Experience Enrichment - Fixed Gear Fixer

The “Fixed Gear Fixer” is a dual purpose tool designed for riders of fixed gear bicycles. The product aims to replace both the dull and boring wheel and lock ring spanners. These are the two tools required specifically by fixed gear or ‘fixie’ riders. On ‘fixies’, the wheels are attached with a nutted axle and not the quick release mechanisms which are generally used on bicycles these days. Furthermore, with ‘fixies’, the cog is prone to coming loose as a result of the unique way of stopping. ‘Fixies’ have no brakes and stop by ‘skidding’ the back wheel, which is made possible by the fixed cog rather than the usual freewheel mechanism, - hence the name ‘‘fixie’’.

Your typical fixed gear rider is either a bicycle courier or someone who attempts to mimic that particular style of cycling, - often seen darting between cars in the city. Both of these groups of people share the same persona as quirky, fun-loving, somewhat eccentric and unique individuals. The norm is not of great interest to them, and similarly nor is it your typical spanner . Thus I have developed my “Fixed Gear Fixer” which aims to capture this niche and offer ‘fixie’ riders a tool that is fun to use, appeals to their quirky taste and is a great conversation starter amongst fellow riders. It is also safer to use than a normal rigid spanner.

The “Fixed Gear Fixer” is a flexible silicone encased spanner and lock ring tool. It is flexible as this allows the user to bend the body/handle of the spanner out of the way of sharp points while using it. If a normal rigid spanner were to slip whilst using it, this could cause serious injury to one’s hand. With the “Fixed Gear Fixer”, the silicone body provides the user with a comfortable and ergonomic handle with which he/she can apply maximum tightening torque easily and safely by bending it away from sharp edges. The multi-coloured silicone aims to appeal to the fun and quirky nature of the typical ‘fixie’ rider.

The “Fixed Gear Fixer” has a core consisting of a hardened steel socket for the wheel nuts and a hardened steel lock ring spanner. These two ends are joined by a section of bicycle chain encased inside the silicone handle. This allows for the tool to be flexible in one direction (left to right) but when bent in the other direction (up and down) it remains straight and strong, allowing the tool to perform as a normal rigid spanner would. The body of the tool is cast “RTV Addition Cured” silicone with colour pigments added. This product was used as it has good colour vibrancy with the addition of the pigment. It is also very strong with great stretch properties for a long lasting product.

Four Pleasure Analysis

Ideological:

• Motivated, high energy and goal driven.
• Like to be noticed for their quirkiness

Psychological:

• The fixie rider is trendy and quirky with passionate focus on their hobbies, clothes and other lifestyle choices.
• They have a preference for instant gratification and do not like to wait for anything.

Physiological:

• Young, active, fit and energetic
• Conscious of their carbon footprint and awareness of the need to be eco-friendly.

Sociological:

• Fixie riders and predominantly males between the ages of 20 and 30.
• They are inner city dwellers
• Participate in networking through group rides, sporting events (bike polo) and "swap meets" where people go to buy and sell parts.
• Commonly they are couriers, students and white collar workers.

Yves Behar - Designing objects that Tell Stories

Objects tell stories, so storytelling has become a strong influence in Yves Behars work. Another influence of his work is the fusion of what he like on how and what he is designing. It is this basic principle that made Yves Behar turn down designing in silicon valley as he did not want to mearely create skins for objects. He says “I didn't want to be a stylist in this way”, so he started his own design company which took technology and made it into things that people would use in new ways and find some new functionality.
In recent times the company’s projects have installed humanistic sense in them. The point of this is to create different relationships between “work and world”. This is because designers bring value to business and users. However the value that they put into the objects that ultimately creates the greater value. This is the balance of function and beauty often involving environmental issues, sustainability or lower power consumption. But it is the designer which brings all these elements together.
It is Yves Behar’s belief that designing is no longer about merely re-designing skins of technology. But about designing from the inside out, and then applying small tweaks with hand drawings or computer modelling. It is this that means that a designer’s work is never complete. As you can always improve the packaging, the website. This ultimately means you have to keep in touch with the user.
The ultimate message Yves Behar is conveying it that design is able to create a conversation or breaking the ice.

Don Norman - Emotional Design

Donald A. Norman is a professor of cognitive science at University of California, San Diego and a Professor of Computer Science at Northwestern University. His recent work is based on his belief that designers are now able create products which truly fit people. Thus he says that it is time to move the focus from making things practical as they function well and are understandable to products and services that are enjoyable which give pleasure and are even fun. This concept is the focus of what Don Norman says is Emotional Design, which makes our life more pleasurable.

