Portfolio Andrés Felipe Vásquez Franco
Product Design / UX Design / Interaction
Hello! My name is Andrés Felipe
For me, Design is... A problem-solving activity, supported by different areas of knowledge, and the understanding of the people and their contexts to help them reach a specific goal.
“The only important thing about design is how it relates to people” Victor Papanek.
Why is Design important to me?
Product Designer / UX Designer I am from Bogota, Colombia I studied Industrial Design I live in Milan, Italy
Because human being’s wellness is based on the things that surround us, things designed by someone. We take for granted many things in our life that give us stability (Ex: Opening the tap of the bathroom and having water immediately), but when we do not have them, or when they do not work is when we appreciate the time spent by other people trying to make our lives better. Thanks to that, nowadays people even find design as a tool to face broader subjects we never imagined to solve through design, such as political, legal, philosophical, emotional, etc...
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Content
Assembly
Projects
Pg. 8
Product Design Case of study Furniture
Vitar
NW App
Pg. 4
Product Design
UX Design
Case of study Health / Brain
Case of study Mobile App / User Experience
Synthia
Pg. 12
Styckx
Envisioning Design
Interaction / Product Design
Case of study Health / Brain / Envisioning
Case of study Innovation / Interaction
Pg. 16
Pg. 20
Vitar
“Vitality when walking”
Is a product that aims to prevent falls when patients with Parkinson’s Disease (early-stage) go for a walk, by stimulating the muscle memory generated by the continuous movement.
Case of study Health / Brain
Date November 2016 Members Andrés Felipe Vásquez Franco Type of Project Final undergraduate project Inspirations and goals Facilitate the daily life of a friend with Parkinson’s Disease, to be able to propose a solution that could help more patients with this condition
MY ROLE Research, insights, product concept, design concept, sketching, definition of alternatives, prototyping, user testing, final proposal.
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Approach To the situation
Situation
What happens if Antonio wants to walk? Incorrect stride
Correct stride
Say hi to Antonio Polo!! A
B
C
A
B
When people like Antonio walk (see incorrect walk image), they do not lift their legs, they usually drag their legs to go from point A to point B. This is the main reason why they are very vulnerable to obstacles they find when walking, causing the fallings.
Problem
During the research process When designers tackle health problems, they must be very careful and respectful of the processes and methodologies they use to get the information directly from the patients.
Context
He is 67 years old and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 58. In stage III of the disease, he already suffers from freezing muscles, uncontrollable impulses and forgetting actions.
Take aways
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease affect patients’ daily activities. “Walking” is one of those activities and the most recommended exercise for them but it is very risky due to the forgetting of the movements, the reason that causes the fallings.
It is very important to make previous research about the situation to be prepared when talking to doctors, specialists, patients, and people close to patients. Parkinson’s disease patients improve significantly their motor skills when they are doing activities that force them to generate continuous movements (Examples: The movement of the legs when riding a bicycle, or the movement of the jaw when chewing gum).
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Design process
Sketches and decisions
It was very important to find a way to help patients to generate the necessary strength for them to lift their own legs.
Inspiration TRX (Total Body Resistance Excercise) is a suspension training done by a simple system of straps.
Taking decisions
Aiming into a preventive solution for patients with Parkinson’s Disease for them to be able to slow down the symptoms, the outcome was decided to be an assistant for the activity of walking. 6
The outcome
Features and use
1. Handles Allow the generation of the strength from the hand to lift the leg. Easy to grip and featured with light and sound stimulus.
2. Straps The ones that transfer the strength from the handles to the stirrups. They can be adjusted at different heights thanks to the strap pins.
How to use it?
1. Sit on a tall and stiff place
2. Adjust the stirrups to the shoes 3. Knee pads Their purpose is to maintain the verticality of the straps and their position according to the movement of the legs.
3. Adjust the knee pads to your knees
4. Stirrups They are the output of the system where all the energy concentrates to lift the leg. They are adjustable to different shoe sizes thanks to the elastics and the rotational axis system. 3
4. Grip the handles and start walking! 7
Assembly Is a project developed with the help of a small company responsible for the production of wooden chairs structures. We intended to rethink the productive chain of the company, to make the company more competitive in a very saturated market.
“Create structures without difficulties and slow union processes”
Case of study Furniture
Date June 2014 Members Andrés Felipe Vásquez Franco Type of Project Design for productive chains Inspirations and goals Inspired by the architectural unions made by Shigeru Ban, I design a union piece to facilitate the process of producing chairs in a carpentry and upholstery
MY ROLE Research, insights, product concept, design concept, sketching, definition of alternatives, prototyping, testing, business model proposal, final proposal.
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Approach To the situation
Situation
Why the business is not going well?
