Studio Technical Drawings Resubmit

Capstone Proposal

THE ISSUE:

This capstone project is aimed at decreasing the negative impacts of long term hospitalised children for Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). The products are designed to assist young primary school aged patients in their rehabilitation and treatment of CKD. The goal is to help encourage understanding and growth of these patients, reducing hospital time, and ensuring less of a negative impact left on the child.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and renal failure (RF) have been recognised as a significant medical problem for most of the last 2 centuries and, until relatively recently, were uniformly fatal. Chronic kidney disease is characterised by an irreversible deterioration of renal function that gradually progresses to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Chronic kidney disease has emerged as a serious public health problem.

SIGNIFICANCE:

(Data gathered from the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) registry, Kidney Health Australia, ItalKid and North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study (NAPRTCS))

• The incidence of kidney failure is rising among adults and is commonly associated with poor outcomes and high cost.

• In the past 2 decades, the incidence of the chronic kidney disease in children has steadily increased, with poor and ethnic minority children disproportionately affected.

• Children constituted 5.3% of patients with chronic kidney disease seen in a referral hospital.

• Studies reported a mean incidence of 12.1 cases per year per million in the age-related population (age range, 8.8-13.9 y) and a prevalence of 74.7 per million in this population.

• However, underreporting due to lack of recognition may suggest an even higher prevalence in children.

• About 70% of children with chronic kidney disease develop ESRD by age 20 years. They have a 10-year survival rate of about 80% and an age-specific mortality rate of about 30 times that seen in children without ESRD.

• The risk of death was associated with the year in which renal replacement therapy was initiated, the age of patients at the start of that therapy, and the type of dialysis used.

BENEFITS:

Everyone who has kidney failure, adults and children alike, will experience medical complications, which may include extreme fatigue, inability to concentrate, weak bones, nerve damage, depression, and sleep problems. Additional problems for children can include effects on their growth and development.

The isolation people feel because of kidney failure is especially a problem in children and adolescents because of the importance of making friends and fitting in at this age. The products designed will hopefully aid in ensuring that a child with kidney failure can become an active, well-adjusted adult.

How does this project suit your abilities or interests?

I first looked into this project because as a child, I had a family friend who suffered from chronic kidney disease (CKD), and it affected her in all aspects of her life. I didn’t understand the implication or extent of it, I just recalled that her bedroom always had devices which resembled a hospital. These machines were large and bulky, and took up a considerable amount of room. Looking back, from a complete stranger’s point of view, the equipment design made it fearful to touch or use, and it was alienating to visitors.

Recalling this now, I wanted to have a close look at CKD, and redesign the main devices used throughout the treatment course.  I wanted to incorporate the treatment devices into everyday use, and encourage those who have questions, to ask. I wanted to be able redesign medical devices for regular household use, because to someone who suffers from CKD, these treatments mean life or death.

I also believe that the childhood years are of the utmost importance. The medical products today for CKD are not geared towards being user-friendly in homes, and definitely do not account for children. There needs to be a change in this, because there has been a rise in the rate of diagnosis of CKD in children in the last two decades.

What is your approach or method to ensure that you deeply understand your problem topic and your user?

To ensure that I really understand the problem at hand I will be completing the following measures:

•  Primary research: Interviewing patients, and family and friends of patients. Hospital staff could provide in depth understanding as well.
• Secondary research: Reading scholarly articles, researching into existing designs and understanding the technology involved.
• Character profiles: Building character profiles of my user, and in this case, primary school children. This will help better understand who I’m designing for.
• Behavioural mapping: Understanding how my user behaves, documenting their activities during a certain time. E.g. treatment times during the week.
•  Draw from the experience: Similarly to character profiles, but gathering how their experience has affected them, and designing to combat negativity, or to encourage a faster healing process.
•  Scale modelling/experience prototyping: Working closely with my target market, and creating a product that encompasses what they need in their lives. 

