Taila Brown Industrial Design Portfolio 2023

Guatemala, Acatenango Volcano Summit 2022 elevation: 3,976 m

My name is Taila Brown, I’m a half Japanese half South African industrial design student at Ontario College of Art and Design University. My work is heavily influenced by my distinct childhood, living between Canada and Japan, and an everchanging view of our world in the present.

I see my work as a continuous flow of form and concepts developing from work to work. Keeping a sense of cohesion in design and developing practices rather than dismissing past experiences to start new ones. This falls in parallel with my efforts to keep my child like sense of curiosity about the world around me.

The developing present society around us calls for designers to start focusing on sustainability and equity. It’s our job to take on these responsibilities and mold the form of our future, I accept that with a sense of duty. I seek to take advantage of the excess consumption and preferential structure of our modern world and create sustainable and equitable designs. For any inquiries or to view all my design work to date see below.

email: taila.brown@ocadu.ca

phone: (647)-960-1824

Website: tailabrown.com

instagram: @tailabrown

Bici Multisensory Incense

Burner & Cover

Circular Design Course

Problem: Design a product using materials that are going to waste from retailers or producers within a 3 km radius from your place of living

Bici is a multisensory focusing tool that appeals to the sense of smell and sight. The tool is used as an aid and unobtrusive indicator for starting and completing daunting tasks using the “Pomodoro Technique” and aromatherapy. The holes indicate the amount of

time passed, 25 minutes of focus and 5 min for a break, utilizing the light of the burning incense similar to an hourglass. For effective use, the user would pair it with citrus or peppermint derived incense to boost productivity/energy and increase focus.

Design Solution

Bicycle retailer located on Spadina Ave. “Uncle Jacob’s Bicycle Shop” has a bike repair center where many parts that are not safe to install on bikes go to waste. Wheels, handlebars, seat posts, stems, forks, etc. Cylindrical parts and wires are prominent in the waste.

italian word association with bicycle:

tubo bicicletta bici velo

Dimensions: w188 x d38 x h38 mm

Material: Sand Blasted Aluminum Alloy*, Pressure Treated Wood

Shiso

Multifunctional Children’s Furniture

Design Competition/Personal Project

Problem: Design a piece of furniture that can be utilized with Formica’s line of products

Shiso started as a competition project and was later turned into a personal project to design a multifunctional piece of furniture for children ages 4-6. The design functions to promote physical, social,

and constructive play by changing between two different forms, a seesaw and a table or bench.

Design Solution

The table/bench form promotes a more social play engaging the children’s minds to form conversations and relations with the partner. The activity of switching and adding components to create a different piece of furniture is seen as a designed opportunity for cooperative constructive play and problem solving. The joints used are reversible and don’t wear out, keeping a focus on circular design with less semi-permanent joining methods using Japanese wood joining technique.

Seesaw: cooperative play physical

Table: social play intellectual

Dimensions: w320 x d930 x h320 mm

Material: Recycled PET pellets (blow molding), upcycled reclaimed wood

Mise Countertop Ingredient Dolly

Human Centered Design Course

Problem: Design a product to improve the cooking experience of your given partner using ethnographic research skills such as shadowing, interviewing, recording, etc.

HMW: Contain prepared ingredients in the vertical space for User A in order to declutter counter space and

have ingredients available and ready prior to cooking.

Design Solution

Playing on the French word Mise en Plus, the dolly was designed for preparing all ingredients prior to putting food to flame. The design solution was built on data points gathered by a series of ethnographic research methods taught in class. By focusing on the researched user’s needs, their cooking significantly centered around wok style cooking methods, the dolly was designed to afford preparing all ingredients prior whilst also saving countertop space for a small footprint living situation.

Initial User Journey Research Notes

1. 2. 3. 4.

Looks happy or excited, takes all ingredients out (exception in sauces), and starts preparing/cutting on cutting board. Ingredients are sitting on counter little bit on top of each other and waiting for turn

Some prepared ingredients were transferred to dishware and even further transferred into the fridge. Space is even more limited, and ingredients are both in and out of the fridge. Looks overwhelmed, movements are quickening

Multiple dishes and containers are being used to store the ingredients prior to cooking. Dishes are side by side. No vertical space is being used. All ingredients are separated by cooking order

Wok pan gets heated up on max and oiled. Prep is fully complete and ingredient dishes are all on counter. Looking excited to start cooking.

