Context

By the year 2050 Seattle’s population will increase by 71%, largely because of the booming technological industries. Many of these new residents will flood into the suburbs and have growing families in the coming years.

Problem

The rise in population will exasperate Seattle’s already congested roads, as commutes become longer and further. Working parents and their children would largely suffer from these commutes adding stress to their day and using up precious time they could be spending together.

Solution

Autonomous vehicles will be an integral part of urban landscapes in our near future. By utilizing this technology we can better address the needs of families to garner safety, and convenience while providing an overall enjoyable experience.

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Ideation

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Final Sketches

Children can identify which Muvo is theirs not only by the color but also by the friendly greeting displayed on Muvo’s smart glass exterior.

Muvo is equipped with electro-chromic glass which changes its opacity under different conditions, allowing the user to control solar gain, glare and warmth.

Modular seat adjustability allows the smallest and tallest of riders to sit comfortably and safely, independent of the adjacent passenger.

Foldable seats allow for wheelchair accessibility and for Muvo’s companion cart, Moemi, to seamlessly nest inside.

As a part of the subscription to the service, Muvo’s companion cart, Moemi, utilizes unoccupied Muvos to make trips to and from restaurants and grocery stores to deliver items to its users.

Moemi features dual insulated drawers to accommodate hot and cold products and maintain their temperature on their trip home.

Moemi seamlessly picks up your requested items and delivers the directly to your door.

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User Experience

Using smart window technology, the pods are capable of responding to vehicle speed, location, and can even augment real world views with interactive elements.

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Advertising

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Research and Insights

Assembly and Disassembly

Students move around a lot - furniture should be able to be quickly and easily disassembled and reassembled.

Price

Students live on a budget and are conscious of furniture costs, but they still want well designed, aesthetically pleasing furniture.

Sustainability

If furniture is made from sustainable materials, younger generations are more likely to not only purchase, but pay more.

Packaging

Flat packaging decreases overall package footprint and lowers shipping costs while also reducing resources used to ship.

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Mood Boards

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Ideation

During the ideation phase, we wanted to develop designs that were simple and minimalistic. We also wanted to keep the number of parts to a minimum. Fewer parts equals a lower manufacturing cost and an ease of assembly.

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Final Sketches

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Final Table Design

Our design utilizes a quarter-turn cam lock system allowing the table to be assembled and disassembled in just a matter of minutes. We also incorporated a series of locating features in the tubular supports to make sure they are always installed correctly.

The table breaks down into a relatively small package with an overall height that’s less than eight inches tall. Its minimized footprint not only makes it easy to transport, but it also takes up less space during shipping which saves resources and reduces its impact on the environment.

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Bill of Materials

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Final Lamp Design

The final construction of the lamp is made up of a few injection molded parts that house the LED circuit board and touch sensor with a series of ribs. Our design is also constructed in way that hides all fasteners once assembled.

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Bill of Materials

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Research

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After deciding to take a closer look at the common post hole digger, we began our initial research by looking at what patents exist for post hole diggers.

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We then looked to see what products exist on the market and read customer reviews for insights as to what problems exist with these products.

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Initial Testing

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After purchasing a set of post hole diggers, we set out to do some initial testing to understand what muscle groups are used, what parts of the body are strained, and what the process of post hole digging entails.

Some of the insights we gathered were:

The initial top layer of soil is often hard to break through due to roots that grow in this area. The solution is usually to strike the ground with the tool, however, this quickly leads to fatigue and strain on your joints and muscles.

There is an inherent difficulty when aiming the tool while striking the ground. Missing a strike quickly increases physical strain and fatigue and the hole often ends up being wider than it needs to be.

The digging heads of the tool don’t close properly. This allows loose soil to fall out of the closed digging heads back into the hole you’re trying to dig.

User height affects posture and digging force. Taller users were able to grip further up on the handles for more leverage, however, their posture was negatively affected as they dug deeper. Conversely, shorter users gripped lower on the handles and weren’t able to use as much leverage, but their posture wasn’t affected.

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Initial Ideation

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During the ideation phase, we mainly focused on the issue of having to strike the ground repeatedly with the tool as this was the cause of most of the physical strain and fatigue.

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Prototype Development

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Based on our sketches and insights, we developed a series of five prototypes for testing.

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Prototype Building Process

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User Testing

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We conducted user testing with a variety of participants with varying experience using post hole diggers.

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Final Design Direction

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Following user testing, we found that this design improved the post hole digging experience the most. The foot holds that are integrated into the handles allow you to use your body weight, much like a shovel, when starting the post hole. This eliminates the need to strike the ground with the tool and potentially missing the hole. The physical strain is shifted from primarily your upper body to your lower body as well meaning you can dig for longer and more accurately.

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Final Model Construction

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Final Appearance Model

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Understanding the Language of Marc Newson

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Final Design

When coming up with this form using Newson’s language, it was essential for me to incorporate soft geometric forms with large radii.

In addition to soft geometric forms, distinct parting lines were also essential.

Newson uses convex and concave surfaces frequently in his work which I incorporated into the center portion of my form.

Finally, smooth surface blends, a hallmark of Newson’s language, were used to join the legs to the rest of the form.