Context
“El triángulo” furniture This is one of the many companies that want to succeed in the furniture industry in Bogota, Colombia. In fact, these kinds of companies are well known for having good prices but they are not so competitive due to their products’ quality. To assemble a single structure of a chair, they take on average 3 hours. The process is all made by hand, joining the parts with nails, screws, and glue. They are putting too much effort into the joins but still do not have good results in terms of quality/time.
Problem
“El Triángulo” is not a competitive company in its cluster, they are losing clients because they are not offering to the market the best prices or innovative products. They are investing too much time on assembling instead of doing what they are good at; Shaping wood.
Take aways
During the research process When making a diagnosis in a company, the designer must arrive without any prejudice since it is a professional whose purpose is to understand "What" they are doing in the company and "Why" they are doing it. Each situation is different, so the designer must be very attentive to the different links that take part in the productive chain to know how these affect the processes and the final product. To succeed in any business from any kind of industry, people need to have in mind that they must be competitive at any moment. That means that taking hard and innovative decisions is part of running the business.
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The triangulo’s productive chain
Design process
Sketches and decisions
When evaluating the chain we noticed many problems. The main one was something they could change from the inside.
Receiving the raw material
Wood transformation
Chairs assembling Inspiration Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has found the way to join the foundations of his buildings by assembling the columns.
Upholstered
Taking decisions
We should take a very innovative idea to make it the center of the whole new business model. This idea must be focused on improving just one part of the productive chain; The assembling process of the chairs.
Sales
Transportation: Chairs delivery 10
The outcome
Features and use
1. Exit The one that fits in the female entrance of the wooden parts.
How to use it?
1. Fit the support parts into the Assembly
2. Fit the legs of the chair into the Assembly
2. Fitting space The ones that let the entrance of the wooden parts to get them steady. 3
3. Fit the back and enjoy the chair! 11
Synthia
“Time to remember”
Is a second skin. A product that helps elder people in the year 2035 to remember, by the sense of touch, the most emotional memories they have lost with the pass of the years.
Case of study Health / Brain / Envisioning
Date October 2019 Members Andrés Felipe Vásquez Franco / Saikaew Pornpawee / Cheng-Ting Chen / Gan Yang Type of Project Envisioning workshop Inspirations and goals Help elders from the future, who will present brain aging symptoms, to generate new neuronal connections of their memories in order to strengthen their brain skills
MY ROLE Research, insights, product concept, design concept, sketching, definition of alternatives, final proposal.
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Approach
Situation
Why we lose our most precious memories?
To the situation
Context
Gustavo is no longer the person he used to be He lives in the year 2035. Due to his age (75 years old), he is suffering from; worse recalling, difficulties in learning new stuff, slower reactions, episodic memory loss, and poor multitasking.
...
Healthy brain
Funny guy Love sports
During the research process When facing an envisioning project, it is very important to understand first the current situations around the topic to tackle.
Deficient brain
Father Grandfather
Take aways
Father
Gustavo Rossi
Grandfather Funny guy
Gustavo Rossi
Love sports
Neuroplasticity is the ability of our brain, through neurons, to generate extra connections of the same memory. These, work as a backup for remembering. With time, the neurons miss the information they transmit, and there it appears the memory loss.
Problem
In the future, people tend to live longer and be older. Therefore, elder people are going to present more problems due to aging, especially brain deficiencies. These kinds of problems won’t have any cure yet because the brain still will not be fully understood.
People who exercise their brain during their youth, tend to have healthier brains during their elderly: The more connections you have in your brain from your experiences and knowledge, the less you can lose your memories. In our lives, we use few senses to store memories. Nowadays, it is very important to think about different ways to save experiences through all our senses (Example: Remembering someone by his/her smell).
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Design process
Sketches and decisions
Wearable and light technology were very important to make the experience of helping to recall a more natural one.
Inspiration The neurons and how they communicate with each other were the perfect inspiration to design the style of the product.
Taking decisions
When designing, we tried to create a whole new experience of remembering by touch. That is why our device is located in the hand, to encourage elders to touch and gesticulate to recall their memory connections. 14
The outcome
How to use it?
Features and use
Hand Device
Thin layer projection
3:01 PM
What can’t be seen? The projection of the sensory receptors
Screen (Nucleus)
Body Sensory receptor
Neck Device
How to put it? Place it between your thumb and your index finger What can you see? The body of the device
Hand device
3
What can’t be seen? - Brain impulses translated into sensations. - Brain connections to remember better.
How it works? The sensors displayed in the hand send the information to the neck device 15
NW App I Shop A New World is a chain store around New Zealand that wants to transform its way of selling groceries to people. They found in the daily technology a value proposal for a new market in the country, by developing an app that has to be updated and enhanced for their clients.
