Product Design Portfolio 2017

2017

SAHIL MAKHANI Product Designer

RESUME OF

SAHIL MAKHANI PRODUCT DESIGNER

WORK EXPERIENCE February 2016 - August 2016

Foley Designs Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore / Design Intern, Graduation Project Worked on a design proposal for Bus Shelters as a part of my graduation project. The proposal will be pitched to private sector clients who are interested in providing such conveniences under Swachh Bharat Mission and Make in India schemes. I also worked on few in-house projects related to anti-pollution masks, apparels and leather.

June 2015 - August 2015

CONTACT 18, Parkland Society, Sarkhej Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380055, India +91 9879794433 makhanisahil0@gmail.com www.behance.net/Sahil-M www.issuu.com/sahilmakhani

Hello! I am a product designer who’s enthusiastic about exploring different cultures, materials and other fields of design.

Owing to a makers mindset, I have developed skills to handle a wide range of materials.

I particularly enjoy the thought process that goes behind bringing a behavioural shift through design. At this stage, I wish to explore the versatility in leather, glass, space and exhibition design, visual merchandising and furniture industry.

Worked on lifestyle home products like water pitchers, bar sets and dessert bowls for domestic as well as international market. My major learnings were in studying manufacturing processes on steel, detailing stainless steel products, understanding industry concerns,etc.

January 2015

MIT Media Labs - Design Innovation Workshop 2015 The workshop was aimed at bridging the gap between engineers, programmers, designers and Industry professionals on the path of innovation.

January 2013 - January 2016

Chokdi Designs / Startup

EDUCATION

SKILLS

2012 - 2017 Bachelors in Visual Arts -Product Design Unitedworld Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Adobe Photoshop Adobe Premier Pro Rhino Solidworks Keyshot

1999 - 2012 School Shiv Ashish High School, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Magppie International Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi / Design Intern

With a view to explore and embrace Indian art forms, we (a startup of four friends) decided to first promote art exploration by forming groups and then motivating them to inculcate these art forms in their work and day to day lives.

March 2017 - July 2017

Spandex Clothings, Ahmedabad / Design Consultant Worked on developing a t-shirt manufacturing brand for a company producing shirts for the wholesale market.

October 2016 - February 2017

Interior Design / Freelance Sketching | Rendering | Model making Quick prototyping | Interpersonal communication | Public Speaking

Worked as an assistant for an interior designer in design and execution of a 4 BHK flat. I also worked on design and execution of two luxury bathrooms and a kids space in a 5 BHK bungalow.

CONTENTS

Graduation Project

SUMMER INTERNSHIP

Glass

Cruzar

Low Cost Housing

Foley Designs Pvt. Ltd. (Public Spaces-Bus Shelters)

Magppie International Pvt. Ltd.(Table-top Accessories)

Table top accessories ( Splash, Stain, Tripartite )

A value engineered coffee table

Housing for Construction Labor

Leather

Co-De

Display and Control

Chik - Chok

Experiences

Organizers ( Wrap, Gripp’d )

Simple Product for coconut de-husking

Interaction Design

A spinning top cover

MIT Media Labs Workshop Chokdi Designs

GRADUATION PROJECT Project

Public Spaces - Bus Shelters Sponsors

Foley Designs Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore Duration

February - August 2016 Industry Guide

Mr. Manas Barve Institute Guide

Mrs. Minal Patel These spreads give you a glimpse of my graduation project where I worked on a design proposal for Bus Shelters. The proposal will be pitched to private sector clients who are interested in providing such conveniences under Swachh Bharat Mission and Make in India schemes. To view the complete project please can click the link below:

www.issuu.com/sahilmakhani/docs

DESIGN Brief Problem Statement : Focus On :

How might we organize a bus shelter ?

To create a Safe, Reliable and Easy to Maintain shelter for bus commuters.

How can we make the experience of commuting in a city via buses carefree ?

How can we ease the journey of a bus commuter ?

Target Audience :

How might we generate a sense of assurance in the commuters’ mind ?

How might we use Bus shelters to generate a sense of pride by promoting the city’s culture ?

How might we create an easy to maintain, low cost and anti-vandal bus shelter ?

How might we design bus shelters for smoother flow of commuters as well as pedestrians ?

Primary • Daily commuters : School / College students, Working professionals, Senior Citizens, House wifes.