Touch points from initial user journey:

1. All ingredients prepared before cooking, time and space consuming

2. Ingredients taking up space in fridge and countertop

3. Number of dishware being usedv

4. Cooking time is extremely quick (always hands on, quick marination)

Cooking starts and ingredients are put in methodically following recipe. Stirring is constant, pot is extremely hot, everything is cooking very quickly

Dimensions: w200 x d150 x h283 mm

Material: Acrylic (Sheet metal, rubberz)

Full Assembly of parts (3 containers)

a. modular container stacking system such as bento boxes or tiffin were used to map out how the containers stack on top of each other whilst also staying uniform on the exterior.

b. mapping the ergonomics gripping containers with height <15 cm from the bottom and top edges were used to lay the cut-outs for the fingers to securely hold the container easily.

c. perimeter inlay on the dolly was mapped out to match a Ziplock containers stacking system. The rounded edges and center protrusion allow the container to fit securely without the hassle of perfect fittings.

a. modular container

b. bento inlay

c. dolly

Mason City of Toronto Public Bee Housing

Representational Drawing

Problem: human activity negatively impacting the native bee population in the city of Toronto

Due to the urbanization of green spaces, alien species, and garden maintenance in the city of Toronto, habitat loss is a drawback to our native pollinators that help the plant life and natural environment thrive in the city of Toronto. By aiding in the role of reproduction in plant life, pollination is a crucial part of the ecosystem. A decrease in pollination may trigger outcomes such as lower regeneration

rates in plant life, decrease in fruiting and seeding in an environment, and decrease in oxygen production/ carbon dioxide consumption. Protecting bees, one of Ontario’s most significant pollinators, from loss of habitat will provide a flourishing and sustainable natural space in the city of Toronto. It will provide the city with a solution to protect the few terrestrial ecosystems that are still present in the city

a.10%

b. 90%

a: Population of bees living in hive colonies

b: Population of bees living solitarily

c: Population of bees living above ground

d: Population of bees living underground

d. 70%

c. 30%

HMW: Create a hospitable habitat that meets the needs of native bees in urban environments

Sketching Process

Pen and Marker

Garmin PAX

Obstruction avoidance wayfinding solution for mature adult cyclists

Human Centered Design Course

Revised student group project for human centered design course

Tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Fusion 360, Miro

HMW: Create an enjoyable ride for mature cyclists who feel unsafe riding on city streets

Problem Statement

Adults don’t feel safe riding bicycles in the Toronto Metropolitan area

The project is situated in reducing the psychological strain of cyclists ages 45-65 riding in the Toronto metropolitan area.

Cyclists in the demographic being researched perceive cycling as an activity that is beneficial to both their mental health and physical health. In contrast to this statement, participants stated seeing a decrease in frequency of riding over the past 20 years. The frequency of participation in cycling is observed to be in decline although it is beneficial to overall mental and physical health.

Primary Research and Initial Ideation

Conducting primary research utilizing ethnographic research techniques (loosely structured interviews, conversationally driven research, shadowing, etc.) with target users to gain insight and empathy for situated design problem.

Findings from personally conducted primary research: Participant 6 uses cycling as a form of exercise and transportation, usually cycling to and from outings such as grocery shopping, tennis, cafes, etc. From the findings of the research a preliminary round of ideation was executed to start procuring concepts from the initiation of the project.

Research Whitepaper/Secondary

“85% of road users, cyclists and motorists, feel they need to remain alert while using Canadian roads…”

Secondary research lead to articles regarding cycling safety, road safety, City of Toronto’s cycling resources, but not many regarding ethnographic research. Whilst sifting through some statistics from polls that were conducted by CAA (Candian automotive association) in 2021, an eye-catching statistic was revealed:

“To keep everyone safe, most Canadian road users (85 per cent) feel both motorists and cyclists need to remain alert and not distracted while on the road.”

