INTRODUCTION
We wanted to design a product to ensure safety in urban areas, specifically women’s safety in the night, as part of our design coursework. This project is divided into 3 sections, User Research Documentation, Concept Documentation and Final Concept Development, where a human-centred design approach is taken to arrive at the final product concept.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Physical & App Prototype
- Logo & Brand Design
MY ROLE
User/market research, product design, UI/UX, brand design, rendering
THE TEAM
3 design engineering (1st year) students
THE APPROACH
User research showed that the majority of college students find comfort from direct anxiety control such as mediation, fidget devices, and breathing exercises. The team further explored the concept of 'touch therapy', arriving at 'Pola', a portable hand-holding simulator.
HOW IT WORKS
Pola features a compact pod easily attachable to the back of phones via MagSafe. A soft strap, conveniently stored within the pod, is released to wrap around the user's hand. In real-time, a heartbeat sensor measures the user's heart rate, allowing 'Pola' to dynamically adjust the tightness of the strap.
Further, a mobile application can be used to manually control compressions, or access additional features such as breathing exercises.
PROTOTYPING
The team underwent two prototype sessions: Looks-Like and Works-Like. In the Looks-Like phase, we presented clay prototypes of varying sizes and shapes to our core users, evaluating comfort and portability. The Works-Like phase brought our ultimate prototype to fruition, integrating Arduino heartbeat sensors and rotational motors. Final 3D blow-outs and product mock-ups were crafted using Fusion360 and Blender.
BRANDING
The name, 'Pola', is derived from the Polaris Star (North Star) - just like how explorers relied on Polaris to guide them through the troublesome seas, we wanted our users to feel reassured and more confident when travelling through the night. logo is soft and modern, containing different symbols that correlate with our main keywords: ‘star’, ‘protect’ and ‘guide’.
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