Secondary • Pedestrians • Bus drivers and conductors • Maintenance people (eg. garbage pickup )

Stake holders • Client • Municipal Corporation • Advertised Brands • Transport Corporation

Criteria : I have adopted the “ways to grow framework” from IDEO.org to place my solution and offering to the client.

A more incremental innovation is easier to implement and may actually offer the biggest impact to the community.

Our solution lies in the incremental quadrant, but is close to inviting new users as it intends to transform the quality of service and hence peoples’ behaviors. The offerings remain the same while introducing changes in the system to benefit both the providers and users.

Solution

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Installation in 24 hours Prefabricated Anti-vandal and low maintenance 5 years life Seating : minimum 8 and maximum 16 Modular Provision for Dustbins Integrate city information, maps and bus routes.

Once 4G in place, provision for CCTV and GPRS 6ft in depth Seating unique in Design, not very comfortable, should not allow sleeping.

European design language Strong Visual Identity Provision for advertisements atleast one horizontal and one vertical with one advertisement visible to the commuters in the shelter • Privately owned and maintained.

SYNTHESIS

Observation

Insights

Patterns

Themes

Accessibility

Information

Maintenance

Mental Comfort

Social Behavior

Pedestrians prefer to stay on the footpath even if there’s a bus-stop.

People don’t relay on the printed information as they don’t know when the information was last updated.

Lack of accountability of the concerned authority leads to poor maintenance of these shelters.

Daily commuters are more at rest while using the seating.

Unknown male and female avoid sitting next to one another.

To gain information regarding a route, people relay on talking to a fellow commuter or the conduction.

Intervention in light boxes can bring ease of maintenance.

Presence of a railing, makes people lean on it, obstructing the view of the ones seated.

No queue is followed while getting on and off the bus shelter.

Differently-abled, specially blind depend on the help of others to know the exact location of the shelter or the seating.

Women in sarees carrying luggage, senior citizens and injured face a lot of problems.

There was a smooth flow of people in getting in and out of the bus and the busstop in the absence of railing.

Shift from Chaos to order

Trees around the shelter many times make the information non-readable from certain angles.

Bus stop name and sign should be clearly visible to the drivers.

For proper maintenance, co-ordination between different government bodies for tasks like cleaning, emptying of dustbins, structure repair works, replacement of lights,etc is critical.

Shift from Conviniece to City Pride

Lack of authentic information is the biggest distress to the people.

A real time display of the approaching buses will keep the commuters informed and confident.

Clear approaching side is very important for ease of commuters.

Shift from Anxiousness to Assurance

People associate light with safety during night.

Well lite bus-stops ensures the commuters of being visible around and hence feel secure.

Shift from Restless to Calm

CURRENT SCENARIO

Waiting without proper information frustrates people. This also sometimes results in damage to the infrastructure and unsocial behavior by people on the stop.

Differently able Have leg problems

Reliability

Bus-Stop far away

Accessibility

How long will the bus take ?

Do I know anyone here ?

Have I got the current form of payment ?

Will there be a seat for me ?

Will it be crowded ?

Infrastructure Walk How How How How

Dropped on a vehicle How long will the walk take ?

What will I need to bring with me ?

Will I need a jacket ?

long will it take ? much will it cost ? convenient is it ? close is it ?

Issues

Waiting

Going to the Bus-Stop Commuter Experience Inconvenient and unorganized system Unhygienic space Bad Image No trust Economic

Bus-Stop Notions

Work

Shopping

Meeting

Get on the Bus Notions

School / College No reference of how much time the bus is gonna take neither of how crowded the bus is. Also, how much time is the second one gonna take if u missed one.

Fear of loosing the bus Does not want to get late

Tasks

Come out and stand to indicate the driver

Bus stop is a crowded space Have to remain cautious of theft

Keep the change/pass ready

Driver does not care

Adjust your belongings and clothes to climb

Getting inside the bus is the most important thing in the world

Be cautions of theft Climbing the steps

The driver does not care about them The information is not reliable

Motivations

There are many creeps on the stop Stop is dangerous after dark

Advantage of having a government job Appreciation from seniors Fulfilling family needs even with lack of education

It’s a pain to take the bus but economic

Notions People don’t understand Not appreciated Feeling of being caught between the government and people Thankless job

One of the major issue is the large difference between the commuter crowd and the capacity of a bus and number of buses because of which the crowd becomes unmanagable

Pressures Workload affects social life, Reflects on attitude and also causes physical problems Have to keep the superiors happy Work conditions have hygiene and comfort issues

Background Lack of adequate training Usually from a lower income family Has enough driving experience

Struggle to meet social standards due to inadequate salary

Arguments due to lack of reliability on the system

How long will it take to reach the destination ?