There has been research done which has proven that people are much more emotionally attached to products which they feel some involvement with. Thus personalised/customised products make a huge difference as to how users interact with the product. Similarly people have a much greater emotional attachment to product which they carry with them all the time for example; mobile phone, wallet or MP3 player. Coincidentally Don Norman identifies that it is much easier to give rules for the design of usable products than for the design of pleasurable products as there are technical specifications which underpin how the object works or functions. Thus there is a large amount of grey area in regard to what makes a design emotional. Thus there are no set guidelines for emotional design. Rather there is a framework to understand the impact that emotions have on design.

Don Norman highlights the point that economic measures are essential for the designer to understand. This is because if a product is unsuccessful, or if it is not economically viable to produce and therefore no company will make it, then it doesn’t matter how well it is designed, as nobody will ever use it and it will be a comercial failure. This being said artists on the other hand can ignore the business side of their work as they are purely interested in the aethetic quality of the design. Hence, a successful product wherther it be desuign from an emotional or technical standpoint must have a sound business model.

Good Design - Izona Cooktop

The Good Design task involved analysing a product featured in the Australian International Design Awards (see www.designawards.com.au) and creating an A3 sized poster. The goal for the poster was to focus on the aesthetic quality of the product and not its functionality and technical aspects.

The product I assessed was the Izona cooktop by Fischer and Paykel. This is a revolutionary design which fuses gas and ceramic cooktop technology. Similarly the introduction of fan forced gas for even heat distribution, retractable pan supports and elegant black ceramic glass are all a testament to why it won this prestigious award.

The key challenge for this task was to discuss only the visual design elements. This is as the elegant aesthetic is only possible given the revolutionary technology. The other challenge was creating a visually appealing poster. I opted to use Microsoft Paint as I believed this would work best for the layout I chose and my ability with other programs and am pleased with the outcome.

Good Design - Sketches

David Kelley - Human Centred Design

Design has been focused on developing products or objects using new technologies to revolutionise the way we live and work. However, in doing so it has removed the humanity from products leaving many people emotionally disconnected from today’s products. For this reason nowadays there is not as great a need for “better” or “bigger” products but rather products which return the human to the centre of control.

David Kelley’s video The future of design is human-centered highlights the need for people to be able to touch, feel and interact with products which is being accomplished by building a behavior or personality into products. This is even evident in the design stages as there have been changes to the design process. This is 3D renderings and models being replaced with videos demonstrating the objects in motion and how they will be used. Some current design projects discussed in the video which have directly addressed this need include a new Prada retail store in New York, H2EYE’s Spyfish and Approtec and are using this new method to convey their use.

The Prada store in New York is revolutionizing the clothes shopping experience by removing the mundanity and frustration one often experiences and replacing it with efficiency and enjoyable experience. This is achieved through the scanning and display system so buyers can instantly see what sizes and colours are available and how they looked on the runway. Similarly the liquid crystal glass front for the change rooms for instant privacy and the ‘magic mirror’ so you can see how you look add to the revolutionary and enjoyable experience the new Prada store accomplishes. This example puts into direct view the importance of customer service in the retail industry.

The Spyfish by H2EYE is a great product which is making the experience of scuba diving available to more people who perhaps do not want to scuba dive or are physically unable to do so. By means of what is essentially a remotely controlled underwater video device. Since the product aims to put the user in the centre of control and is not harmful to what is under the sea I believe it is a great product which will bring a lot of joy to many people. Spyfish has also pushed the boundaries of technology primarily with the ultra thin umbilical cable. This has reduced the size of the machine making the user feel less disconnected from what is happening under the sea than if it was a large cumbersome connection.

Approtec is a non-profit Kenyan organisation started entirely by one man which is taking Kenyan entrepreneurs and creating small businesses which address many pressing needs. Including the creation of jobs and opportunities and producing products which allow for a greater standard of living for many Kenyans. For this reason I believe Approtec has been great in achieving products as simple as a hand operated pump which emphasises the needs of user. Approtec is a great example of what one person can do to better the lives of so many all from one mans great idea, generosity and deication.

This video is critical for industrial designers as it shows the direction that design is taking for the future, this being the issue of returning the pleasure of interaction between objects and users to products being designed. Thus human centered design should be a serious consideration when one takes on a design project and should be thoroughly investigated to ensure the greatest chance at success.

Week 1, Shape of Scent

The shape of a scent task involved translating the essence of an unknown scent into a plasticine shape in small groups. Our assigned scent was ‘F’. Upon the initial smell it was overwhelmingly pungent, robust, and earthy. However, as these quite harsh top notes dissipated the base notes of a sweet and fruity, quite feminine scent remained.

The challenge was to create a shape which showed both the initial harshness and later the softness of the scent which are quite conflicting. I decided after some experimentation to create a base heavy form to represent the robustness of the initial smell as it was dominating and use small balls to show how when air moves through the molecules of the scent it creates the more appealing and natural top notes.