Critical Journal 2 Kate W illiams DE1083
CALM RELAXED SU CAREFREE PLACID EASY-GOING TRAN EASE COOL CONT CONFIDENCE PEAC COMFORT SECU
UPPORT CHILLED ZEN PROTECTED NQUIL SOOTHING TENTED ASSURANCE CE NUTURE TRUST URE REASSURED
12 3 The idea
Retail context
Brand refinement
Project collaborators
Vets sale point
Theme refinement
The Problem
Pets at Home
Logo development
The idea The Soluition
My Retail experience
Logo refinement
Review
Logo review Brand guidelines Packaging Development Feedback
456
Product refinement Recap Anxiety Shirt Collar Charms
Manufacture Validation and Evaluation
Manufacture plan External Manufacturing Anxiety shirt
Sound bed
Bandana
Bandana
Sound mat
Toy
Toy and collar charm
Testing Review
Review
Open2Design W’innovate Evaluation
It Didn’t Work! Insight Moment!
It Worked! A Problem
Review
Discussion point
How to read this document Design Decisions This section will describe the activity and the logistics
Design Process
This section will reflect on my project and what I found to help me
Description of activity This section will reflect on my own decision making.
Project collaborators Through out my project I related back to my four main collaborators. Each helped me at several stages of the process. Each of my collaborators helped me understand and develop different aspects of my designs. L eon Wright owner and founder of VetDirect helped me understand the importance of the retail experience. W ith his experience he helped me develop my point of sale and purchase story. Abby Brazier is a senior designer of Pets Product Development at W’innovate, she has helped me w ith developing the look and feel of my products, helping refine my designs. Matt Burtonw ood and Ben W illiams guided me through the look and feel of my products. They have also helped me refine my design, whilst aiding the branding development of my packs. Neil Losda helped me validate my products and sense check them w ith him, he has also helped me w ith my booklet giving me useful training advice to include int the pack.
VetDirect L eon Wright
W’innovate Abby Brazier Open2Design Ben W illiams and Matt Burtonw ood
K9BestBehaviour Neil Losda
CJ1 Recap EXPLORE
Understanding stress and anxiety
INTERVIEWS
Newcastle Dog shelter
MARKET RESEARCH
Purchase a range of products for testing
OBSERVATIONS START
Treatments
INTERVIEWS
Vets
T EXPLORE Tellington Touch
EXPLORE
Dog training session
OBSERVATIONS
MARKET RESEARCH
Music therapy Pressure point stress products
Go to Shelter
OBS
OBSERVATIONS OBSERVATIONS
Med rese
To recap on my CJ1 I carried out a lot of useful research and investigated possible solutions to help reduce stress and anxiety w ithin the home. This research drove me to look further into the dog’s five senses and helped me develop five products which w ould help reduce stress and anxiety.
Exploration Hand in Test out range of
SERVATIONS
dical earch
PRODUCT TESTING
In depth research and observation of direction
MAKE FINAL PRESENTATION
INTERVIEWS Decide on a direction
DECISION POINT
CJ1 Hand in Sketchwork of possible directions
KEY PROBLEMS
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
EXTERNAL REVIEWS
ITERATION
BRAND GUIDELINES
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Where I w as at end of CJ1 BRAND REFINEMENT
CJ2 HAND IN
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
ITERATION
MAJOR
SOLUTION PRODUCT MANUFACTURE
ITERATIVE DESIGN + KEY PRINCIPLES
CJ1 HAND IN
PRODUCT REFINEMENT
MAJOR HAND IN
Reflection point! At the end of CJ1 I had created five different products based on the five senses. To help develop my ideas I had to first develop a brand image. To design and make five separate products meant I had to be super organised w ith my time. I created several lists of key aspects to my design development. In creating this diary it enabled me to really keep on track and see what I still needed to achieve.
Planning Stage 2 Logo Refinement
Branding Research
START
Product development
Chosen branding theme Product Refinement
Logo Development
Name Development
Packaging Development
F or me planning w as one of the most important factors to my final solution. I w anted to create a w ell thought out product range. This is the reason why I spent half of my time developing and refining my branding and logo. The planning as mentioned before really helped me keep on track of my w ork and reflect upon what I had achieved.
Interim Presentation
Major Hand in
Packaging Refinement
Manufacture
Make prototypes
Test out patterns and prototypes
Presentation
Product F inal refinement Retail experience.
The idea.
Key Problems I made key notes from my exploration project and created four main problem areas.