Do I know anyone here ?

Is there a seat or do I have to stand ?

People try to avoid buying a ticket No organization Change problems Is it going to be easy to get off the bus ?

Is it the correct stop ?

Bus Driver

Do I have enough money ?

Will he have change ?

Is he charging me fare ?

Issues

Get a place in the bus

Bus-Stop

Buying a ticket

Bus Conductor

Eager to get a place Cautious of theft or abuse Physical task frustration

Issues

Crowd suffocation Traffic close to the bus exit Crowded bus stop and footpath People rushing to get in the bus

Tasks Selling tickets

Notions Thankless job

Instructions to the driver

People don’t understand easily

Information to the people

Not appreciated

Managing the crowd Announcing the stop name

Constant eye on the road to be aware of the destination stop

Issues

Don’t get a place in the bus Lack of emergency support for crimes like theft, groping or eve teasing.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE Mental Comfort

Element of nature / warmth

Balanced

soft / smooth

Engaging / Inviting

Glow/Bold/Easy to spot

Interactive / Landmark

Culture

Intuitive

Hierarchy

Indication of direction

Easy Movement

Secure

Well-lit

Transparency

Sturdy

IDEATION

FORM IDENTITY ITERATIONS

FINAL CONCEPT A prism itself is a very stable form.

The roof here is a horizontal prism which makes it very hard to be bent even by an external forces like animals jumping or a human climbing on it. It is also capable of supporting the main advertisement.

The vertical prism gives us two different surfaces in different directions attracting different crowds, thus helping in organization. It Acts as a support for the roof and other entities like seating and transferring the load of the object to the ground. Due to the closed area the vertical prism gives, installation of any new enhancements like Beacon System or CCTV becomes easy and anti-vandal.

The back side of the vertical prism can be locked in such way which can only be opened for any repairs or maintenance work by authorities and not by anyone else.

SPACE ORGANISATION

Anti-Homeless

Lean on space

To avoid the homeless to sleep, there was a need of a barrier hence the seating dividers behave as the obstacles for them and hence keep the seating hygienic for a longer time.

In normal weather conditions, the leaning posture requires less space and hence accommodate more people in the same area. In harsh weather conditions, it makes this part of the shelter free for more people to take shelter inside. Along with other advantages, this will also reduce the number of people standing on the road waiting for the bus rather then standing inside the shelter which was mainly due to the seating being already occupied leaving no space around for anyone to stand without obstructing the view of the ones seated.

Advantage of a Bench By leaving the 5 inch space barrier free on the seating, we give the commuters an opportunity to squeeze by “crossing their legs�. With squeezing we also make sure to address the social behavior of an unknown male and female sitting next to each other by giving the 7 inch as a barrier space out of the 12 inch seating depth.

The back side of the prism opens up for maintenance to take care of the electrical issues as it houses the electric meter and wires coming from all the light sources. The space also makes it easier to maneuver the light boxes if any issues arise. The prism also houses the pipe installed as a rain water channel.

MATERIAL AND FINISHES Cladding Dark Grey, Metal finish, semi-Matt, Aluminum composite panels Support Grey, Powder coated, mild steel hollow Triangular pipes Cladding Light Grey, concrete finish, Matt, Aluminum composite panels Dustbin Grey and brown, fiber cast plastics Cladding Brown, recycled fiber cast plastic

Advertisement LED light boxes, 40mm in depth Support Grey, Powder coated, mild steel hollow square pipes Information LED light boxes, 40mm in depth Lighting Frosted acrylic or polycarbonate sheet Support Brown, Powder coated, mild hollow steel pipes

PROTOTYPING

Proposal for ahmedabad, Baroda and surat National Consultative Seminar

Women safe women smart cities Organized by Bharatiya Stree Shakti In association with National Commission for women Institute of Public Administration

A lot of space below flyovers is government owned and remains highly underutilized. They often become spots for casual, unorganized sector of pan walas or barbers.

These spaces can be utilized for provision of public toilets, giving a strong, ready infrastructure at frequent intervals around the city to place these facilities.

Separate, stand alone toilets for men and women.

