Portfolio May'21 - Joshua Poppleton

portfolio_

joshua poppleton product designer

about me...

Hi, I’m Josh, a designer that is passionate about sustainability and making a difference through design!

I am motivated, hardworking and have experience in the FMCG sector working as an in-house designer.

Thank you for taking the time to look through my portfolio.

product design BSc nottingham trent university, 2:1 (hons) london, united kingdom junior product designer for june 2019 - june 2020

Amazon Target second-life packaging using nudge theory to spur paper recycling First Year p3 - 6

Google Rest ergonomics study for hand deformity Second Year p7 - 10

Third Year

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p17 - 18

Deliveroo Tire Lever an injection moulded ‘widget’ Second Year

p19 - 22

Oasis Plant Monitor mechatronics and UX project Final Year

p23 - 26

MOTIV Hang board in-home climber’s training kit designed for manufacture Final Year

Wheel Wash upcycled project to bring effective laundry systems to Tamil Nadu Second Year p11 - 14

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McGee sponsored project to combat HAVS Second Year p15 - 16

recieve

2018 The Brief: Extending brands into the home through e-commerce packaging.

Using the benefits of corrugated board and its features, design a functional but creative solution that is both exciting to interact with and promotes a secondary use.

build

fill

...and we'll pick it up!

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project direction: nudge theory and e-commerce

165 billion packages are shipped to the United States each year, with the cardboard used roughly equating to more than 1 billion trees.

I saw a cyclical way to combat paper and card waste by creating a disposable paper bin out of the existing Amazon fulfilment boxes, using the current dimensions.

By incentivising users to recycle using a gameified paper bin, I utilised visual nudges (target) as well as a simple set of folding instructions to gently push the users towards more sustainable choices.

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A ‘nudge’ can ‘alter people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing the user’s economic incentives.’

early ideation sketches The early ideation phase was driven by three research keywords: Amazon, Games and Kitchen.

Each concept fell into one or more of these categories, with some overlap.

The final concept was a target bin to promote recycling in a family enviornment, through ‘gameifying’ a chore.

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final model and testing The final net was designed in line with current Amazon fulfilment dimensions.

The final design encorporates a target printed directly onto the box, as well as folding instructions on the side of the box and simple perforations added to the original box net.

The aim of the Amazon Target was to exist as a disposable bin in a high-traffic family area, with an engaging visual that would ‘nudge’ the user into utilising the game aspect of the product.

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rest The Brief: Consider the needs of a user or specific usergroup that could have a physical or mental disability or accessibility issue.

Re-design an existing product.

The chosen product should be an everyday item used in daily life, that is currently not appropriate for the user.

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approximately 1-in-20 babies are born with hand deformity below is a visualisation of a fully formed hand vs. the hand of a user with symbrachydactyly (hand deformity)

The shape of the Rest was modelled around the hands of Alex Brooker, who was born with symbrachydactyly.

Alex is a comedian, television presenter and journalist.

His career represented the perfect inclusive direction for this product, to design an ergonomic computer input device to allow users with hand deformity to work efficiently in a modern professional role.

Joints

To study the bone structure of hands with differing levels of deformity, x-rays were analysed.

The diagram above is a representation of Alex Brooker's digit articulation. He has two main digits, formed by fingers fused together, both with less bending capabilities than a fully formed hand.

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symbrachydactyl affects user phalanges when bones within the hand are not formed properly and can exist in different severities.

‘sq u

further research & modelling

tion visualisation o ’m g in z ee

Hands of users with deformity can vary hugely in size and shape.

However, through research, I observed that the majority of sufferers have fully formed metcarpal bones (bones in the palm).

This opened up the opportunity to create a computer mouse that ‘clicks’ through a palm squeezing motion, visualised to the right.

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use-case story board intricate and micro- movements involved with using a wireless mouse were adapted for the Rest.

For example: connecting the small wireless reciever can be almost impossible for a user with reduced dexterity.

The story board to the right demonstrates how the Rest adapted this process to make it easier for differently abled users.

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Wheel Wash The Brief: Design a way to improve sanitary conditions in Tamil Nadu, a rural developing part of India.

We chose to explore the washing of clothes, linens and farics; creating the Wheel Wash.

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the situation In Tamil Nadu, doing laundry by hand is the norm.

A Dhobi is the Indian term for a ‘washerman or washerwoman’. They use natural water sources and scrub fabrics by hand in open-air laundromats. Washing in this way can lead to excema, greywater being released into natural waters and arm fatigue.

Wheel Wash was designed with the Dhobis in mind, who have an expansive professional role including collecting, washing and delivering clothes. Many (but not all) own bicycles, thus these mechanisms were utilised in the final product.

The Dhobis in action

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the solution The design of Wheel Wash is versatile, a blueprint, therefore components can be switched and interchanged depending on what the user has access to.

The CAD model uses a common 45 gallon barrel. The frame holding the barrel utilises old bicycle parts; front spokes to prop up the powering bicycle, back spokes as stability props. The rest of the frame was kept deliberately simple, made from rectangular strips of sheet metal.