From highlighting in my exploration my key problems this enabled me to clearly define why my solution is valid.
Educating owners through helpful tips and advice.
Making the pr multi-function ‘toy-like’ may more owners bu products
Several prod owner can cho one or more w suit their
ducts so oose which w ill best r dog.
Make the branding contemporary and stay aw ay from being medical
I think that I solved most of the problems that I had addressed in varying forms.
The Idea
roducts nal and y make uy these s.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
The Problem I have investigated the daily stresses of dogs in the w estern w orld, to see how their anxieties could be reduced or prevented. I have found that the causes of anxiety in dogs are varied and can be triggered by many different stimuli. Problems w ith anxiety affect 29% of dogs globally. F or dogs living w ith anxieties it can be emotionally traumatic and detrimental to their health. Caring for a dog w ith these problems can also become demanding and distressing for the owner. The most common types of anxiety are: • Noise anxiety (13 Million) • Separation anxiety (10 Million) • Travel anxiety (3.5 Million) • Confinement anxiety (3.5 Million)
What are the anxieties? Travel Anxiety
Travelling in cars makes the dog extremely uncomfortable. Some symptoms include; panting, shaking, vomiting. Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety is where a dog show s signs of anxiety when left on their own. Some symptoms include; urinating and defecating, barking and howling, chew ing, destruction Confinement Anxiety
Confinement anxiety can often be centered around crate training the fear of being in a confined space. Some symptoms include: whining, barking, destructive behavior Noise anxiety can occur in situations such as thunderstorms, dog’s hearing is a lot more sensitive than human ears. Some symptoms include: Shaking, Clinging to her owner, Panicked running
The Idea
Noise Anxiety
The idea Helping reduce anxiety and stress for dogs. Although many dogs have anxieties they are poorly understood by owners, when w e buy products for our dogs this represents an opportunity to help. The Angst brand is trying to build aw areness of dog anxieties and how to combat them through the purchasing experience. It does this by getting owners to consider their dog’s anxieties in order to build a pack (online/in-store), and by putting this in the more popular commercial w orld as apposed to a veterinary w aiting room.
The Idea
angst.
Noise Anxiety Pack Includes: Charm, Bandana, Shirt
Travel Anxiety Pack Includes: Bed, Shirt, Charm
The Solution
Separation Anxiety Pack Includes: Timer Toy, Charm, Sound Mat
Confinement Anxiety Pack Includes: Shirt, Charm, Timer Toy
Although many dogs have anxieties they are poorly understood by owners, when w e buy products for our dogs this represents an opportunity to help. The Angst brand is trying to build aw areness of dog anxieties and how to combat them through the purchasing experience. It does this by getting owners to consider their dog’s anxieties in order to build a pack (online/in-store), and by putting this in the more popular commercial w orld as apposed to a veterinary w aiting room.
The Solution To simplify the process of picking out products that may help your dogs anxiety, Angst has created packs which specifically treat one type of anxiety. The packs provide information on the causes of the anxiety, training tips and information on how to use the Angst products. Angst is available to buy in-store and online, the owner can choose from set packs based on the most common types of anxieties, which are; separation, noise, travel and confinement.
The Idea
The Solution
The Solution Personalisation is at the heart of Angst. Not all dog’s react the same w ay, therefore the owner must have the option to choose which packs or products best suit their dog’s needs.
Check your Dog’s anxiety
Check which anxiety best suits your dog, review the products in the booklet. Each anxiety has a specific tips on how to help reduce your dog’s stress. Purchase a pack
W ith a selection of four packs and three sizes choose which one best suits your dog’s size and anxiety. Pick and Mix
The Idea
If the owner feels like only certain products w ould suit their dog, they can pick and mix products to create a personalised pack.
The Solution
The Idea
When the dog lays on the mat music is activated by the pressure of the dog’s w eight. The scientifically proven calming music w ill stop barking, reduce hyperactivity and minimize thunder phobia.
The Solution The timer toy is a interactional toy which can be set for up to an hour w ith treats that w ill disperse every 10 mins. Having a timer toy to explore is an effective w ay of redirecting your dog’s attention aw ay from your leaving and w ill absorb your pet during this crucial time.
The Idea
The Solution
The Idea
Angst charms attach onto any dog collar and uses dog appeasing pheromones combined w ith natural scent of herbs such as lavender and lemon balm to provide comfort to dogs all day long.
The Solution Angst bandana is a soft fabric mask that filters a dogs vision to reduce the visual stimulus that is making him/her agitated. Made from soft fabric and elastic fit for maximum comfort.