•

Utilizing a dead area

•

Not obstructing the parking space

•

Avoiding unorganized use of this space like the homeless using it for sleeping, by roadside barbers and other slum dwellers.

•

Revenue generation through advertisements for maintaining the facilities.

Proposal for Bus shelters with facilities •

Bus-stops with clean design language, extended to accommodate healthy food stalls

•

Organizing the unorganized sector of roadside stalls

•

The stall owners would be responsible for maintaining the bus shelter.

Revenue generation through advertisements for maintaining the facilities.

•

The bus shelters would be designed to accommodate the same toilet modules as used under the flyovers for feasibility.

Features Separate toilets for men, women at busy junction, streets.

Stands for pink rickshaws and pink cabs.

Women toilets to have sanitary pad dispensers, disposal facilities.

Healthy food stalls on lease.

Defining toilet perimeter for safety and maintenance.

Emergency numbers written everywhere.

SUMMER INTERNSHIP Project

Lifestyle home products Sponsors

Magppie International Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi Duration

June - August 2015 ( 9 weeks ) Industry Guide

Mr. Abhishek Johri

Worked on lifestyle home products like water pitchers, bar sets and dessert bowls for domestic as well as international market. My major learnings were in studying manufacturing processes on steel, detailing stainless steel products, understanding industry concerns, planning required for large-scale manufacturing units and market analysis. I got a glimpse of how design thinking is applied to both strategic as well as operational processes in the company.

COMpAny BrIeF During my 9 weeks at Magppie, the company first required me to work on Diwali gifting like nut bowls, chip and dip,etc. Later. I worked on water pitchers and bar sets for domestic as well as exports market I also helped the lead designer there with some presentations and research for some of the designs.

experIenCe AnD skILLs DeVeLOpeD During the course of my internship, I mainly learned and worked on stainless steel lifestyle home products. I learned their process and was able to implement my design learning and process to the same for strong outcomes. Also, using clay models to communicate my designs with the team really worked. Working closely with professionals, gave me the required confidence for my concepts. I learned how a big company like magppie functions. I observed their shortcomings and strengths.

In addition to the tasks assigned by the company, I documented the details required by the college as part of our experience. For satisfying the college brief, I observed and documented the working of different departments at Magppie.

This gave me a good understanding of the production processes and interaction between different departments.

TILT This is a water pitcher made for the US market. The interesting aspect about it is the angle given to its base maintaining the center of gravity making the pitcher lean a little forward.

The criteria for water pitcher were Made for the US market No investment into new moulds Made from stainless steel only

I studied the moulds and manufacturing processes and tried simple variations in the processes to achieve an interesting product.

STEP This is a water pitcher made for the US market. I studied the metal lathe machines used to finish the drawn steel products and figured that one can give a maximum of 3.5mm depth to a surface and figured to use this idea for a water pitcher.

DESERT CONE The experience of an ice-cream scoop in a cone. The product enhances the experience of desert serving.

All these products were designed for “MAGPPIE�, their domestic lifestyle home products brand as a part of their Diwali gifting collection.

The company wanted me to design products enhancing the experience of serving during the festive season. Also keeping in mind their brand attributes like minimalistic, elegant, luxury, experience driven, timeless, modern and stylistic.

I also carried out a trend research studying the international brands they look up-to like Stelton, Nambe, George Jensen, Philippi, Nuance, etc.

LADLE This a nut bowl set inspired by the form of laddle. It has a steel base with rubber coating and a wooden shaft attached to the base for ease of serving.

CHIP AND DIP

FElix This is chemistry inspired barset designed for domestic use.

The bottoms of the products like ice bucket, cocktail shaker and all the tools here are curved inspired from the test-tubes and the construction is inspired from the stand holding the burettes.

The stand has a triangular base and all the holding spaces have a robber coating so as to have proper grip and stability.

GLASS

Course

Hand Glass Blowing Project

Table top accessories Duration

01 week

BRIEF : To understand the nuances of hand glass blowing and develop products categorized into lightings and table top accessories. I took the help of clay models to communicate my designs better to the artisans.

Below is the link for the video of the making : https://vimeo.com/145559257

SPLASH TABLE LIGHTING

MOOD BOARD Splashing is a playful action. The intriguing and unpredictable forms that appear in a splash were my inspiration for this product.

Splash is a table lighting inspired by the dynamic forms generated by water splashes. It is filled with coffee to trigger curiosity, making the piece interactive.

