Alexis Flores Industrial Designer
Problem: Ladders are not suitable to be placed on stairs. Solution: A ladder that sets on top of the average staircase.
Research
Expensive
Complex
Simple
Inexpensive
Due to concerns in safety in using ladders I decided to research and found that painting around and above stairs proves to be one of the most common and challenging safety hazards for painters. I searched to find ways different people are solving this problem and also looked at existing products in the market. Benchmarking helped me determine the opportunity of the product.
Target User and Interviews
Has to be easy to use with a simple and unique design that can be placed in my small apartment because I don’t have a lot of storage space or a garage.
Target User
Gender: male and female Age: 21-25 Location: small apartment Occupation: college graduate Income level: $32,000 Hobbies: painting, designing, and jogging
Normally we use an A-frame ladder against the wall or use an extension. It would be awesome if the ladder ‘s height can be adjustable.
Professional Painter
Name: Justin Location: Chicago, Illinois Works at: his dad’s company
The most popular ladder is the Werner stepladder F5200 series. It is made out of fiberglass and folds really easy. It is also very light and sturdy.
Employee
Name: Joseph Location: Chicago, Illinois Works at: Home Depot
Sketches
The sketches focus on generating various of ideas, while they all concentrate with the importance of the stairs.
Sketch Model
The design process continued with model making and getting more specific with dimensions. Also, the wood model helped me test the idea on top of a standard stairway.
User Scenario
Snap Fit Button
Release button to remove pieces
Heavy Duty
Type 1A supports up to 300 lbs.
Light Weight
Easy to carry and portable
Modular Construction Triple-Lock Hinge
3 locks to prevent the ladder from collapsing
Deconstructed
Identical parts make the ladder easier to manufacture
The design of the ladder has the opportunity to be stored two different ways. The standard method or it could be disassembled in order to be stacked if space is an issue.
Rubber Grip
Safety grip will position the ladder on the floor
Constructed
Standard way of putting away ladder
Group Project with Bobby Ricci
Problem: Difficult to breath and low visibility. Solution: Having a respirator attached to the helmet.
Observation and Empathic Research
We started this project with empathic research. This method helped us get an insight of the issues that come from the helmet. The main problems that we observed were; the viewing window of the helmet is too small, temperature raises inside helmet upon use, and the user is still entirely exposed to dangerous chemicals.
Ideation Sketches
Competitive Products
Brand
Sperian
3M
Model
Sperian OS100 PAPR
Speedglass Helmet 9000
Backpack attachment that ventilates air
Face protection with a lightweight air purifying respirator
Respiratory Protection for mold remediation
Conversion kit that adapts to North helmets
$1,816.56
$1,499.99
$773.63
$155.70
Description
Price
We searched for similar helmets with respirators in the market. We discovered that most of these welding helmets are really expensive and may not be affordable to the standard user.
3M
Full Facepiece Respirator 6000 Series
North速
7600 Series
Our Mission Problems
Solutions Ventilation
A fan would be provided to have air circulation and easier breathing
Larger Visor
A larger viewing window would help the user to be aware of his surroundings
Respirator
The respirator would be included inside the helmet to protect against harmful gases
Velcro
Velcro would be used to attach the respirator with the helmet in order to have an affordable welding helmet
Our mission is to develop and execute a combination of ideas in order to produce an innovative, safe, visually appealing, humanized welding helmet. We hope to guide our design to protect against radiation, harmful gases, heat, skin irritation and burn, flying particles, and dirt. Ultimately our goal is to create a product that can be obtained by a multitude of different people and always demonstrates the highest level of protection.
Design Refinement
Final Model Details
Auto-Darkening
Wider lens and reliable vision protection
Ventilation System Diffuses cool air
Respirator
Protects user from breathing chemicals
Fan
New technology to prevent sweltering
Problem: Having comfort and style within the same shoe. Solution: Inquire a target user to gain knowledge of the current trends and comfort of a shoe.
Target User
Name: Nicole Age: 21 Gender: female Location: south side of Chicago Ethnicity: Mexican American Occupation: college student Hobbies: designing, drawing, skateboarding and night life Music : electronica, rock, indie, hip hop and dance Apparel: super skinny jeans, graphic tee and high top shoes Shops: Vans, Emerica, Converse, Forever21, Urban Outfitters, and thrift stores
Mood Board
A combination of an inspiration board and a mood board. There were many elements that inspired me to design this shoe, whether it was from color, existing products, or emotion. It helped me chose the style of the shoe with ease during ideation.
Sketches
Final Design
No Laces
A velcro strap to tighten the shoe
Knitted Fabric
Provides elasticity and warmth
Softer Insole
Soft material and a greater ability to absorb shock
Wider Toe Box
Provides sufficient space and prevents constriction
Problem: PSP is too bulky and gets distracting during game play. Solution: Having a more ergonomic game system for the user and expanding the gaming performance.
Product Redesign
Models
Thank You Alexis Flores flores.alex89@gmail.com