17-18’
Gabrielle Orzech industrial design portfolio
Up Ahead Muji bed pod Personal fundus camera Yoga wheel Grounding watch More fun stuff
The Brief: Design a lighting product for a specific brand. Make sure to keep their aesthetic and branding in the form and functions. Find current problems happening regarding lighting and other issues. Then figure out a function that could be added to the product to solve a problem.
Muji bed pod
Understanding the...
People. Interviewing people was the first step I took in my research. I wanted to make sure I really understood peoples needs around lighting. I asked people a wide variety of questions that helped me realize that many people liked the aspect of interaction. This inspired me to create a light that was interactive and friendly.
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Rio
*interviewing people about lighting
Product. While I was interviewing people I was also learning about lighting. I tested how different lighting works and functions. I looked at the different options in the current market and what are materials and colors that are effective in making a product like this.
muji bed pod
Brand. The keyword is “Muji is enough” . . . Muji always indicates what’s appropriate to fit our everyday life. That’s very important. We have to think about the “appropriateness,” the “fit-ness.” Nothing stands out so you can continue to add to your home.” MUJI aspires to modesty and plainness, the better to adapt and shape itself to the styles, preferences, and practices of as wide a group of people as possible.
“MUJI is simplicity – but a simplicity achieved through a complexity of thought and design.”
muji bed pod
Persona. As I was doing research I came across the problem of children having anxiety regarding bedtime. This problem inspired me to gear my persona towards children.
COMFORTING
MEDITATIVE
SERENE
ORGANIC
C
GENTLE
MELLOW
SUBTLE FRESH
After interviewing the people, understanding lighting, and anaylzing the brand I put together an inspiration board. I chose pictures and words that I wanted to use as inspiration on my journey of developing my product.
Inspo. muji bed pod
Think.
One of my favorite stages in the design process is coming up with a lot of ideas. Not limiting myself and coming up with silly ideas. I will brainstrom with sticky notes and then do some quick foam mock ups. It helps to be able to just get all of my ideas out on to a page. So, during this phase I was testing out many different forms and functions.
Prototype.
muji bed pod
At this point I had many different directions. Through mock ups and refined sketches I was able to really visualize my concept. It then led me to my final direction which was creating the squishy interactive bed pod. I was really focusing on finding a form that is comforting for children and an interaction that was fun for them.
Refinery & Clarity.
muji bed pod
Making it.
First I made my form with yellow foam, then I poured over each side to cast my mold.
Once that cured, I then had my mold that was ready to be poured with silicone
Lastly, I poured the silicone, with a white pigment added to it. After this I hand “roto molded� to make sure it coated all edges while remaining hollow on the inside for the squishy aspect.
*was able to make my model squishy by using silicone and molding it
muji bed pod
1. Through the MUJI to sleep App the parent will choose the story they want to be played to the child, the time the bed pod will be activated and turned off. 2. Press down to power on the bed pod. The pod will then display a soft pulsating glow in the day, letting the child know there is a story “inside” 3. Once the child is in bed and cuddling the pod it will “blush” and the story will activate. The child will then fall asleep with a soothing bedtime story and soft glow
Behavior.
*blushing*
muji bed pod
Bed Pod
makes bedtime easy
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The Brief: Design a device where a smartphone or tablet is the brains of the device. Must be very precise and accurate.
Personal fundus camera
Scavanger hunt. The first phase in this project was to go on an scavanger hunt for different items to help inspire our design directions. From doing this exercise I found that I wanted to design a personal eye testing device.
HMW.....give ourselves/others exams by using a device?�
Brainstorming. After I narrowed down my idea from the scavanger hunt, we then did a group brainstorming to help solidfy our ideas and refine them by asking questions.
personal fundus camera
Current market. As I was doing research I realized the current market only offers fundus cameras that requires somebody else to be holding the device. This drove my decision to design a device that the user can use on themselves on their own time.