Studio Week 11

The idea behind SwiftGift is a convenient, no fuss way to donate to a good cause. There are 6 main reasons why people don’t donate, and some of those reasons are Parochialism – where people need to find a relatable cause, Diffusion of Responsibility – where they assume others will donate and Money - where directly asking for money makes people less willing to give. So targeting these 3 points in particular, SwiftGift aims to steer people into a fuss-free, gratitude inducing donation scheme. Research shows that when people feel good about giving, they’re likely to donate more often, and thus more.

Consumers don’t want to be deterred from their daily errands in order to just make a donation, so SwiftGift incorporates its donation scheme into the lives of these consumers seamlessly. It targets those who want to give to a good cause, and supports petrol stations which are aiming to do the same thing. The idea behind SwiftGift is to educate consumers while they are standing idle waiting for the tank to fill, and thus give them the choice of helping those in need. As they fill up, there is an automatic 1c p/L added to their bill, and on the side of the screen there is a metre showing them just how their donation will help those less fortunate than them. This idea basically works off the fact that they have control of the trigger, so the donation is up to them.

Of course it is not compulsory to give, so there is an option to decline from making a donation. However, this is option is placed after the consumer has been educated on how their donation helps, so instead there is a larger incentive to help.

Peer Comments:

• Dominic See - http://dominicsee.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/project-2-pss-collaborative-consumption.html?showComment=1382310678970#c2853954135901266326
• Christina Le - http://christinaale.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/pss-collaborative-consumption/#comment-69
• Rowena Goodall - http://rowenagoodall.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/blog-post.html?showComment=1382856638256#c145726094459557667
• Matthew Patane - http://mpatanestudio3b.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/final-presentation.html?showComment=1382856856387#c9119791491911998835
• Christine Liang - http://mad-attic.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/fabric-pots.html?showComment=1382857046305#c649665151882252420

Studio Week 10

Today i presented this powerpoint to Tom.

Tom gave me some really good feedback, and drew my attention to my system map in particular. He said that it had to be more focused on how it affected the user, and the steps they took to complete the task. With that in mind, i'm going to redraw the entire thing. He also gave me a lot to think about in terms of the service i was providing. I had to make it seem more realistic and achievable. 

Studio Week 7

Today was the first consultation with our new tutors for Project 2. My tutor was Tom, and i presented him with 3 ideas to do with my chosen brief for the RSA Student Awards: Innovation in giving or 
fundraising: how can we encourage people to be more generous with their time and money for good causes.

Feedback From Tutor:

Tom particularly liked the first two concepts, and said that out of the 3 they were the ones with the most "innovation", and i agreed. For my first concept, he suggested i look at ways i could activate sensors from the car: e.g. flashing of lights or beeping of horns. We talked over a couple ideas, but i realised i had to do some research to see if the technology would be advanced enough to do what i needed it to. Tom suggested that for my second concept, instead of putting it in a public place such as shopping centres, i should consider implementing this into places such as the airport. But he liked the consideration that the money could go towards different charities, and donation boxes would be placed in multiple areas along the escalator.

Feedback From Peers:

I talked to Christina Le about my designs, and she liked the concepts, however was worried if maybe working the etag with one hand might be dangerous whilst driving. I also talked to Max Glanville about my designs, and he took a particular liking to my first one. He said i should include a 'fun' factor into donating, by possible uses of a billboard.

Other Tutor Session:

I listened in on Mar speaking with some of his students, and he suggested that a lot the ideas had been done previously. He said that we needed to think of more innovative ways to conduct our project, and suggested we get inspiration from what has already been done, and what needs to be done.

Studio Week 6: Accessibly Packaging - Final Submission

When shopping for groceries, consumers are often frustrated by hard-to-open product packaging on the everyday products they buy, and this can affect what products they choose to buy. Older people and those living with arthritis are particularly affected but most people struggle with “clamshell” wrapping, vacuum sealed jars and toy packaging.