The Idea
The Solution Angst shirt is a lightw eight, breathable pressure wrap that applies gentle, maintained pressure and provides the maximum calming effect. Working in a similar w ay to sw addling an infant.
The Idea
expe
Retail erience.
Medical experience After speaking to Alice Reynolds a veterinarian, I discussed w ith her possible products that she w ould recommend to owners.
I found that they do not have time to recommend products, they usually give a prescription drug dependant on the case.
I noticed at the practise that they only have a few leaflets and a small product display. All the products had a medical design look to them. This is when I decided that my products w ould be best sold commercially, such as at PetsAtHome.
The Retail Experience
Insight
Commercial experience From visiting Pets at Home I w as able collect valuable insight into products on the market and the branding and look of them.
This has helped inform my project as I can start to look further at how my products could be sold.
I found that this research helped me understand my market better and that selling commercially w ould be better than selling through medical services.
The Retail Experience
Insight
Review We discussed how it could possibly w ork commercially. I originally thought about a rental service, which vets could rent out to owners. How ever he suggested making them specialist packs. to sell commercially. We even discussed the owner being able to pick and mix their own packs. A key insight from this meeting w as that the products w ould be best to sell commercially as their is more sales in this particular area of the market. He agreed w ith moving the products aw ay from being medical.
The Retail Experience
Would packs w ork w ell in a commercial environment?
My retail experience I have created a booklet to help owners decide which anxiety pack best suits their dog. This includes helpful tips for each anxiety.
I w as really happy w ith the outcome of the combination of the booklet and the packs. This really w orked w ell in educating owners.
The Retail Experience
After speaking to owners I found that having an identifiable set of packs really helped them understand their dog’s need before purchasing.
Develop
Brand pment.
Initial Iteration I created several iterations of all my products. on/off
I found that I had no direction to all of my designs which made me feel like I w as going around in circles.
Log
Logo
o
Logo
In some w ays doing all this design w ork turned out to be a slight w aste of time, how ever I learnt that this w as not the particular route I need to go on, so it made me re-examine my research into 2016 trends. Logo
Logo
LOGO
Logo Logo
At this point I stopped iterating and decided that I needed to decide on a theme. Logo
Logo
Brand Development
LOGO
Logo
Materials used in dog collars include: * Leather * Polypropylene webbing * Rope * Metal * Padding * Elastic * Velcro * Light reflecting fabric * Fabric e.g. bandana style dog collars
Interim David Parkinson 15/02/16
From presenting all of my design w ork so far, I discussed w ith David my feel of a lack of direction. We discussed in detail what I w anted to achieve w ith my brand and where I saw it fitting in the market.
From speaking to David I realised that this w as a fashion product so it should move aw ay from the stereotypical basics of dog design and should really choose to stand out.
How ard F enw ick 15/02/16
Having identified this at this stage it helped me really focus my brand criteria and further my research into trends in the dog market.
Brand Development
How ard and I discussed the importance of brand identity and how this w ould move my products and branding aw ay from being a medical brand.
Choosing a theme I created several mood boards based on 2016 summer trends to create a brand image for my products.
I created 3 separate boards on fashion trends and I decided to choose the geometric print trend as I felt that this w ould have the most impact commercially.
Brand Development
The most important aspect of my design w as the brand identity. To be able to create a product range I had to first understand my brand guidelines.
Logo Development I created several iterations of geometric dog designs and names.
I found it really difficult to decide on a name for my branding. I w ent through several iterations of names to decide on angst.
Brand Development
I spent a long time developing my logo which I am glad I did because I feel that my logo really reflected my brand image.
Logo Refinement I refined my logo by playing around w ith colours and font. I looked further into dog sizes and the relation to colour.
Brand Development
Using these logos helped me create a bases of my branding for the rest of the my products.
Logo Review I asked people to vote on which logos they liked the best to gain an understanding of which w ere most popular.
Insight
Gaining people’s opinions on my logos helped me decide on colours and size.
Brand Development
This helped me understand which w ere most popular and helped me decide on which logos to use for the different sizes.
Brand Guidelines I created brand guidelines to make sure that all my products adhered by the same principles to create branding uniformity.
Brand Development
I created a strict colour palette to follow my branding. I think doing this w orked really w ell as all the products fit together.