Video : https://vimeo.com/145559257

The base has an angular top to show the flow of the liquid inside. It holds a spot light inside to bring out beautiful shades of coffee through glass.

STAIN This 3D coffee stain is made with borosilicate glass rod, to be used as a paper weight.

MOOD BOARD

The illusion of a stain acting as a paper weight itself fascinated me a lot. This product was made taking advantage of the transparency and weight of a solid glass rod. I tried mixing coffee with the paint to simulate the aromatic essence of coffee in the product.

The bottom surface is textured to provide enough friction, preventing it from slipping. Mixing some coffee with the paint, I tried to simulate the aromatic essence of coffee in the product.

TRIPARTITE Tripartite is a table top accessory, inspired by an hour glass, with the sand flowing in three directions, making it unusual and interactive. My fascination for hour glasses and curiosity to try out a new form for the same led to the making of Tripartite.

I was always curious about the making of an hour glass. This curiosity led to the concept of designing a three way hour glass enhancing the magical essence of an hour glass. The product does not act as an actual hour glass but gives a similar experience with a playful twist.

CRUZAR Course

Value Engineering Project

Furniture Design Duration

03 weeks

BRIEF : To select a piece of furniture from a showroom, constrained by its scope of value engineering framework, evaluate it in order to determine the criticality based upon the type, quality and quantity of material used, skill of labor etc.

Redesign it in order to increase the ratio of Value/ Cost, keeping in mind the design language, target audience, market positioning. Below is the link for video of the making https://vimeo.com/145590919 Team project - 2 members

CHOSEN TABLE This coffee table was chosen from a showroom named WOODEN. The joineries of the chosen table are messy and complicated, trapping a lot of dust. Too many pieces of wood are used to create literal crosses on three sides, making the design dull. The beauty of Ghana teak, its grains, are suppressed by the dark polish.

BILL OF MATERIAL Items

Measurement

Quantity

Unit Price

Final Cost

Glass

24” X 36” (8mm)

1

120/- (per sq. ft.)

720/-

Polish

1200/-

Labor

500/-

Studs

1” diameter

4

10/-

40/-

Buffers

1” Diameter

4

2/-

8/-

Overheads Ghana teak

Total

Selling Price: Rs. 9500/-

100/16 logs

1500/(Per cubic ft.)

630/-

3198/-

PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS Production facility constraints such as raw material, workshop set-up and labor skills were taken into account while developing new design concepts.

HOW CAN WE INCREASE THE RATIO OF VALUE/COST OF THE CHOSEN TABLE?

HOW do we perceive a “cross”?

•

A CROSS is a mark, object, or figure formed by two short intersecting lines or pieces.

Reducing production and selling costs by reducing the material used, without compromising its usability

OR •

Increasing the aesthetic value of the furniture, within the same production cost and time, possibly increasing the product’s exchange value (the price a customer is willing to pay for a product.)

What design element of the table do we want to retain and redesign ?

The cross and curved legs are two major design elements here. However, the interaction is crude with tongue and grove joineries, resulting in a lot of crevices where dust gets collected, leading to higher maintenance.

We decided to retain the element of CROSS to redesign the table, and attempt to minimize the matrerials and joineries.

IDEATION Taking the element of CROSS to define the design language, we started developing our concepts and made low fidelity models to understand and test structural strength.

MAKING The half-lap joints were used for fixing the cross elements and the legs. To enhance and flaunt the beautiful grains of Ghana teak, the legs were only coated with lacquer and the crossed legs were given a grungy texture, highlight the element of cross, when viewed from different angles.

Video : https://vimeo.com/145590919

THE FINAL PIECE We froze our concept and got it made by a carpenter, keeping in mind the value engineering constraints of cost, workshop set-up, labor skills and raw materials available. The production cost of the new table is Rs.3500, which is not much higher than the cost of our chosen table, while the aesthetic value increased exponentially, without compromising its functionality and durability.

All the legs of the table are placed at an angle, complementing the cross element. The half-lap joints were used for fixing the cross elements and the legs. The half-lap joineries, again, formed a cross at the top and bottom surfaces of the legs. To enhance and flaunt the beautiful grains of Ghana teak, the legs were only coated with lacquer and no color was added. On the other hand, the crossed legs were given a grungy texture, to create an interesting contrast, highlight the element of cross, when viewed from different angles.

