Hello folks, hope you are having a good times and glad to see you again here.😄
This time we want to discuss how we solved a major ergonomic issue in a wearable product using a very simple method of prototyping. Though we have used simple materials and crazy fastening methods we have good insights and results from our test😮. So let’s dive into another amazing story of design 🧐……
Why is ergonomics important ?
Before getting into the content let us have a quick brief on ergonomics and its importance in product design. To keep it simple it can be described as – The goal of ergonomics in design of products is that they are easy to use and fit people comfortably and safely. In product design, it is crucial because it increases user comfort, eases strain, and boosts productivity.
Now let’s start our BTS on how we solved a major ergonomic issue in one of our product development –
The core challenge
The goal is to design a wearable harness that would be used as a sports training aid. So, the target user group is vast, involving teens to adults and male-female people.
After thorough research on the gameplay and human anatomy and rigorous brainstorming we chose to go with the best preferable option of designing a wearable harness over the chest area that will control the game play efficiently, but the groundbreaking challenge was to design a “UNISEX” sport harness with enhanced usability.
Approach towards solution
In the way of finding an apt solution for the harness, we initially did a good amount of research to understand human anatomy and anthropometrics. As the gameplay was so dynamic in human action, we needed to design a very flexible wearable design. Apart from the mechanics involved in the product the design of the apparel needed more attention towards size, shape, material and its properties.
We needed a chest pad that pivoted the game play mechanics onto it. We need to design this with utmost care that not only controls the movement efficiently but also has to stop any shock that might travel towards the chest.
Getting the hands dirty
We put a lot of thoughts through the ideation process by sketching and brainstorming. With some concepts in hand, we moved forward to test them on ergonomics in real-time. But before going to purchase the exact material and proper stitching we need to address over few points
- Measurements – to fit all kinds of people.
- Flexibility – required flexibility of apparel to allow essential action.
- Material – to provide comfort as well as flexibility.
- Shape – that meets all kinds of users which is unisex.
So we started off with basic materials such as foam boards, market ready nylon straps, buckle, adhesives, staplers and pins. Yes, this is all we needed to get an answer for all the basic parameters mentioned above before getting into a full fledged prototype.
With some basic skills our team put their hands to do this prototype to check on the ergonomics.
With this we have got most of the required insights to check the product ergonomics including the shape factor of the chest pad, measurements and few problems to address in the next phase too.
Conclusion
A quick prototype can help us to solve potential problems in product design. In specific if we get to use our creativity we can get to see more hidden problems early in the product development stage. This would help us to keep up the work ahead and with minimal investments we would be able to achieve better designs.
Hope you had a good read through this content. This is all for this week folks, let us catch up in the next week with more interesting topics on Industrial design.😎🙌
If you have any needs, reach out to us, we are here to bring your ideas to life!🤝
AUTHOR
Prem Kumar D
Sr. Industrial Designer, Srushty Global Solutions
As an innovative Sr. Industrial Design Engineer, he specializes in creating functional and aesthetically pleasing products. He blends creativity and technical expertise to develop designs that enhance user experience and meet market needs. He has contributed to a diverse range of projects, from consumer electronics to furniture design. He is known for his attention to detail and commitment to sustainable design practices, always striving to push the boundaries of what is possible.