Laura Dobson Industrial Design Portfolio
Major Project
My final major project was developed to encourage children to spend more time outdoors and interacting with their natural surroundings as well as helping parents deal with anxieties over safety and responsibilty.
Talking to the target user group (7&8 year olds) was essential throughout the project. I found their ideas and imagination to be extremely helpful during the ideation phase. I used a group of primary school children to test different ideas and feedback to me as well as interviewing parents and teachers.
Explore More helps to actively encourage activities such as den building and stargazing. There are four adventure kit bags available which are suited to different types of outdoor environments.
Key Service Touchpoints The Website The site is easy to navigate and uses child friendly language throughout The logo and woodland characters are animated throughout the site adding excitement for children
Parents section of the website explains the benefits of Explore More and once joined, a parent guidance page offers advice on safety and other aspects of outdoor play Each time an outdoor activity is logged, the childs character recieves power points moving them closer to unlocking new characters and new tasks, maintaining interest and participation
Please view the website at:
www. e xp l o rem o re.o nl ine
Adventure Kit Bag, Components and Add-ons Waterproof lining so den accessories can be carried home comfortably, even after a rain shower Add-ons for the den kit inlcude den canopies in a range of colours, they are all made from waterproof material so you can shelter from the rain. They also have a large eyelet in each corner for easy fastening 100% cotton twill is durable and mashine washable The den building kit includes 10 velcro ties, these are really easy to use and can attach multiple sticks of any shape and size together making them the perfect component for the target age group Front pocket allows for easy storage and access of velcro ties, they will always be the first thing you need Logo detail works as advertising for the brand and is exciting for children
Wooden bead emphasises brand value of connecting with nature If straps are too long they can be easily adjusted by an adult
Postal Boxes Boxes for both the kits and the add-ons fit through standard UK letterboxes All Explore More packages are addressed to the child creating excitment each time they recieve one. The character on the address sticker also changes to match the childs current character level on the website
Placement
In both 2014 and 2015 I worked at Twoey Euctaional Resources, completing two 6 month summer placements.
Placement Report Laura Dobson 12006190
During my 6 month placement, I was given the opportunity to design 4 products which will retail in 2015 catalogues. All of the products I designed are for outdoor use and are made from medite tricoya MDF, they can be left outside in all weathers.
Dolls House
Garage
Early Years Mud Kitchen
Junior Mud Kitchen
Live Project
TWIST C O L L E C T I O N A live group project with Lacoste asked us to design an exclusive shoe collection for END Clothing in Spring/Summer 2016
Within this project I was mainly responsible for the packaging design. The design shown above is for the limited edition shoe that we designed to be exclusive to the END Clothing store. I chose red and gold to suit the target audience and also to fit with the limited edition theme. The CAD model was created using solidworks and rendered with keyshot.
Competition
Design Innovation in Plastics Competition, the brief was to encourage learning through play
Grazer is a lunchbox that can encourage children to eat the healthier options in their lunch first, before the sugary snacks. Grazer does not aim to force children to eat in a certain order but to encourage it. For example, the way in which the parent packs the lunchbox determines what the child sees when they first open it, as each compartment has a small push button at the bottom which will open the next compartment and so on. The diagram on the opposite page explains this in more detail.
Once the food in the first open compartment has been consumed, press the strawberry shaped button to open the next compartment
Eat the food in the second compartment and push the apple shaped button to open the next compartment and so on
Competition
Within this competition, I chose to tackle the brief “Fair Play’ which was to reduce and minimise the amount of materials and packaging used in childrens toys
I chose to look at the classic game of Connect 4, as the game has been around for decades but the fundamental design of the game and packaging has not change very much at all
‘First to 5’ win dials maintain interest and enhance competition
CAD Project
Replicate
This project was set by the University, we were asked to pick an object and create an exact copy using Solidworks to demonstrate our ability
Live Project
A live group project with Philips, we were asked to come up with a new concept to encourage younger girls to use electric shavers rather than disposable razors
These images are screen shots of a motion video I produced as part of a team. The video presents all our research in a fun and energetic way. To view this video please follow the link below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk0-GHWDMjk&feature=youtu.be
InDesign Project
Magazine
This project was set by the University so we could demonstrate our understanding of InDesign and our ability in graphic design
Fundraising
Fundraising Fundraising for our final year degree show in 2016
Our final year degree show will be held in summer 2016. Students are expected to raise money to fund transport, accomodation and setup costs. In November 2014, myself and a group of friends started making Christmas decorations and notice boards from used wine corks. This meant we had very little cost in starting up and were able to make profit on everything we sold. We raised ÂŁ550 in just over a month, by going to craft fairs and markets. This year we will continue to fundraise and expand our range of products.
Thank You
lauradobson94@yahoo.co.uk