts of the suit and five different ventilator cases were tested along with 50 professionals. This resulted in a completely innovative suit, inspired by the avatars of video games and science fiction films.
The design of the ventilator was one of the most important parts of the whole project, as it had to ensure a sufficient intake of air to keep the user’s inner temperature stable while allowing a fast and perfect closure.
Due to time constraints, the team decided to prototype a jacket instead of the complete suit, which was validated with three participants. The results confirmed that the new design improves the efficiency of the suit above 800%. TNO as well as the Ministry of Defense were satisfied with the project and intend to further explore it during the coming years.
ARTHRITIS - JOURNEY MAPPING - USER EXPERIENCE
A P E R T U S L E D G I T
Project carried out during my erasmus in Oslo, Norway, for Apertus, national company specialized in software development. The design brief was simple and it consisted on designing an universal attachment -to the body- of a capacitive sensor developed by the company in
order to measure the evolution of arthritis disease in patients. The software developed by the company was succesful, but its objective was to commercialize it by themselves, for which designing an ergonomic and attractive case was fundamental.
The team met up with several patients and physiotherapists in order to comprehend the activities that the user must perform everyday. The purpose of Ledgit was to facilitate the measuring and analysing of the data derived from these exercises. The insights were fundamental to establish requirements and comprehend the disease itself.
1 ADAPTABLE HEADBAND 2 MOISTURE ABSORBENT
3 NOSE FASTENING 5 ADAPTABLE BRACELET
4 FOREHEAD
HEAD
6 FLEXIBLE STRAP
7 DIFFERENT SIZES
ANKLE & WRIST
8 ULNA BONE
9 FIBULA BONE
ATTACHMENT
10 NO PAIN (WOMEN) 11 METER MECHANISM
12 ANTIMOISTURE
CHEST & BACK
13 MOVE RESTRICTION 14 SECURED BELT / BRACES
These sessions concluded in a mindmap which focused on the desires and needs of the user. Special attention was taken to the limitations of every part of the body where the sensor was meant to be placed. An ergonomic studio supported the decissions taken in this regard.
The team carried out several user tests with the objective of exploring comfortable and functional solutions for the product. In addition, more than 30 mock-ups were built to experiment with solutions and rapidly validate them upon the requirements of both stakeholders, the company and the hospital.
The final concept consisted on a case made of two parts that click into each other and protect the software, and three different straps that can be easily exchanged to cover the different positions were the sensor must be placed. The shape, dimensions and flexibility of the case were fundamental aspects to validate the concept. Since 2015 the product has been used by the physiotherapy department of Diakonhjemmet Sykehus and Apertus expects to market it in the next two years. Apart from this, the product is currently used by the Norwegian Ski Jump Selection during training.
DESIGN CONTEST - FURNITURE DESIGN
C V E D E S L Y N E
Proposal for a national Spanish design contest under the motto ‘Building with wood’. The design challenge of the contest consisted on “Design a furniture line composed of four pieces of furniture for an upper middle class living room using primarily wood for their construction”.
The award ceremony took place on May 7th 2013 in Valladolid, where I was awarded with the Honourable Mention for my modern and feasible proposal.
My vision was to develop a collection that would be minimal, ethereal and fragile, but at the same time dynamic and powerful. In order to do so, all the furniture were designed to be constructed by wood folding. This was translated into a set of furniture that share a minimalistic look, alligned with the principles of the zen philosophy. In order to break with the constructive simplicity of each furniture, their profiles have a certain degree asymmetry that brings movement to the proposal.
The four piece of furniture are made of beech wood. The bending angle and sheet thickness of the panel facilitates and effective production and a long life expectancy.
FASHION DESIGN - GRAPHIC DESIGN - SCENOGRAPHY
U L I S E S
M É R I D A
A U T U M N
W I N T E R
M A D R I D
E S
2 0 1 6 / 2 0 1 7
M O D A
During winter 2015, I’ve collaborated with the Spanish fashion designer Ulises Mérida for its Autumn/Winter 2016-2017 collection. During this period, I was in charge of the development of his complete graphic campaign and accesories design for the show.
C A M P A I G N
Since then, I have collaborated with Ulises Mérida in several occasions, designing invitations for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid, marketing campaings, scenography and management of brand’s social networks.
The collection represented the return to the roots of the designer, Castilla la Mancha, and therefore the elements used in the fashion show were designed to connect with the popular culture of the region. Concretely, I was in charge of designing the shoes, made in collaboration with the Spanish brand Miss GarcĂa, the bags and the embroidery.
For the design of the embroidery I was inspired by the traditional tapestries of Toledo, Ulises’ hometown, and imitated their basic patterns applying contemporary fabrics and materials, resulting into a classic but breaking ornament, which fits perfectly the personality of the designer.
In January 2016, I designed the presentation poster of the party ‘Madrid es moda’ (Madrid is fashion) held to celebrate the beginning of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid. The poster was used on billboards, street lights and even cinemas, including the Cines Callao display in the center of the Spanish capital. The poster also appeared in several digital media such as Vogue, Vanity Fair or the EFE Agency, and was shared in every social media.
T H A N K
Y O U
alejandrocalerogonz@gmail.com