Custom classroom furniture
BODYFURN SIDE STORAGE UNIT
Design
Final MDF prototype
(Click to enlarge)
It was only after extensive consumer testing and feedback, the ideas were ready to be put to a design team at Furnware. The design group included a range of expertise from across the company, to provide a mix of different ways of thinking,"After the relatively inexpensive process of concept development, this is when it starts to get costly, and becomes a real commitment for the company," said Pat.
The team looked at the concept, discussing its viability and asking what could be done differently to improve it.
While investigating the sliding mechanism, Furnware Operations Manager Steve Halpin came up with the idea of it tilting forward at the same time. "That's probably the stage where I became really involved in the design process," he said. "It was the first point where I'd got involved from a practical point of view." An MDF model of it was made and shown to the students, who really liked that idea. "We had to come up with a way to mount it to the desk," said Steve. "We used drawer runners initially, and we tried telescopic drawer runners but they would be too expensive. Then we came up with the idea where we split the pins and had the back one dropping down. That was where we got quite excited with it – it had real potential!"
DESIGN
Functionality
- Does it meet the findings of the concept development process?
- Durability – will it stand up to warranty expectations?
Codes of Practice
- External, such as industry guidelines
- Internal, such as own company's philosophy*
- Environmental considerations
Legal Requirements
- Must do's
Packaging and transportation
- Protection of the product
- Ability to stack efficiently
Prototyping
- Refinement of concept prototyping (above)
Testing
- In market trials and feedback
- Making improvements
Brand fit
- Does it fit fully with brand expectations?
- Does it enhance the brand?
- Are there design links with other products in the brand?
Materials selection
- For efficiency, cost, durability
- For brand consistency
- Availability of materials on an ongoing basis
Aesthetics
- Is it pleasing to the eye?
- What colours are appropriate?
- Does it fit the brand?
A contract designer, Murray, had also been employed. "We challenged his ideas and also he could challenge ours, so that was a good process," said Steve. "For example, at one point Murray designed a rapid prototype based on our ideas that we could pull apart and find out what we had to alter," said Steve. "We decided on a release mechanism to detach the storage box from the desk, there had to be a handle to pull it out, which needed a hole in it to see the books through, and a place to put the ruler. All of those little things came out of the design meetings. I can't say who came up with what – it really was a team effort."
Throughout the entire design process, student feedback continued to be essential. "We kept referring things back to the 'experts' – the kids – who would say things like 'That's a stupid idea' or 'That really doesn't matter'. So the design team focussed on the best elements by constantly referring back to this group, and also by trialling it in eight other classes."
Part of this stage was to examine the materials – whether it would be pressed metal and/or plastic – and the consumer implications of those choices. "When we showed the kids the first plastic one, they thought it looked flash compared to all the rough stuff they'd been working with. But when they came to use it they quickly found what would work and what wouldn't.
"I was surprised how quickly they overcame the superficial and looked for the more practical considerations. They became very involved in the whole process, and were critical to its overall success of the product. I can't speak highly enough of the value of that student input."
Finally, a rough physical model of the storage units was approved by the design group as a concept that Furnware could commit to. "This is the final design phase," said Steve. "The final design ideas, final decisions about whether it was going to be steel or plastic or wood, how we were going to make the pins. Then we had to look at the production considerations – things like finalising the construction materials. At this stage we had the business managers, financial manager, production manager, marketing manager and the designer all involved."
The whole process from concept to the final prototype for manufacture took about four months.
RSS Feed