I wanted to focus on taking the anxiety out of regular tests and design something that feels part of the users self care routine. So, Taking something that is usually seen as clinical and non-attractive and turning it into something warm and luxurious feeling.
Inspo. personal fundus camera
Think.
At first I was focusing on designs that had to do with the user holding the device and putting it up to their face or something that could be on a table and they put their face on to it. I did some quick and crude mock ups to get my ideas out to understand how it would really work. These led me to realize that holding a device would be flawed because there is a possibilty that the user could mess up the photography by having shaky hands.
Prototype.
personal fundus camera
From doing my first set of mock ups I realized that I needed to make a device that is hands free. So, I started focusing on a wearable mask like device. I was focused on froms that felt comforting and relaxing,
Refinery & Clarity.
personal fundus camera
Final design details.
FRONT 8”
SIDE 4.2”
3.3”
TOP
More refinement led to my final design direction. A wearable retina testing device, also known as a fundus camera.. It utilizes the Iphone by sliidng it in and using its camera with an assisted lense to take a picture of the back of your eye.
personal fundus camera
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Making it.
Precision This model requires many intricate details because the phone must go inside it. To make sure everything fits correctly it is important to do things very precisely. To acheive precision I used the mill to do the phone slot, the eye slots, the charging slot, the face curve, and certain angles that can only be acheived on an angle plate.
personal fundus camera
In use.
1. Open app on phone and slide phone into device. Device turns on when phone is inside. Light on front will indicate on. Light will be red if needs to be charged. 2.Put device up to face. Sensors inside the device will detect your face. The device is voice activated and will inform you when the test is happening and when it is done with simple voice commands. 3. To raise the volume tap on the left side and to lower the volume tap on the right side. Light on front indicates on. 4. Once test is done, take off the device and use the app on the phone to see the photos taken and send information to your doctor.
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4 test c
omple
send
to do
cter
te
The Brief: Take an exisiting sports equipment and make it more ergonomic.
Yoga wheel
2
Understanding the...
People. The first phase of my research was talking to people and testing them on the current market yoga wheel to understand how they felt about yoga and how often they would use this.
*initial testing on current market yoga wheel
Product. I then went into deeper analysis of the yoga wheel by doing research on the current yoga wheel by looking at reviews online, and testing people to understand the flaws and design opportunites.
yoga wheel
Persona. They are above the age of 60. They are adventourous and want to use a yoga wheel to strengthen muscles, balance control, release tension, open up tightness, overall body conditioning.
The current market only offers yoga wheels that seem to be for people who are young, flexible, and above 5�3�. This means the standard is for people who are tall and very skinny. Society portrays yoga as something that tall, skinny, and young people do. But, older people can also benefit from the practice of yoga and using a yoga wheel.
Current market.
yoga wheel
Noticable neck strain and neck injury possibilites. Concern for people who are older and can easily strain their body.
Analyzing. Testing current market yoga wheel to see where people experience problems.
Can barley fit two hands on, too thin. Especially for somebody older who doesnt have as good grip.
yoga wheel
Think. goal: Make the yoga wheel smaller to better fit user, make wider to make more sturdy, use thicker material so less likely to crack, add extra padding for comfort, and add a neck
Prototype. Testing different shapes, sizes, and cushioning to really understand what dimensions are the most ergonomic and comfortable for the user. From these mockups I found the perfect sizing and cushion level
yoga wheel
Refinery & Clarity. Problem found My user testing led to me to understand that the position I had the head rest at was still too extreme of an angle. This is because the yoga wheel is already a curved surface and the person already has to bend around that surface, which is what could cause neck strain. Especially, for somebody who is older and less flexible.
Solution
Need to have support directily under the neck and not at the bottom of head. So, I made soft supportive cushions that fit perfectly under the neck. yoga wheel
Making the refined prototype out of wood, because current market many people had issues with the plastic snapping, So, I wanted to make it more durable and feel more homey with the wood texture showing.