48

HOUSING FOR CONSTRUCTION LABOR Course

Systems Design Project

Housing Duration

08 weeks

BRIEF : The objective of this self initiated project was to develop a more user centric housing for construction labor, keeping in mind the ethnography, psychology and demography of Ahmedabad. The aim to is to develop a design that can be adopted by the stakeholders in near future.

Team project - 2 members

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT Time is a major constraint here, and as product designers, we aim at coming up with a proposal, offering the most optimum use of materials. We are worked on developing modular structures, with flexible joineries that are durable, cost efficient and save time during assembling and dismantling.

We would like to mention that during the project, we were inspired by the works of Paul Polak, David Berman and Rob Bye.

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

To understand the system and gain knowledge about the interest of construction companies in better designed homes for their labor, we met the director of HN Safal Pvt. Ltd., a big construction house in Ahmedabad. They were more than willing to provide us with the necessary support Hence, considering their basic criteria for these houses and taking into account the data provided by them, we chose one of their labor colonies as our base site.

*We have not asked for any sponsorships so far.

ENVIRONMENT The colonies are usually located on the roadside. There is no proper system for waste disposal, leading to a large amount of garbage near their houses.

Roadside location Roadside location

Inside of a temporary bathroom

LIFESTYLE The houses lack natural light and ventilation. The labor work from 9am to 6 pm, on the site, while their children are looked after in a school cum daycare center run by Maya Foundation.

Warped and broken GI sheets due to improper use

Storing inside houses

STRUCTURE The structures use supports of wooden logs (Nilgiri), mild steel pipes and rods and split bamboo, which are then tied using jute rope, metal wires or elastic. The material is used randomly in a crude manner.

School cum daycare for children

Common bathing and washing space

SYSTEM ANALYSIS This is the current system followed by construction companies.

Material procured by construction company

Material transported to location of the labor colony

Houses rebuilt at new location.

Houses built by workers 60 percent material is damaged and sold as scrap after the first site

Material transported to new location

The houses are dismantled (After an average of 2 years)

FOCUS POINTS Aiming to focus on providing these basic features in the houses.

We hope to achieve a decent level of improvement in these aspects, from what exists.

Weather resistant structures

Appropriate ventilation

Appropriate space for cooking in all weathers

Reusable for a minimum of 4 years. (Shifting once after 2 years)

Low maintenance

Modular structures for varying family sizes.

MODEL 1 A plinth of PCC (Plain Cement Concrete) 1ft high is suggested, in order to prevent water logging, insects etc. Most of the parts are mild steel, that increases the cost of material as well as the overhead charges such as transportation.

MODEL 2 Taking bamboo as our supports, we proceeded with this model and explored different types of knots. The knotting looks crude and may not always be reliable, considering the labor skills. Also, it consumes a lot of time.

JOINERY EXPLORATIONS Scaled low fidelity explorations for trying out different materials and mechanisms.

WHY BAMBOO?

NEED FOR A JOINERY

Low cost, no termite issues, structural strength both in vertical and horizontal direction, strong, water resistant and easy availability are some of the advantages of using bamboo for our structure. Using bamboo involves a certain complexity due to variations in its sizes and also its internal structure

Tyeing does not satisfy the criteria of modularity, re-usability, easy assembly, etc that is mentioned in our brief. All the other existing joineries for bamboo involve cutting,drilling and other operations which increases the time and effort of the labor. No other holes can be done on the sheets for maintaining its structural strength.

LEATHER Course

Self Initiative Project

Craft Exploration Duration

01 week

BRIEF : Explore crafts by designing a product which involves materials like Leather and canvas and experience processes like Machine Stitching, Patterning and Dyeing.

Below is the link showing the use of these products : https://vimeo.com/235757754

Chosen Product : Organizers

Wrap a laptop workstation 54

The leather on the outside feels smooth and has an earthy feel and appearance to it while the canvas feels a little rough and grainy with a celestial appearance because of the black tie and dye. The black tie and dye also uplifts the sharp metallic look of a mac-book pro.

The central idea behind the design was to have a laptop workstation on your desk rather then a cover which one has to remove and put aside.

This design makes it possible for one to wrap the laptop instead of fitting it in the cover, which enhances the user experience.

1

2

3

4

5

Patterning and Cushioning

Leather Dyeing

Cutting and Lining

Sampling

Canvas Tie and Dye

Measuring the laptop and cutting a pattern out of paper according on the design and getting box board ready for cushioning.