Correlating major insight(s) from primary research

Theme 1: awareness

• Blind spots can cause accidents (motorists and cyclists)

• Sensory overload computing surrounding environmental data

• Fear of not being aware enough

Theme 2: risk

• Familial responsibilities

• Injury + recovery

• fatality

Theme 3: positive health benefits

• Mental health improved from exercise

• Physical health conditioning

Persona Creation & HMW Development

“I want to ride more, I feel great when I do it. I just can’t be getting in accidents and it’s uncomfortable riding with cars on the road cause I’m smaller and have blind spots...” - Jimmy

The persona created embodied the analysis and results of primary and secondary research, a mature cyclist wanting to increase the frequency of their riding habits to increase their mantal and physical health. The present obstruction in them reaching their goal is their concern for their physical health and wariness of being involved in a cycling accident while riding on the road.

How Might We Development

• HMW create an enjoyable ride for mature cyclists who feel unsafe riding on city streets

• HMW reduce emotional stress for mature cyclists in urban cities wanting to ride more often

• HMW: make self-enjoyment more effortless for mature cyclists by integrating extended spatial awareness into the city cycling experience

• HMW: integrate spatial awareness into the city cycling experience for mature cyclists who leisurely bike rides to make focusing on self-enjoyment effortless

Competitive Analysis + Gap

Major competition: Garmin Varia and spatial awareness

Garmin is one of the largest fitness/outdoor technology developers in the world. Providing users with digital systems and reliable data for outdoor activities. Due to the company already having developed a similar technology, Garmin Varia, it was decided to design under their brand and develop the concept to focus on the challenge of a digital wayfinding solution leveraging the spatial awareness data.

Due to the company already having developed a similar technology, Garmin Varia, it was decided to design under their brand and develop the concept to focus on the challenge of a digital wayfinding solution leveraging the spatial awareness data.

Value Proposition: Garmin PAX

Planning Aware Experiences

Parents, age 45 to 65, ride their bicycle significantly less over their past 20 years, due to increased fear of fatality with others on the shared the road. Keeping and feeling healthy is a crucial aspect in their busy lives but is drastically inhibited by this looming anxiety. The Varia: PAX foundations, put focus on navigation, to aid their physical and mental health. Our hybrid product combines a digital application with a physical phone accessory that will support an informed, and aware cycling experience. The responsive routing system will choose for them, the safest path to their destination, while the rear-view sensor tracks, plots and alerts them with approaching vehicles during the journey, eliminating the hesitation prior to, and the anxiety felt during a ride. With more users on the road over longer periods of time, the data points will only become more frequent and more accurate. Systems like Waze, use data to find efficient ways to beat traffic. PAX prioritize safety. By expanding opportunities with the outdoor brand Garmin, the superior technology used with the Varia product line, provides a reliable base for a new and engaging navigation system. With more users, we can build safer streets, safer communities, and more health in their lives.

Physical Product Sketching and Concept Development:

Proximity sensor to increase spatial awareness. Connecting to Garmin PAX, the hardware utilizes its sensors and signals to the way finding user interface to notify the cyclist of oncoming dangers in their blind spot.

Physical Product Sketching and Concept Development:

A minimal phone mount was designed for ease of use and obstruction to the cycling components that are already present on the handlebars. The mount should be able to tilt the phone to adjust viewing angles based on the user’s height and accessibility.

Garmin Pax UX/UI

Low fidelity user interface mock ups of key pages

Usability Cases Mock Up Rendering

Usability Cases Mock Up Rendering

Bloss upcycled floral dislpays project

recycled materials

Utilizing raw recycled items to give life to floral arrangements of all facets. The design challenge and hobby started with an old beer can for a design sprint in a circular design course.

I’ve continued challenging myself to design unique and beautiful displays within the constraints of a circular economy by using recycled materials and hope to someday commercialize the challenge and raise awareness for sustainability and regenerative design.

The original project

aluminium beer can, chopsticks, chewing gum container

Small Beer Can Herb Vase

recycled dowel, bicycle spokes dried lavender

recycled solid wood, bicycle spokes dried eucalyptos and marigold