Design Project I (June 16 & 17, 2020)

Shreyas Bal,
2nd Year Industrial Design,
National Institute of Design Andhra Pradesh.
Course- Simple Product Design
Guide- Kuntal De

June 16, 2020

Out of both the situations, I would like to go forward with the context of developing hand washing as a habit.

To assist the user to wash hands efficiently, thereby developing it as a habit.

Previously I decided to go with the age group ranging from 5yrs to 20 yrs. After a study about different age groups and their cognitive development, I found out that, a 5yr old kid would most probably want to play with the product, not paying heed to what it does!

On the other hand, I want my user to use the product, with a sense of it being discovered. This is only possible, when the user is capable enough of applying some logic.

The ability of applying logic and analytical thinking is not developed completely until the age of 10. Children this age are on the cusp of adolescence and have the cognitive ability to gather information and formulate well-organized opinions and thoughts.

Talking about the other extreme which I previously set i.e. 20 yrs. People at this age have already formulated, firm opinions about certain things, certain habits. It is therefore, quite difficult to change their opinions at that stage.

Considering all of the above facts, I would like to re-state the user group-

User- Children aged between 10–15 yrs

Which income group?

The user belongs to a MIDDLE INCOME GROUP. This is because hygiene is usually directly proportional to income group of a household. So in middle income groups the chances of not following hand hygiene are more.

Where is the user located?

The user is located in an URBAN SETTING.

What is the level of exposure with people on a daily basis?

A great level of exposure with people on a daily basis, as the user group consists of school going children.

June 17, 2020

Now that the user is fixed, time to move onto feature building process. Feature building consists of coming up with keywords with respect to the intention behind making the product, and the user mentality. These keywords will further help in developing concepts.

Following are some keywords based upon which the features will be built.

• Intriguing.
• Compact.
• Tactile feedback.
• Efficient.
• Interactive.
• Assist.
• Textured.
• Scrub.
• Clean.
• Experience.
• Habituate.

Words can have different meanings in different contexts!

Then in order to exactly understand what do the words actually mean in context to the product in the making as well as the user, I have branched out some words which provide a contextual meaning to the earlier mentioned words. This will further simplify the process of feature building.