First step was to rub the hide with a smooth pebble to get a uniform texture. Second step was to use the leather dyes with chromium salt and a diluted form of acetic acid and spreading it on the rubbed hide with the help of cotton and then rubbed.

Spirit solution was then spread on the entire hide for fixing of the dyes. After the hide had dried under direct sunlight for 24 hours, it was time to wash it under running water five to six times to get the extra dye off the hide and was left to dry under shade.

Cutting the leather according to the pattern. Since the leather was too thin, a muslin lining was stuck all over the leather to protect it from future damages.

After the leather was ready, it was time to prepare tie and dye samples for the canvas lining on the inner side. I finalized a darker shade of navy blue and white tie and dye as it gives a more celestial feel contrasting with the earthy leather and it also uplifted the sharp metallic looks of a mac-book pro.

It was important to remove the starch from the canvas by washing it in hot water before tie-dye. After drying the canvas was tied using a white/off-white cotton thread according to the selected sample. For dyeing, water was brought to boil and powder dye was added in the water. After a little stirring the tied canvas was added in the vessel and further stirred.

The high temperature of the water helps in achieving a long lasting color on canvas. the tie was opened once the canvas had dried.

Aluminium section to resist the laptop falling from the other side Pocket for Notes Mouse pad

Magnets for locking

Thread for locking the top layer

Stiffness in the base and sides achieved with the help of the box board

Button on the leather side to hold the thread for locking

GRIPP’D a stationery organizer

The central idea behind the design was to have an organizer which could be of advantage while sketching or other activities which require a lot of stationeries at the same time as well as have qualities like quick maneuvering, carefree handling and easy to carry around.

Video :

https://vimeo.com/235757754

“Gripp’d” has two compartments with zippers and eight holders for pens, pencils, brushes, etc. One of the major advantage of this organizer is the elastic locking which ensures nothing falls because of its grip, gives a freedom to stuff more or less things as well as makes the locking quick, easy and carefree. Because of its construction, one can use this organizer in multiple ways according to the requirement and can easily carry it around.

Elastic straps for locking

Elastic stitched for gripping the pens and pencils

Stitched holding spaces for pens, pencils, markers, etc

Zipper compartments for stationeries items like erasers, high lighters, cutter, sharpener, sticky notes, etc which can’t fit in the holders.

CO-DE COCONUT DE-HUSKER

Course

Simple Product Design Project

Culinary Duration

04 weeks

BRIEF : Design a device to de-husk a dry coconut with less effort for domestic use. The tool should not involve any complex mechanisms.

The tool has to be sufficient enough for household use, should be portable, compared to the existing solutions,should require less force. the de-husking should be possible in a comfortable posture.

The major limitation in this coarse was not to use any mechanism. The solution has to be a tool.

CURRENT PROCESS

PIERCE

FORM THE GRIP

HOLD

PULL

EXISTING SOLUTIONS AND PROBLEMS WITH THEM

They require instant thrust for piercing which is dangerous and causes injuries.

Do not jell-in with the modern domestic housing environment.

Requires a difficult posture for de-husking.

Causes issues of body pain in the long run.

Occupies a larger area for de-husking.

Looks too crude(like an industrial tool) to be used by house wifes.

APPROACH In order to design a coconut dehusking tool targeting the domestic market, it needs to satisfy these criteria.

REDUCE FORCE

REDUCE TIME

COMFORTABLE POSTURE

SIMPLE TOOL

CONCEPT GENERATION

CONCEPT 1 Nails to loosen the coir and the hook for the grip. Trying a curve, opposite to the profile of the coconut for reduction in force while pulling.

CONCEPT 2 Sharp flat edge and pointed end for Piercing. Trying a slightly curved head for a rotating moment.

CONCEPT 3 Converted the solid curve from concept 1 into a sheet form.

Trying to pierce the coir with sharpened teeth on the head

CONCEPT 4 A combination of concept 2 and 3. Trying a different curve profile for piercing and rotating

CONCEPT DETAILING

FINAL CONCEPT Sharp Teeth for piercing and holding the coir

Curve for both pulling and rotating motions

Rubber cap for protection while not in use

Soft spring for automatic leg widening

Rubber grip for comfort while applying force

Angle worked out for a larger head opening even with a smaller leg widening.

Curve for mechanical strength.

