ARRAY- Design Report

DESIGN REPORT Array*

BRIEF

EVALUATION PLAN

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

PROTOTYPING

EVALUATIONS

CHANGES

MANUFACTURE

FINAL PROPOSAL

CONCLUSION

ORIGINAL BRIEF OPPORTUNITY

USER & REVISED PROPOSAL

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

FINDINGS

PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT CHANGES

The updated body design was printed on the SLS RPT machine. Having tested the peg and hole design with the tester piece, the ‘ridges’ from the previous iteration were altered to become an ‘array’/grid of holes. The visual language of the modularity system ‘following’ the curved of the void was maintained, having the holes curve around the opening.

Following evaluation feedback, the design was slimmed down, making the product lighter, more portable and less bulky to hold in hand, keep in bag/pocket, or hang around the neck.

The decision to alter the modularity system from grid to dot array was successful, allowing flexibility to arrange the modules a lot more easily, as opposed to the rigidity of the previous system. There were issues, as the tolerancing was not correct, making it hard to remove the modules from the board.

PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT CHANGES

Additional attention was paid to the subtle multisensory features, dubbed ‘hidden sensory architecture’, such as the notch and void ‘lip’. The notch was accentuated and deepened, and a ridge along the underside of the product was added, to allow the user to trace with their finger, providing another means of calming stimulation to focus on.

Three modules were produced before the lockdown was imposed, the aromatherapy, distraction, and foam module casing. However, there were sizing and functionality issues with all of them. The aromatherapy casing was too small with a defective lid, whilst the distraction module did not move functionally due to fusing during the SLS process. Nevertheless, the modules did attach to the body of the product and helped to give a better impression of the overall user experience.

The reassurance module was not ready to be 3D printed, so a low fidelity model was made using modelling clay. This was essential in working out the form and scale of the module, building o the sensory clay models from Submission 1. The finger-enveloping ‘mushroom’ style nodes felt the most e ective when held in the hand, and were chosen to be developed further in CAD.

PROPOSAL

WEBSITE MOCKUP

Array

Array Base Body

Therapeutic Module

Starter Pack ( 3 )

Colour Customisation

Neck Cord

Total £ 85.00

APP MOCKUP

USER TIMELINE STORYBOARD

CONCLUSION

Array is successful in translating the power of empathy and the multisensory into a physical product. It is not and cannot be the one-size-fits-all solution to panic attacks, however the freedom and flexibility it o ers means that it could be helpful to a number of individuals who battle with the issue.

Size. Whilst array has been designed with portability in mind, there is an argument to be made that it is still too large. The footprint of Array was designed to allow the user the flexibility to place multiple therapeutic modules onto the product body. However, it is possible that some users may only feel the need to use one module or even none, and therefore the extra space is not of use to them. One solution could be to introduce a smaller sized product, ‘Array Mini’ for example. This smaller-sized version could only fit 1-2 Therapeutic Modules on the body at one time, but would be much more portable. At approximately 70mm in length, the Mini could be more easily concealed in the palm of the hand.

Additional modules. Extra modules could be added to the range. These therapeutic modules could cover a larger breadth of multisensory areas, for example- Warmth or Cooling. A warming module

2.5. Top-down view of Array. The multisensory ‘hidden architecture’ is highlighted here, from the subtle notch, the raised void ‘lip’ and the rubberised finish material break- sprayed with a matte coating.

Array.

An ordered series or arrangement. display or arrange things in a particular way.

elaborate or beautiful clothing

A ray of light.