Making it. Sewing the neck rest with elastic bands added to the sides with velcro, so easy for the user to attach. Especially for people who are older and have not as much grip strength.
yoga wheel
Validation testing.
X Current market yoga wheel -Could barley bend back far because any further she experienced pain in her back -Felt strain on her neck -Her lower back hurt- meaning the sizing was not accurate for her body type
Final yoga prototype -She was able to bend back 4 inches farther which gave her a deeper stretch -Felt the comfort in her neck -Felt more stable because of the extra thickness and durability of material
yoga wheel
Final design details.
Yoga Wheel
SIDE
10”
FRONT
3
7.5”
6.5”
5”
Exploded view of the yoga wheel. 5 rings of wood attached together, 2 pieces of yoga mat(inside and outside), neck cushion, and 2 elastic straps.
yoga wheel
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The brief: Design a product for a survival situation
Grounding Watch
Understanding the...
Scenarios. As a group we researched all kinds of survival scenarios. From this research I was able to foucs in on my scenario choice. The topic I chose was Human Trafficking.
Current Market. As a group we did research on what products are currently out there for survival situations. We found that many of the products on the market deal with “outdoor� survivability. For example: floods, fires, hypothermia, etc.
grounding watch
Persona. After interviewing an Anti-Trafficking organization I found there was a need to focus on survivors of Human Trafficking. It can be really hard for survivors to thrive in their lives after experiencing severe trauma. So, I wanted to focus on creating a product that would help them thrive.
75% of Trafficked Victims experience recurrent thoughts/memories of terrifying events 65% have feeling as if they don’t have a future 60% feel detached/withdrawn
It was really important that I was aware of all the aspects that could trigger somebody from how they use the product to the feel of the material. I focused on the idea of creating a new positive association with an item on their wrist. As well, as using a material that does not cause a lot of attention and blends in with the user.
Inspo. grounding watch
Think.
goal: An inconspicious device that helps them conquer dissociation and anxiety during their daily life to help them thrive.
Prototype.
grounding watch
Rotate the ring on the watch to activate a cooling effect. These two sensations help in combatting intrusive feelings in a low-effort way.
Refinery & Clarity.
grounding watch
Validation.
How does it work?
The Peltier effect describes the phenomenon of heating or cooling caused by an electric current flowing across the junction of two different conductors. This would be a metal plate implemented on the bottom face of the watch touching the users wrist.
Why does it matter?
Grounding techniques often use the five senses—sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight—to immediately connect you with the here and now. Feeling something cold helps “shock” yourself back into actively being aware of the surroundings. It makes your brain refocus on something else. Movements help because it is a tactible sensation to also help to refocus your attention.
The combination of rotating a ring and then feeling a cool sensation helps in combatting intrusive memories, feelings, and impulses.
grounding watch
Final Design Details.
watch casing
rotational ring
watch face
metal cooling plate
orthos
grounding watch
Grounding Watch. Rotate the ring on the watch to activate a cooling effect. These two sensations help in combatting intrusive feelings in a low-effort way.
More fun stuff! What I’m currently working on & some personal doodles.
Class: Design In Meaning
prompt: Seeking meaningful designs that address the challenges faced by telecommuters who live in smaller homes.
I’m currently working on this project for my Design In Meaning class. I’m addressing the problem of constantly feeling “plugged in” when telecommuting. I have just came to my final concept decision and now ideating on the form, details, experience, and more. The concept I have chosen is a “Mindful Moment”. It is a way for people to disconnect from their tech to then reconnect with themselves. Every aspect of this experience is aimed to practice mindfulness. From setting up the tea pot to writing their feelings on the “sticky note” that then turns into tea. As well, I am iterating on how to make it work for small spaces such as; hanging on the wall, a desk accesory, on the ground, etc. while remaining a mindful experience.
thank you!