Graduated Portfolio

PRODUCT DESIGN

PORTFOLIO

HENRY BELSHAM

I have recently graduated from Nottingham Trent University where I studied BSc Product Design. I am an open-minded, adaptable designer with the aim of always challenging myself when undertaking new projects. Throughout my time at Trent, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects exploring my interests, but the ones that have stood out for me are the concepts where I have to approach the task in a different way to which I am used to, gaining an understanding of different perspectives. I feel that this is the most important aspect of design.

www.linkedin.com/in/henrybelsham-358823198

INSPEC REGA

INSPEC is my final year 8-week minor project. This project outlines my concept for a new inflatable speculum used for examining the cervix. This project was chosen to show at New Designers 2022 in London.

REGAIN is my final year major project that was awarded a 1st. REGAIN looks at tracking shoulder placement during rehabilitation for rugby players, in order to reduce recurring injuries.

Sit, Stand, Store Step down

My university offered a placement scheme during COVID. Within this placement in industry my project looked into creating a solution for home working which had become prevalent during the pandemic.

I was lucky enough to spend an 8-week placement with Tsunami Axis who are one of the UK’s leading office and workspace furniture suppliers. I was tasked with designing a high-end patient recovery room for patients recovering from local anaesthetic.

University project University project

Placement project Tsunami Axis

INSPEC

Inflatable speculum

The set brief was to design an innovative product for use in any part of the healthcare sector. I wanted to challenge myself and look into creating a new concept for an inflatable speculum.

As featured on:

The current single-use plastic speculum used in primary and secondary care, has limitations during use. One example is that the sidewalls of the vagina can collapse inwards, blocking the view of the cervix during the examination. The speculum also gets thrown away and incinerated after a single use resulting in a lot of wasted plastic.

“The noise of the screw tightening was horrible to hear during the examination”

“Exposed hinges did not seem like a good idea”

- Interview quotes from women

“It looks like a medieval torture instrument”

After analysing how the user interacts with the speculum during the examination, it was found the current design was awkward with a 2 handed approach, a fiddly ratchet and many held it incorrectly whilst inserting it.

Physical prototyping was conducted with the aim of giving the user more control during the examination by allowing the physician to use the device one handed. This will have a knockon effect and provide the patient with a more comfortable examination.

INSPEC Is split into two parts, a disposable inflatable sleeve and a reusable ergonomic handle. The disposable sleeve can be inserted onto the narrow bills, protecting the handle from coming into contact with body. When the speculum is inserted, the inflation bulb can be squeezed to inflate the sleeve and create a soft, comfortable cylinder that will allow access to the cervix by preventing sidewall encroachment. When the screening is completed, the sleeve can be deflated and disposed of and the handle can then be wiped down and reused.

Inflation bulb

Soft silicone inflatable sleeve

Larger, more ergonomic handle

Release valve button

Thumb ratchet, to close bills

Added platform for extra control during insertion

Narrower bills

INSPEC at New Designers 2022

INSPEC was chosen to exhibit at New Designers 2022 in London. This was an incredible learning experience for me, challenging myself to talk critically and openly about INSPEC and myself as a designer. The design got some valuable attention from experts within industry and got me thinking about the future of INSPEC. How can I minimalise the design further? With the government’s new agenda of trying to reduce the use of plastics in medical devices, how can I use other, more robust materials instead?

REGA N

Shoulder tracking device

I played rugby for 10 years when I was younger and picked up plenty of injuries along the way, with one injury forcing me to stop playing. For my university major project, I wanted to investigate what was the best way to reduce injuries within the sport of rugby.

Shoulder injuries

One of the most common injuries

Up to 75% of all shoulder injuries can be recurring. Almost all contact events in the game impact upon the shoulder.

Wrong shoulder set up

Shoulder set up links to recurring injury chance

If a player has the incorrect shoulder position set up during rehabilitation exercises, then this can increase the chance of a recurring injury happening

Talking to rugby players and medical professionals gave me the insight that the best way to prevent injuries is through better training and rehabilitation

Physiotherapy problems

Patients not doing the exercises, Patients not doing the correct exercises, Patients not having the knowledge on whether they are doing the exercises correctly.

Rugby players and a clinical sports scientist interviews

3 main problems that physiotherapists face:

Best way to prevent injuries

The ideation phase was a very iterative process. Initial ideas looked into how to prevent hyperflexion injuries within the scrum, as that is where my initial research led me. After talking to rugby players and medical professionals, I concluded that resolving this problem was extremely difficult and that the best way to reduce injury risk is through training and rehabilitation.

The next development with the aid of rugby players and physios was to target the positioning of the shoulder during rehabilitation. This would be achieved by using two IMU sensors placed on the scapula and the deltoid that will emit live movement data to a visual aid such as a smartphone. Physios and players can then use this data to adjust their exercise routine.

