2 minute read
Main reframing moments
Prioritising There were two things I wanted to research in the beginning. One is to investigate the shape of the strap, because there were still opportunities here (and other options that I did not realize at the time). And the other thing was researching which production technique is well-matched to produce PET-G straps on a large scale.
Laura Mudde, my reframing coach, made me aware that I probably did not have enough time to do both. So I chose to focus on the design of the strap. And if I had spare I had the possibily to also think about large-scale production.
Advertisement
The straps function At first I was only focussed on designing a new shape with the intention to come up with a better design then the designs I saw on the internet.
Screenshots of a small collection of same designs only aesthetically different But after a bit of feedback and spending more time designing these straps the focus also became upon creating a better fit. So nurses are better protected against the corona virus.
Sold out materials I was at a point where I wanted to make my prototype from material that met my requirements. First I worked with thin and strong cardboard. It met some of the requirements, but was more as a use for quick prototyping before I had my hands on PET-G. I wanted to see where I could buy PET-G, but it wasn’t as easy as I expected it to be. In many places this was sold out, delivery took too long, or the plates weren’t the right thickness. In the end, I was able to buy a PET-G sheet with a thickness of 0.5 mm from a store called Vlieger, in Amsterdam. Now I could continue developing prototypes with a material that meets the requirements.
This was at the time that the number of Covid-19 infections still were increasing by large numbers. Now it’s available in a lot of webshops again.
It does leave some interesting questions about plastic. Why are transparant plastics so popular during this pandemic? What does this say about the use of plastic by humans?
If I had more time I would’ve liked to do more research about bioplastics and if I could make a bioplastic that met the requirements for the strap.