Ring for packing when not in use

ASSEMBLY Rivet (Chrome finished forged Steel)

Grip (molded soft touch rubber)

Rubber Cap (Molded)

Matt Painted Leg (Forged and Riveted)

Soft Spring (Steel)

Curve Ring (Chrome finished Forged Steel)

(Chrome finished Curved Steel strip Forged and Welded to the leg)

DISPLAY AND CONTROL Course

Display and control Design Project

Interaction Design Duration

04 weeks

BRIEF : Redesign the display and control of the current LG 30 L Microwave Oven - MC8084AB, in order to make it more user-centric through ease of understanding and proper execution of commands for domestic users.

Team project - 2 members

Quick time input with numbers

Tedious time, weight and temperature settings

Symbols can be misinterpreted

MARKET RESEARCH Different panels in the market were analyzed in terms of their being user centric.

Ambiguous hierarchy of keys

Illegible text

Clear communication with text Dual display creates ambiguity

Quick. easy settings with knob

CURRENT PANEL Analysis of the chosen panel

Hierarchy is not well thought

Recipe buttons are not used very often

Inconspicuous symbol for render

Symbols Inconspicuous Appear in different places on the panel, owing to the seven segment screen constraint

Mode in progress

Next step guides

CONCEPT GENERATION A number of low fidelity models were made for carrying out the cycle of user testing, feedback and refinement.

FINAL CONCEPT Clear, noticeable symbols for indicating the mode in progress.

Definite instructions for next steps with text and symbols.

Color differentiation: Everything in red indicates the ongoing process.

The selected mode is also clearly indicated in this back lit panel. Direct access to modes, reduces number of steps.

Four buttons added for direct access to frequently used functions

MODEL MAKING For final presentation and feedback, this final model with the whole microwave oven was made. The presence of a model helped a lot in visualizing the features of the new designed panel.

NEW PROCESS OF MAKING A CAKE

Back lit panel, indicating the mode in progress.

Reduced number steps.

Combination of text and symbols for clear instructions.

CHIK-CHOK A SPINNING TOP COVER

Course

Packaging Design Project

Toy and Games Duration

03 days

BRIEF : A quick creative project where we had to find a smart solution for packaging of a low cost product concentrating on the form and not on the surface graphics. The packaging needs to be playful, minimalistic and eye catching so as to attract children.

Holes for passing the string of the top

This concept is inspired by the origami toy called “cootie catcher “ or “fortune teller”. The major attraction of the packaging is that it matches the spinning phenomenon of the top when hung from the ceiling.

FINAL CONCEPT

MULTI PACK in the same concept occupying ten spinning tops at one time. The curves inside need not be all perfect but should just be smaller then a certain limit so as to oppositely compliment the curves of the top.

MIT MEDIA LABS DESIGN INNOVATION WORKSHOP 2015 Design Workshop 01 week (January 2015) Track : Smart textiles

This workshop was aimed at bridging the gap between engineers, programmers and designers on the path of innovation. I Worked with a team consisting of an electronic engineer, programmer and a textiles person and developed a “story telling rug�.

Circuit Building Enhancing a child’s experience using sound and light using conductive threads and fabric to form capacitive and touch sensors.

On the last day of the workshop,there was an exhibition of our work where we had an experience of pitching our idea to all the on lookers.

Thermo-sensitive ink

Conductive thread and ink

Final Painted Rug

CHOKDI DESIGNS Startup with friends Harsh Hudda (Film and video design) Raj Thakkar (UI and UX Design) Vidit Bhatt (Interior Design) Sahil Makhani (Product Design) January 2013 - 2016 With a view to explore and embrace Indian art forms, we (a startup of four friends) decided to first promote art exploration by forming groups and then motivating them to inculcate these art forms in their work and day to day lives. We began our business journey by presenting a collection of cross-stitched superhero t-shirts at Comic-Cons and later went forth with our expedition by exploring Warli and created anti-wrinkle, discharge printed, warli print t-shirts.

Blog : https://medium.com/@chokdi_designs 54

Working on CHOKDI gave a lot of different experiences like Branding, Designing the stall, Innovative t-shirt designs, Putting up travel blog, Craft exploration, etc. My major tasks were to see through the production of the t-shirts, come up innovative ideas for t-shirt designs and design spaces whenever required.

THANK YOU C ont a ct 18, Parkland Society, Sarkhej road, Ahmedabad 380055, Gujarat, India.

T : 91- 9879794433 E : makhanisahil0@gmail.com

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