Development

It was important that the injured player can put on, assemble and operate the device on their own at home. I made use of rapid prototyping techniques to develop how the main module will be attached to the vest in order for it to be washable and easy to access. The main module will attach, using magnets while the two IMU’s will attach to magnetic stickers that will be able to stay on the skin for up to 2 weeks and can be changed whenever they have a session with their physio.

REGAIN’s conceptual design was far from being manufactured. The prototype produced was used mainly to showcase how the casing will be assembled and disassembled if ever the need arises. Both the main module and the IMU sensor housings will be secured using sunken screws that can be accessed if the electronics need to be repaired or replaced. Future work would look at designing the lid so that it uses hidden clips, streamlining the design and making the screws unnecessary

How does it work?

Attach magnetic clip to the vest before putting it on

Put on the wearable vest

Attach the provided wires to connect both IMU sensors to the main module

The physiotherapist should peel back the film on the provided stickers

The physiotherapist will place the magnetic stickers on the scapula and the deltoid in the correct positions

Using the non-affected arm, attach the main module to the magnetic clip on the back of the vest

Holding the wires, use a mirror to attach the sensors to the magnetic stickers on the scapula and deltoid

For the first time, the physio should be present. Set up the calibration of the sensors on the smartphone and set up an exercise prgramme to follow

REGA N app

An exercise tracker app to allow a visual aid in the recovery programme by giving the injured player the knowledge to understand what exercises they need to undertake and how to perform them correctly.

REGA N

The purpose of the app is to allow the user to understand the movement of their shoulder during rehab by providing a visual aid for them to look at. The app will be set up with the physiotherapist and a tailored exercise routine will be created. This will help solve the problems physios face with patient compliance I made use of exercises such as user flow diagrams and competitor analysis in order to complete the wireframing of the app.

Sit, Stand, Store

Nesting tables

This 8-week placement project was completed remotely during the pandemic. Designers in industry set me a brief to design a solution for home working, aimed at the Hay / MUUTO mid-range design markets.

Brand unpack

Because the aim was to design a piece of furniture that would merge into specified brands (Hay/MUUTO), it was incredibly important to understand the materials and style of the furniture they produce. They cclass themselves as ‘affordable luxury’ and regularly use premium materials such as powder coated steel and stained wood.

A set of glass nesting tables that provide the user sitting and standing levels without traditional motors whilst also increasing flexibility in order to promote movement for a better sense of wellbeing. This solution allows the home working person the ability to switch between their work and home life with ease. The different levels allow the user to re-focus whenever they feel unproductive. The standing desk also encourages the user to break up the day and not sit for sustained periods of time.

Sit Stand Store

“Pre pandemic, 41% percent of “highly mobile” employees (those who more often worked from home) considered themselves highly stressed, compared to only 25 percent of those who worked only on-site. ”

- Reducing that stress, as home working increases, was important

Standing desks improve mood, productivity and also reduce back pain. Clutter is one of the leading reasons people get stressed, distracted and demotivated from doing their work. Creating a personalised space for you to work within is beneficial to the persons cognitive and affective state. This means that they can better cope with the potential interferences associated with distractions whilst working from home.

People were forced to work from home, with the living room becoming the office. People will be now looking for furniture that operates as a desk but also fits in and looks great when not in use. The balance of work and home life should not tip one way or the other.

STEP DOWN

Patient recovery room

Tsunami set me the challenge of designing a patient recovery room for a private health clinic that is being built in London. This project allowed me to gain new skills that were developed through regular meetings with the client and face to face meetings with the manufacturers of the room itself.

Client needs

One continuous piece of furniture

The client wanted the room to have the premium feel of a first-class airliner where the pieces of furniture fit seamlessly with each other in one area.

Premium healthcare

Patients paying for private healthcare

The patients that will use this room are paying for a premium experience away from the hustle and bustle of the NHS.

Patient experience

Everything to hand

There are a specific number of features that were needed such as speakers and shoe/clothes storage. These features must be accessible and easy to understand and use.

Quick, messy ideation

Sketching was not as an important as with my other projects, but quick and messy ideation was needed in order to communicate a large number of ideas to the client. Through weekly meetings, the client expressed their interest in the ideas where the furniture and features were all linked through wall panels that flowed continuously around the room.

Hidden speaker

Cupboard for clothes and shoe storage

I quickly moved on to the development of the room using CAD. This was a much more useful tool than sketching for this project due to the designs being much easier to understand and visualise. Developments were focused heavily on fitting the furniture around the patient without it intruding into their space. After a variety of concepts were created, evaluated, and evolved with Tsunami and the client a final design was produced. Here I have highlighted the main features of the step down room.

Cleaners cupboard

Tablet used for controlling light and TV

Lockable cupboard for valuables

Recessed TV and mirror

Ongoing...

Although the project only lasted 8 weeks during my placement year, Tsunami decided to take it forward and manufacture it for the client. They are currently at the mockup stage and have invited me to be involved in the discussions with the client.

Renders and models courtesy of Tsunam Axis

THANK YOU