External Review 23/11/15 Abby Braizer W’innovate "The branding colours are very on trend w ith summer 2016. The Angst brand name w orks really w ell and conveys exactly what the brand is about. I think going down the commercial route is a great idea as this w ill reach the maximum amount of owners." Having this positive reaction to my brand really helped me push my designs further. It aloud me to develop my products further.
Brand Development
Packaging Development I created several tests on different material trying out different colours, size and textures.
I tested the logos against my prototypes to see which w ould fit the best.
Testing my logos on material aloud me to see how the material and colour w ould w ork. It also show ed me how much the material w ould fray and the over all end finish of it.
Brand Development
Insight
Packaging Refinement I developed small, medium and large range to show off the different packs.
Creating these packs really brought my branding to life. It really helped me visualise my branding.
Brand Development
The Booklet I created a booklet to help owners understand their dog’s specific anxiety. In this booklet I w anted to give helpful tips and advice to owners.
This has helped educate owners further and compliments my other products and packs.
Brand Development
I created the separate tabs so an owner could quickly flick to the section that reflects their dog anxiety.
Pr Develop
roduct pment.
Recap of designs Design 1: Sound bed
DESIGN NO.1 - Sound Mat (Hearing)
2
Dog then starts to relax
3
1
Dog falls a turns off.
Design 2: Collar smell charm Design 3: Anxiety shirt
DESIGN A s dog gets onto bed the pressure of the dogs body w eight triggers the music to start playing
Pressure pad
Design 4: T imer toy Design 5: Bandana
What’s next?
DESIGN NO.4 - T imer Game (Taste)
Add whi are
-To refine all of the products using the brand guidelines chosen. - Work out how they can be manufactured and the mechanisms needed for them to w ork.
The they be r go ou ente
DESIGN NO.3 - Anxiety shirt (touch)
asleep and music eventually
Vest which replicates the feeling of being cuddled
N NO.2 - Collar Charms (Smell)
owner can set what time y w ant to treat or toy to relseased so when the owners ut the toy keeps the dog ertained.
OAT
LAVENDER
CAMOMILLE
DESIGN NO.5 - Dog Sight Bandana (Sight) Bandana is pulled up over the nose to cover the eyes
Product Development
d on charms to collar. Owner can choose ich herbals best suit their dog and they e easily replaceable and interchangable.
PICK AND MIX
F eedback/ Review ing Neil Losda 23/11/15 I w anted to sense check all my product ideas w ith a dog behavourist to check that they w ould w ork. "From looking at your designs I see no reason why they all w ould help w ith anxiety and stress. I think it w ould be definitely beneficial to include some training guides to go along w ith the products. I also think moving your products aw ay from medical and putting them in a commercial environment w ill w ork w ell as it w ill attract more potential owners. " From speaking to Neil I really felt that I could take my products further and really start to develop them.
Product Development
Sound bed I created a lot of designs playing around w ith my colours and geometric patterns.
This has helped inform my project as I had a lot of ideas to refine further to make sure I came up w ith the best design.
This iteration has shown me that even though the heavily patterns may look the best, I also needed to take into consideration where the bed w ill be placed in the home. I found that the more basic patterns w ould look and w ork best in different home environments as the pattern w as not overwhelming.
Product Development
Insight
Sound bed prototypes I looked at pressure pads to play the music for the dog bed. I took apart a child’s sound mat to see if I could integrate it w ith my recording device.
I w as unable to get the tw o devices to match up. So w as unable to create a w orking prototype.
Insight
This research has shown me that this w ould w ork as a w ay of producing the sound for the sound mat.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as I know in the future how it could be manufactured.
Sound bed prototypes I created a prototype of my sound bed by cutting individual pieces of fabric and stitching them together.
This did not turn out as w ell as hoped. L ike the anxiety shirt I found that the finish w as not good enough.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as I can start to look at other w ays of making the sound mat.
Collar Charms I created experiments using material and paper to test out my initial design for the collar and the charm.
I found using the material I had chosen for the collar w as difficult to make look neat and tidy.
This has helped inform my project as it enabled me evaluate the materials I had chosen.
Insight
Product Development
These prototypes w ere all experimental to test out the best w ay of making a collar and charm.
Collar Charm prototypes From draw ing out iterations based on 2016 geometric jew ellery trends I created Solidw orks files experimenting w ith scale and shapes.
I had to use surfaces in Solidw orks to build my shape. I had only used surfaces a few times previously, so I found myself spending a long time trial and error how to build the shape I w anted.
Using Solidw orks helped me experiment w ith several ideas allow ing me to play around w ith complex shapes.