Chennai, India

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communication

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The Brief: *Sponsored brief by McGee, a specialist engineering contractor.* Design a solution that helps reduce the impact of Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) for those using hand held or hand-guided tools on site (specifically, reciprocating saw).

The Solution: HAVS Heat Packs was based around 2 key goals: 1) Increasing blood circulation 2) Reducing vibrations reaching the hand Increasing blood flow has a clear link to reducing the risk of HAVS. This can be accomplished through heating targeted areas of the body, in this case the user’s palms.

Vibrational dampening was achieved through special absorbing material wrapping the handle.

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exploded view & prototype testing

Reusable Sodium Acetate heat packs Sodium acetate ‘freezes’ and crystallizes due to friction created by ‘popping’ the aluminium disk within the pack. These packs can be microwaved, returned to a liquid form and reused over 500 times.

Adjustable fastening strap In order to securely attach the pack to different types of reciprocating saw, the fastening strap utilises a slider buckle to adjust the strap length and an elastic velcro strip able to stretch and fit differing diameters.

Sorbothane housing pouch and handle cover The pouch is made from 5mm sheets of Sorbothane, a highly absorbant material that absorbs up to ‘94.7% of impact shock.’ The strap that secures the pouch also holds the heat pack in place.

Testing was performed using a functioning reciprocating saw provided by McGee. The prototype measured a 45% decrease in vibration passing through the sorbothane before reaching the user’s hand.

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mould and inserts breakdown injection-moulded tire lever

The Brief: ‘Design and model a functional “widget” and mould (complete with inserts) that can be injection moulded from plastic.

The design must contain a pre-cut stainless steel donor part that is encoporated into the widget during the moulding process.

The design language of the widget must be representative of the chosen brand and must have visual cues of said brand.’

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Understanding 2.5D milling.

A threaded insert was designed to hold the steel donor part (a tire cap holder) in place during the moulding process.

Desired shape (sharp corners)

Milling route (rounded bit)

Outcome (rounded corners)

To retain the angular style of the Deliveroo logo, two large inserts had to be inserted to avoid the rounded coners of 2.5D milling.

The second, thinner insert is used to sink the logo by 1mm, to create an impression and accentuate the logo.

To achieve the desired curvature of the shaft, mould inserts had to be used. The reasoning for this is visualised below.

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Desired shape (gradual curve)

Outcome (filleted corners, flat top)

setup() { function(BeginWatering);

(pump, OUTPUT);

write(SendToApp); finish }

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product brief and breakdown The Brief: ‘Design a prototype of a product that utilises mechatronic technology. You will research ideas for “smart” products that utilise a microcontroller.

The product will be designed so that the user will be able to control it and recieve feedback from it wirelessly via a mobile app.’

The Oasis comprises of a soil moisture sensor, attached to a flexible tube and a water reservoir. The reservoir contains an electric pump and water level sensor.

A microcontroller controls the monitoring of soil moisture levels, water tank levels and battery levels.

Simple code regulates the soil moisture by pumping water when the plant is dry.

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user experience

When the user selects an Oasis device, a more detailed overview of the plant’s health and device integrity opens.

Landing page for tracking multiple Oasis devices, assigned to individual plants.

Oasis communicates to the user’s smartphone via bluetooth, relaying information about the plant.

This contains a calendar, logging Oasis activity to give the user a more immersive experience.

A news page was created to provide a more social-media feel to the app, whilst giving users more reason to engage with it.

Advertising for new products can exist on this page too.

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coding and prototyping A working prototype of the circuit for the Oasis was developed and eventually assembled to act as a proof of concept.

Arduino was coded through the destop application; the code acts on a simple loop of measuring soil moisture and pumping water if it is required.

Before soldering, the circuit was drawn up and then tested using circuitwizard.

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To the right is the first few lines of code from the prototype.

modular hang-board

The Brief: *Sponsored brief by Hydro, an aluminium extrusion company* Design a technically and commercially viable product that is either wholly made from an aluminium alloy via extrusion, or that has at least one major component that is made using this material and process.

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designing for manufacture Designing for manufacture and assembly was always a key consideration throughout this project.

Each component had to be designed within the aluminium extrusion guidelines. The back plate and modular inserts all had to contain a 2D profile that could be extruded to the desired length (the 2D profile of the back plate is illustrated below.

As well as this, the profile could not exceed certain width and height requirements, in line with Hydro capabilities.

Further considerations such as curved corners, profile symmetry and consistent wall thickness were utilised to reduce the cost of manufacture even further.

Extrusion Profile

Profile Dimensions

160mm

35mm

700mm

Product Assembly

concept development

Modular Finger-board Profiles

The concept started as a modular climber’s hang-board with inserts of differing depths to train different parts of the user’s grip. This evolved into a hollowed form more appropriate for manufacture via aluminium extrusion.

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user persona and use-case A user profile was created to more effectively develop the hang-board, with a specific user in mind.

Tristan, a hobbyist climber was chosen as the user persona. A young professional with limited free time, Tristan struggles to keep up with this passion outside of the weekend. A simple and easy-to-construct hang-board would mean he can keep training his grip strength, at home.

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