“Shop wherever and whenever you want”
Case of study Mobile App / User Experience
Date August 2018 Members Andrés Felipe Vásquez Franco Type of Project UX Design - Job application exercise Inspirations and goals Redesign the navigation flow of “I Shop A New World App” to improve the user experience of it, while people purchase groceries from their houses
MY ROLE Research, insights, product concept, design concept, wireframes, screenflow, prototyping, testing, user research, mockups.
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Approach To the situation
Situation
Who is going to buy my groceries?
During the research process The designer needs to study very well the behaviors and actions developed in the experience of buying the groceries in the supermarket to translate them into a digital language.
Context
New app for the same consumers NW app is released for giving the consumers the possibility to buy the groceries with no necessity of going to the supermarket. Developing this, the company understood that they have to know better their clients to offer them a valuable experience while making these kinds of purchases.
Take aways
When you are not in the supermarket you do not have the power of deciding how you want your food. It is a matter of trust that could turn out good or very badly and that can affect your decision of using the service again.
Problem
The actual app of I Shop A New World has some problems that make difficult the long-distance purchases, making the new buying experience something that clients do just one time.
While creating a new digital experience, it is very important to test those screens and flows with real users. Their feedback is something that will make you check many times the decisions taken but that will affect positively the final result. Keep the digital experiences clean, clear and simple. Avoid large texts and layouts or colors that can complicate the final goal of the experience.
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Design process
Sketches and decisions
User research was the way to find the answers to define the requirements for a better navigation.
TEXT 1
TEXT 2
TEXT 2
HEADLINE
TEXT 2
TEXT 2
TEXT 2
HEADLINE
Inspiration Watching and asking people “how they shop� to determine some behaviours and patterns.
TEXT 2
Taking decisions HEADLINE
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris.
The process demanded to translate as much as possible details from the real activity of shopping to digital. That means that the flow had to have big images, clear titles, purchase summary, and the possibility of choosing the state of the product. 18
The outcome
How to use it?
Features and use
While selecting the products:
6. Checkout
1. Choose item 1. Home
2. Category
5. Summary
2. Drag it to the shopping cart 3
3. Product Selection
4. Product Description
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Styckx In collaboration with the wellness company Technogym, we had to design an innovative proposal for the new line of cardio machines in Luxury and Premium Clubs.
“Feel connected to the gym”
Case of study Innovation / Interaction
Date January 2020 Members Andrés Felipe Vásquez Franco / Maxime Bonamie / Tz-Yun Huang / Mingjin Xue Type of Project Advance design and processes workshop Inspirations and goals Encourage a new way of interacting and experiencing the gym like our target people do in other places where they spend much of their time.
MY ROLE Research, insights, product concept, design concept, sketching, definition of alternatives, prototyping, service, business model proposal, final proposal.
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Approach To the situation
Context
Situation
Which are the pain points of the users when going to the gym?
The experience of luxury Technogym’s luxury line wants to attract more users to the best gyms around the world. There they can find the perfect clients, people between 40 to 60 years old who can afford high prices for their own wellness. These people hate going to the gym just to find crowds and the things that come with it, like bad hygiene, lack of attention from the coaches, and clumsy interactions with other users.
Problem
While trying to exercise in the gyms, our users are having many pain points that make them stop going. They are requiring more than cardio machines to maintain their wellness linked to the gym.
Take aways
During the research process Having a good general comprehension of the problematic situation is really useful to propose great solutions. Sometimes to innovate you do not have to create a totally new idea, many times is about knowing the features of the product you are trying to enhance and focus on a single or simple feature that is going to change the whole experience of it. Nowadays a product is not enough to satisfy the users’ expectations, it is important for the designers to think in a holistic way by creating a great service around the product.
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Design process
Sketches and decisions
Having control of things in the gym as they have in their own homes was important for the target people to feel comfortable in it.
Inspiration Different ways of interaction depending the necessity of the user in just one product.
Taking decisions
Having a brand new accessory for the cardio machines was important to solve the main pain points of the people. This device must help the user to feel comfortable towards the machines’ interactions, and the workout space. 22
The outcome
Features Left handle
Features and use
Entertainment controller
- Velocity - Hardness
SIDE
Interaction with the screen
How to use them? Enjoy them with every cardio machine!
140mm
FRONT
Machine controller
Right handle
70mm
55mm
Service around the handles
For the treadmill Hold the handles while running
Step 1
At the gym reception
How to fit them into the machines?
Insert
Twist
Align
Lights will turn on!
- Acquire the handles. - Customize them. - Create user profile. Step 2
Inside the workout space - Private space for exercising. - Interact with other gym members. - Monitor your activity. - Free access to every content (Partnerships).
For any other cardio machine Fit the handles in the machine 23
Thank you See you soon
andresfvasquezf@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/andresfvasquezf