Creating several different designs in Solidw orks enabled me to take these straight on the 3D printer which saved me a lot of time.
Product Development
Insight
Anxiety shirt I created iterations of shape and patterns for the design of the anxiety shirt.
I found that I w as going round in circles w ith some of my patterned designs as at this time I had not fully committed to my brand guidelines.
Product Development
Creating all this iterations helped me w ith my other designs as it enabled me to develop my colour and brand scheme.
Anxiety shirt prototypes
I created prototypes in fabric and in paper to test sizing and patterns.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as it enable me to test out my favourite designs and check the w ay they looked before I committed to making them.
Anxiety shirt prototypes I created a full size fabric prototype to test the look and the overall finish I could achieve.
I found that using the piping on the more intricate areas w as really difficult to keep it looking neat and professional.
This helped me develop my pattern and made me decide to print the pattern onto a full piece of fabric rather than using individual pieces.
Insight
Product Development
This development of the anxiety shirt has shown me that using the piping throughout the fabric does not w ork as w ell as I had hoped.
Toy I created iterations of shape and sizes for my toy. I looked into how the mechanism could possibly w ork, and shapes which w ould fit w ith the mechanism.
Geometric shapes w ere extremely difficult to fit w ith the round mechanism, because of the straight lines of the shapes I had chosen.
These iterations have let me experiment w ith the relationship betw een the mechanism and the geometric design. Creating design in Illustrator and then transferring them into a more 3D shape in Solidw orks helped me see what w ould be possible.
Product Development
Insight
Toy prototypes I created 3D shapes to test what it w ould look like and where the split line could possibly go.
This has helped inform my project as I then make my designs in Solidw orks.
Insight
Product Development
This activity helped me understand in 3D where mechanisms w ould fit and how the owner and dog w ould interact w ith the product.
Toy prototypes From my previous investigation into shape and form I now started to look at the internal mechanisms and how they w ould fit into the chosen form.
I found this the most challenging part of the design as the mechanism I had chosen made fitting the paddles to hold the treats in really difficult as there w as limited space.
This has helped inform my design as it enabled me to create a fully functioning prototype.
I found from this investigation that the paddles w ould have to be offset from other parts of the toy to make sure it w ould spin w ithout catching anything.
Product Development
Insight
Toy prototypes I created my final model in Solidw orks, which allow ed me to 3D print my final prototype,
I found that I had a few problems w ith the paddles catching on the inside of the top cover. This meant that I had a slight gap which w ould create a dirt trap.
This CAD exploration helped me iron out final problems that I may not have been able to see from just a hand made prototype.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as it allow ed me to create a final 3D model of my toy.
Bandana I created several designs for my bandana using illustrator to develop the pattern.
Creating patterns really helped me iterate quickly w ith the correct colour scheme allow ing me pick and choose my favourite designs.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as I can start to look at different patterns and colour sets.
Bandana prototypes I tested out sizes by buying a medium sized bandana and using paper cut outs to test how they w ould fit.
Insight
This research has enabled me to modify the size and shape to fit the dog properly.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as I meant I could create quick tests and adjustments.
Bandana prototypes I created my own prototypes using the digitally printed fabric I had designed.
The piping has not w orked as w ell as I hoped. It has ruined the sharp lines of the bandana, so I w ill not be using the piping.
This has helped inform my project as I can now edit my pattern size and move aw ay from using piping,
Insight
Product Development
This research has shown me that the scale of the pattern needs to be made bigger as it does not fit w ell w ith the branding. Also using piping on the bandana does not w ork as it makes the fabric to thick and untidy.
F inal designs Final Designs Bed
Bandana
Anxiety shi
Top View
Front View
Side View
angst.
angst.
700 x 700
Top View Back View
angst.
3/4 View
Top View
a
inside cover blue DO NOT WASH
internal pressure pad
irt
Charm Collar
an
gs
t.
Toy
.
.
Lavender
angs
t.
.
Oat
.
Lemon Balm
I decided to make the medium range for my final range. Using the green throughout helps keep the brand consistent.
Product Development
Camoille
.
a
F eedback/ Review ing Open2Design 23/11/15 From speaking to Open2Design I w anted to check my final design w ith them to see if I needed to make a drastic changes before manufacture. I had kept in contact w ith them through my journey asking them to comment on my designs so I felt confident that there w ould not be much to change. From review ing my prototypes and final designs they suggested doing some material tests and testing on dogs to make sure that all the dimensions w ere correct.
