Monthly Archives: October 2015

Design Development

Issues to look into:-the number of product pieces in the furniture set
-as the combo chair has multi-function qualities, is there still a need for another set of separate table and chair?
-maybe, the reduction of pieces to only the combo chair/table and a storage cum table piece as demonstrated in the sketches below
-apart from collapsibility, stackability is also a factor i tried to keep in the design

-for the construction part, other than the re-measurements i have thought of some ideas as to add more support for the interior
-the split of the body into two sections allow more folds (triangular sections) to be added as main support and thus also wide spread the strength points of the structure (foldability is still an aspect to consider out of this)
-for the two separate parts of the outer shell which has those velcro flaps, the ends that meet on the mid section will be extended all the way till its end touched the ground (as discussed last week)

-I am starting to work out on another model with the suggested improvements and also to finalize the basic structures of the other furniture pieces which i am still deciding to keep or discard the idea of having that much in a set
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Observations and Points for the next step

Here are some of the observations and points noted from the first full scale prototype study
– prototype is made of a one piece double ply 7mm thick corrugated board
(maybe for the next test, double pieces of boards of double ply shall be used for better durability)
– prototype is made of 3 main parts but maybe the parts could be reduced to two but on all possibilities, this depends on the default sizes of the boards available on the market. A solution would be to reduce the overall measurements which thus will be worked upon after the ergonomics and kids growth chart study
– prototype is made to connect via velcro system, which seems to be one of the chosen best idea for my design but I realize the flaps affect the overall design on the minor parts.
(as discussed, maybe the overall top parts which includes the flaps would be covered with fabric and more of folds will be introduced instead of cuts)
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– the middle section is somehow classified as a fragile point as it is lack of interior support.
– as i tried to flip the product vertically and let my neighbor’s 4 year old daugther sit on it, the entire mid-section starts to gave in which is why there are those crack line marks on this few pictures taken after the tests
(this part could be solve with the extension of the two flaps inwards to the ground creating another base)
– as realized, the edges of the chair looks raw
maybe for the upcoming models, I would do the scoring technique to the edges to reduce the edge like feel of the form14 – the curved profile of the chair sides should be improved to make it more smooth and clean profile
– as tested with a 4 year old child, this chair is abit too wide for the legs to be apart when using in combo mode
(maybe to make the width narrower or taper the mid section of the design)
– this chair is also abit too high for a 4 year old
(standing at 30 cm for the seating part,  I think is reasonably high but maybe i would reduce this part for abit but this depends on the future design which i would consider a mix usage for parents and children12

– for this design, I only experimented with a layer of double ply boards for all of my surfaces and as a result, the structure is quite strong enough but i planned to use double layer boards for my future design to ensure the durability
– I realized that i needed more support lines on the inside part of the structure and that the supports has to be spread out evenly to consider the main seating points of the structure
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Product Testing

A full scale product testing with actual user was conducted to examine the design usability and the possibility points of improvements.
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Product Usage Mode #1
normal seating bench-style5

Product Usage Mode #2
normal seating with back rest lounge-style6

Product Usage Mode #3
Chair and Table-top combo34

Product Usage Mode #4
Normal seating side-chair style2

Product Usage Mode #5
Double chair mode (for mom and child)
the interaction part, a platform for mom to sit and read a book with child .etcmom kid

 

Developments after previous prototype

The considerations in the future for design refinements in overall form which affects the ergonimics of the kid user in terms of comfortability when using this chair in combo mode (the conjoined chair and table top mode) and also the leg room space on the sides of the structure.
Other technical aspects include the rounded corners and the all-round edges which requires some softening (more folds instead of cuts .etc)sk9

Minor design adjustments

The excess edges, thickness and protruding of the flaps affects the entire outlook of the design, thus making it abit not neat.
Maybe, as per planned earlier i will add another ply of cardboard on the main side parts and also cut in a depth space for the flaps of the velcro system to sit in and flush nicely.flapss