Disguising the object

After playing with different materials, would it be appropriate to print some kind of imagery onto the object. By adding an image rather than having it one solid colour it will help disguise the raised sections of the object.

Vac Forming Neoprene

After deciding to try a different material I decided on trying to use neoprene as it had certain qualities that would be appropriate for the object. It has a soft cushion like property that would provide some comfort for the user and it also it able to be vac formed.

The material sample I used was 3mm thick. After forming it around the limpets I feel it works well as the properties of the material and the theory behind the object compliment each other.

Vac Forming plastics

Using the Limpets I had already made, I used some sheet plastic to form a rigid structure around the limpets. I did this by using a Vac forming machine. By doing this it allowed me to test the objects on a plastic chair, the shapes are not uniform need worked on but it principles are portrayed on the objects. After trying these there was one question that came from this, why add more plastic to an already plastic chair and as the object is going on the base of a chair by using a different material could the object add comfort for the user also?

Advertising Base

With my target market being venues that’s seating is portable, these places tend to advertise forthcoming events etc, so this concept is a transparent seat base that allows the venue to insert flyers and leaflets under the base. It could also be used to advertise the current event, venue or some sort of branding depending on the needs of the venue.



The issue with this concept is the material choice, with transparent materials like acrylic and glass having a low frictional coefficient they would not work well as a certain amount of friction is required for the base.

Base Concepts

Using the insights taken from the limpets experiment I have created a series of base shapes to enforce the ideas of the limpets. These base shapes are intended to enforce a precaution against back pain while also giving the users a more comfortable experience. In the designs I have tried to mimic the effects of the limpets on the red chair, with also creating the base the size of the chair base to visually look like a chair cushion.

I have tried to keep the raised surface a distance from the back of the chair to allow the user to sit upright without any problems, the surface beginning to rise in the area when the users weight would be distributed while slouched, this to prevent the user prom slouching

Test Chairs

Using the previous results from the limpet designs, I decided to arrange three chairs and give them to four individuals, asking each of them to sit on each chair for 1 hour. The results were very useful.



Red Chair

User 1 “I tried to slouch and realised there was something there so sat back up straight every time”

He results for this chair were very similar with all four users. Each found that while sitting upright and correct the limpets did not hinder their comfort in anyway but as they tried to slouch they felt the presence of the limpets and forced then back up straight.



White Chair

The Results with the White chair were somewhat similar to the Red chair with the main difference being that the users could slightly feel the limpets while seating upright, but when slouched they were a deterrent to slouching. This could be due to the shape of the limpets as they are round and have a greater peak than on the red chair.



Blue Chair

The blue chair was not as effective as the other two, with the main difference being the users could slouch to an extent without feeling the limpets. This is a useful insight and observation into the positioning of the limpets.

Conclusion

With the Red chair being the ore effective in preventing the users slouching I will be using the position of the limpets when creating the next base concepts. These limpets have proven to be a very useful research tool and have given me some important insights into concept generation.

Add-ons - Laptop Sleeve Back Support

After changing the orientation of the laptop sleeve and adding some lateral supports as in the diagram bellow it worked much better and gave the back a much more unified support. After testing the concept and allowing others to try it out the feedback was very positive. Each user was aware of the extra support and they felt it made the experience much more comfortable.

Inflatable Diagram

Below is a diagram of how I will try and create the inflatable bags for the next test. The two orange bags are for lateral support which will hopefully hug the user like car seats do, and the blue bag is the lumbar support.

Add-ons - Laptop Sleeve Back Support

As in a previous post I was looking at the back of the chair and creating more back support with a laptop bag. To try and create more of a customisable support I wanted to use inflatables.

I purchased some basic equipment for this which included arm bands, string, some plastic sheet and a laptop sleeve.



First of all I made a cut into the arm band, creating one long inflatable (This would act as the lumbar support). I then attached it to a plastic strip which would hold the inflatable in place with some string and placed it inside the laptop sleeve.



I used it in a landscape plane and attached it to a chair with some more string. It provided the best support so far in my concepts and the inflatable’s inside worked well, however the sleeve did not sit very well on the chair. I tried it on other chairs and it didn’t have much to hold onto. So this was by far the best experiment I have tried yet, I will try changing the orientation of the sleeve by turning it by 90 degrees and see how supportive it feels then.

Reebock Pumps

Instead of solid of foam inserts I would like to try a inflatable insert. The main reason for this is so that it can be customisable, it then can be deflated so when the user is not using the sleeve as a back support there are no inflated pockets getting in the way. The air bags would always have a small piece of air in the bags creating natural padding for the laptop while in transit.



I like these Reebock Pump trainers that were released in the early 1990’s, the tong had an inflatable bag incorporated into it, and the basketball at the top of the tong had a small pump in it, the user pumped up the tong to the desired pressure and this gave them the comfort in the boot.

If I could recreate this with an air bag inside a laptop bag or sleeve then I feel it would work well as it would give the user freedom to pressurise the bag however they please.