Product Development
Material Testing A s I had a range of different fabrics, I w anted to test the best w ay to stitch the fabrics and practise new techniques such as making piping.
This has helped inform my project as it enabled me to test on scrap pieces of fabric and not ruin a final protoype.
Insight
Product Development
On stretch material such as the jersey I found that larger stitches w orked better as it gave the material more room to stretch and w ould not gather the material.
Making patterns I created full scale paper patterns to test the size and shape before I committed to making the final prototype.
This has helped inform my project as I can make my fabric piece using this as a pattern.
Insight
Product Development
I found that using paper patterns really helped me make quick modifications to the design such as making sections longer to fit the dog better.
Testing patterns I tested all my design on several dogs to make sure the fit w as correct.
I had to be careful to use more than one dog to make sure that it w ould fit a range of dogs at a medium size.
Product Development
This has helped inform my project as I can now start to make my fabric designs as I have check that all my pattern fit and w ork.
Interim Presentation David Parkinson 14/03/16 From speaking to David the main area I needed to focus upon now w as my timing. I have approximately 8 w eeks left to manufacture all of my 5 products and packaging. He w anted me to make sure I made the products to a high quality, so I needed to prioritise my products dependant on the packs I w anted to show. At this point in my design stage I really felt ready to make my product and that I had fully iterated and prototyped each product.
David O’L eary 14/04/16
I w as slightly w orried that I w ould run out of time, how ever having the fabrics digitally printed w ould make it a lot easier and quicker for me to manufacture them.
roduct Development
Speaking w ith David he agreed w ith David Parkinson and added I needed to created a structured manufacture plan to make sure that I could achieve the most out of the time I had left.
Manuf
facture.
Planning-Manufacture 1st Week 21-27.03.16
START
Send off 3d printing Make bandana (Wednesday) Collar (Thursday) Make Anxiety vest (Friday/Saturday/ Sunday)
3rd Week 04-10.04.16
Finish To Make pa
Make sound mat (Monday - Sunday)
4th Week 11-17.04.16 2nd Week 28-03.04.16
5th Week 18-24.04.16
Paint Toy (Monday- Sunday) Design Packaging
Finish Anxiety vest (Monday) Make sound mat (Tuesday- Saturday) spray paint charms (Sunday)
I created a separate plan for my manufacturing process. A s I designed and made 5 different products and made 3 examples of the packaging I w anted to really structure my time to get the most out of it. F or the majority of the time I stuck to my plan which really help me achieve what I set out to do.
Major Hand in
oy (Monday- Sunday) ackaging (Monday- Sunday)
6th Week 25-01.05.16
Photograph + present (MondaySunday) Make Website
Photograph + present (Monday- Sunday)
7th Week 02-08.05.16
8th Week 09-12.05.16
Final Boards and print (Monday- Wednesday)
External Manufacturers I created files on illustrator of patterns and labels, I sent my files to an external company to digitally print them onto material.
I had to be careful using an online company as I w as unsure of the quality, how ever the fabric prints I received w ere excellent.
Manufacture
This has helped inform my project as I could make alterations to the size of pattern and colours before I made my products. I did end up altering the colour brightness as I felt the colours w ere not as vibrant as I hoped.
Making the Anxiety shirt I cut all of my pieces of fabric and made my piping and sew ed all togeher to make the anxiety shirt.
Manufacture
I had to re stitch a few areas as I am not an expert seamstress so I had to learn a few things such as releasing the fabric by cutting it in certain areas. I also had never made piping previously to this project, I feel that if I had longer I could have practiced attaching it a lot more professionally.
Making the Anxiety shirt I w as over all really happy w ith the final outcome. I think just using the piping around the edge w orked really w ell to compliment the design.
Manufacture
I found that once I put my shirt onto a dog I had sewn the logo tag in the wrong place, by this point it w as a little late to resetich this part, but if I w as to make it again I w ould have positioned this somewhere else.
Making the Bandana I created my final bandana using digital printing and using elastic as a fastener.
Attaching the fabric to the elastic w as hard to create a neat finish, so I decided to sew the elastic into the fabric.
Manufacture
From all my prototypes this aloud me to be able to produce a final bandana first time. I decided from my experiments that I w ould get everything printed to create a really neat finish to my product.
Making the sound bed I made the Sound bed by digitally printing my pattern onto jersey stretch fabric. I then sew ed a base w ith lining. I also created a inner pillow.
Manufacture
From learning from making my anxiety shirt and bandana I used the same techniques to make the bed as w ell, using the piping and my own logo really brought my design to life. Using digital printing made sure that all my colours of fabrics matched and created a professional finish to my products.
F inishing the toy and charm After 3D printing I sanded and spray painted to create a final finish.
I did not sand down my products as w ell as I could which ended up costing me more time as I ended up sanding it down more after spray painting as the finishing came out rough.
Manufacture
F inishing it w ith the colours really helped fit these product in w ith my brand guidelines.
Making the w orking prototype I made a w orking prototype of the timer toy. Using the egg timer mechanism I created a fully functioning toy.
I left it reasonably late on in making the timer toy. So I ended up getting it printed externally so the finish w as not as good I had hoped. Which meant I could not get the finish that I w anted to be able to paint it.
Over all I w as happy w ith the mechanisms and the over all function of the product. I felt creating a w orking prototype really helped me understand how it w ould properly w ork, and make any adjustments if needed.
I found that the mechanism w ould get stuck if it w as left on one side because of the w eight. How ever I think if it w as manufactured in a lighter plastic, it w ould be able to spin properly.
Manufacture
Insight
Making the packaging I created three different prototype sizes small, medium and large. I made canvas bags to hold the products.
Creating this packaging really brought all my branding together. It aloud me to show off the different anxiety packs available to owners such as travel, confinement, separation and noise anxiety.
Manufacture
Valida Evalu
ation + uation.
F inal Deliverables I w as overall really happy w ith my presentation, I think the fact I w as able to produce 5 different models and 3 iteration of packaging at a high standard in the time given really show ed how much I had learnt throughout the process.
I think that I may have taken too much on w ith developing all five, which meant I may not have fully resolved some concepts and refined it all as much as I could if I had have less products to develop. If I w ere to do the process again I w ould have liked to have spent more time on my final presentation and made it look more professional.
Validation and Evaluation Validation and Evaluation
Open2Design Matt Burtonw ood & Ben W illiams " The project tackles an emerging market w ithin the pet care sector understanding how owners are more sensitive and engaged to their pets specific requirements. This co-insides w ith the w illingness to spend large amounts of money pets care. I think the product visually w ould attract people and create interest to the products, and moves something that previously may have only been suggested by vets into a more accessible location. This w ill make people much more aw are of the condition and allow them to find a solution earlier than letting the dog struggle and appear to just be a ‘bad dog’. F or the product to be progressed you w ould need to make w aves in the dog market and get noticed by getting recommendation from vets, owners or famous pets! "
Validation and Evaluation
Abby Braizer W’innovate senior designer Pets Product Development for W ilko "I really like the project idea and how you’ve approached it. You have made medical products more accessible to owners further educating them on their dog’s needs. I think the branding makes it a fun alternative to other products on the market. It is clear from the project that there has been a genuine interest in the subject matter and the desire to find stylish solutions to the identified problems w ith through first hand research. The project has identified a real issue that owners experience w ith their dogs and produces stylish, on trend solutions to the problems, creating desirable items that people w ould w ant regardless of their addition functions to their dogs health."
Validation and Evaluation
Karen Quinn Dog owner "Angst is an extremely unique project which I loved being involved in. Recognising my dogs anxieties is as equally important as recognising my own. We tried everything that w as on offer to us from the vets, which often just added to my dog’s anxieties and became really expensive, especially when I’ve got tw o. Angst has been really straight forw ard and has really helped w ith both Maisie and Jess. I love everything about the products, they are comforting, bright and a joy for the dogs to be around. Its about time that w e, as dog owners, are offered something which w ill help in the long term!"
Validation and Evaluation
Personal Evaluation W ith no previous knowledge of dog stress and anxiety before I started this project, I spent a long time researching and speaking to a range of people such as behaviourists, vets and owners to learn more about this issue. I had to strike a balance betw een commercial and medical. A s the products I have designed fit into both categories I had to be careful to keep the products scientific as w ell as making them more saleable to raise aw areness of the problem. Speaking to a range of different people from those who purely saw it from a medical point of view to those who saw it from a commercial stand point really helped me find middle ground w ith my project. If I w as to take this project further I w ould have like to develop and refine my products more, an example w ould be the timer toy, I w ould have liked to have been able to fit toys etc into the slots. I just felt that I ran out of time w ith some of my ideas as I w as a
little too adventurous w ith the amount of w ork I had taken on.
I feel that I have produced a brand that really fits the gap in the market. I had never previously done any fashion w ork and for me this pushed me out of my comfort zone, how ever I feel that what I have produced really fits w ith the summer trends. I am proud of achieving so much in a short period of time. I feel that I really pushed myself by learning new techniques such as digital printing and extending my knowledge of Solidw orks by using surfaces. This project has really shown me I enjoy fabric and print design and w ould really like to learn more of this in the future.
Validation and Evaluation
Over all I w as extremely happy w ith the branding and the w ay it all came together. I felt that I have created interest in stress and anxiety and made it more accessible to owners to help educate them further about their dog’s needs.
The T imer Toy The timer toy is a interactional toy which can be set for up to an hour w ith treats that w ill disperse every 10 mins. Having a timer toy to explore is an effective w ay of redirecting your dog’s attention aw ay from your leaving and w ill absorb your pet during this crucial time. I w as over all happy w ith the design and how it fit w ith the rest of my branding. I felt that I created a sophisticated product. Unfortunately I originally w anted the holes to be big enough for toys to fit in, how ever because of the nature of the shape I could not get this to w ork. Also when testing my w orking prototype I found that the mechanism w as not strong enough to push it round, how ever because of the nature of the toy it w as design to be pushed around by the dog.
Validation and Evaluation
The solution
The Sound Mat When the dog lays on the mat music is activated by the pressure of the dog’s w eight. The scientifically proven calming music w ill stop barking, reduce hyperactivity and minimize thunder phobia.
I w as disappointed that I did not have time to make it fully function. If I w as to make the mat again I w ould also choose a different fabric as I found that it marked quite easily so I w ould choose a more rugged fabric.
Validation and Evaluation
I w as happy w ith the look and feel of the bed. I think the vibrant colours w ork really w ell in almost any home environment.
The Smell Charm Angst charms attach onto any dog collar and uses dog appeasing pheromones combined w ith natural scent of herbs such as lavender and lemon balm to provide comfort to dogs all day long.
I w as really happy w ith the design of the charm. I think it really fit in w ith my branding and created a jew ellery like feel to the collar.
If I had more time and money it w ould have been to get the charm injection moulded, so that the lavender smell came through.
Validation and Evaluation
The Bandana Angst bandana is a soft fabric mask that filters a dogs vision to reduce the visual stimulus that is making him/her agitated. Made from soft fabric and elastic fit for maximum comfort.
I found a few problems that I w ould have like to refine out further. On dogs w ith short noses (brachycephalic) it w ould not w ork very effectively as it w as hard to keep it on, how ever I think this could be addressed by changing the elastic to thinner and using a locking mechanism.
Validation and Evaluation
I w as really happy w ith the design I created and how w ell it came out when digitally printing. I think all the testing w ith material and the best w ay to manufacture really helped me create a really w ell finished design.
The Shirt Angst shirt is a lightw eight, breathable pressure wrap that applies gentle, maintained pressure and provides the maximum calming effect. Working in a similar w ay to sw addling an infant. Out of all my designs I felt this w orked the best. I spent a long time iterating the design and w orking on the patterns, this really helped w ith the designing of the other products as I could create a theme of colours and patterns. The prototype w orked as I tested my design on several dogs. I w ould have made the colours slightly brighter and w ould have put the label logo in a different place.
Validation and Evaluation
The P urchasing Personalisation is at the heart of Angst. Not all dog’s react the same w ay, therefore the owner must have the option to choose which packs or products best suit their dog’s needs. The owner can check which anxiety best suits your dog, review the products in the booklet. Each anxiety has a specific tips on how to help reduce your dog’s stress. A key problem I found from my exploration w as the owner had to actively research their dog’s anxiety and there w as nothing specifically for different anxieties. Really understanding the commercial aspect of my design really helped me design the service. Having the different packs clearly identified to the owner which w ould be best for their dog.
Validation and Evaluation
The Packaging
The only thing I w ould change w ould be the overall finish of my packaging, if I had not left these till last to make I w ould have been able to make them a lot more proffessionally.
Validation and Evaluation
I w as very happy w ith the over all branding of the packaging as I think this w orked really w ell to give it a fashion focused commercial feel. I think it really helped bring my project together and really clearly show the different packs.
CALM RELAXED SU CAREFREE PLACID EASY-GOING TRAN EASE COOL CONT CONFIDENCE PEAC COMFORT SECU
UPPORT CHILLED ZEN PROTECTED NQUIL SOOTHING TENTED ASSURANCE CE NUTURE TRUST URE REASSURED