This being said, Arthritis Australia has predicted that seven million Australians will suffer from arthritis by 2050. Currently nearly four million live with the disease and half of those are of working age. Australia’s population is also ageing, with projections that 14.6 million, or 44 per cent, will be over 50 by the middle of this century.

Therefore packaging should take a turn towards being more arthritic friendly for easy access. Arthritis sufferers do make up a large portion of our society, and we should make the change that benefits those in the long run. This is particularly the case with medicinal products aimed at treating arthritis.

Ibuprofen is a common painkiller for arthritis sufferers, as it is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body, and is taken in doses of 1-2 tablets, 2-3 times a day depending on how bad the pain is. It isn’t a treatment for arthritis, but more of “Band-Aid fix”. Ibuprofen is most commonly it is found in “child-proof” jars, which prove difficult for those to open if they suffer from pain in their hand joints. It is also found in the regular cardboard box, packaged inside plastic with an aluminium sheet to be “popped” out upon consumption. Neither of these packaging techniques is suitable for arthritic patients, so there needs to be a redesigning of this to address the problem.

This is where my packaging design comes in. It features an easy round gripped back, along with a larger lid with a slight overhang. Together they prove to make medicine easier to access and dispense. The lid is a bright blue, providing contrast to the white base for elderly people, thus suggesting it is where the container should be “split”. The hole that dispenses the Fioprofen tablets is round, so the oblong tablets can be shaken out with ease, and there is no need for the tablet to be in a specific angle to be tipped out.

Peer Comments:
1. Edric Verbeek: http://edricides3222.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/project-1-final-submission.html?showComment=1378091227536#c4666939306055851842
2. Ryan Go: http://ryan-go.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/accessible-packaging-autotech-engine-oil.html#comment-form
3. Max Glanville: http://maxglanvillez3333044.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/accessipill-accessible-packaging.html?showComment=1378091434713#c371928664827893397
4. Patrick Dunn: http://patrickdunnindustrialdesign.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/blog-post_3120.html?showComment=1378091742817#c437335316757705799
5. Lubar Han: http://lubar-han.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/final-packaging.html?showComment=1378091875096#c5114930196315092463

Studio Week 5

Today in class we participated in a different and engaging activity. We were presented with a Breville appliance in groups of 10 (my group got a blender), and we had to disassemble it and analyse our tear down. When we received the product, it was very easy to take apart due to the obvious screws and bolts. However, when we tried to take it apart further, we realised it wasn't so easy, and it actually required more than simple hand tools. In the end to take apart the rotating blades from the jug, we had to insert it into a vice and use power tools to break it apart. They definitely manufactured that to be sturdy! Below are a couple of pictures of us in the process of breaking the blender down:

By the end, we had completely separated the parts of the blender (and even parts of the motor!). It was astounding to see just how many components was in a simple every day appliance we own at home. When that was complete, we had to identify the material of each part, and enter that into Greenfly. Greenfly then helped us calculate the life cycle analysis from raw material, to it's end waste. 

Overall i thought the activity was a valuable learning experience, especially since we had a Breville representative from the industry talk to us and explain certain components. I really enjoyed it and i think my team worked together very well!

Studio Week 4

This week we were required to have draft posters ready for a Cormack representative to see and give us feedback on. Unfortunately he didn't have time to get around to all the students, and i was one of them, so i never got any critique or feedback from him. Luckily though, i had the chance to display my work, and ask other students what they thought of my work.

Ginny Kwok looked at my design and commented on the overall shape of it. She liked the look of it, but asked if maybe the lid contained too much "empty space". It was a valid point, seeing as i had quite a large lid compared to the body. Max Glanville also gave me constructive feedback when he saw my posters. He commented that some of the posters had too much text, and too little graphics, and wasn't equally balanced. With feedback from students in my focus group, and from other tute groups, i could gain a better insight on what was required for the final presentation.

Below are a couple of photos i took of user interactions with my product.

Cormack Draft Posters

T2 Charette: LCA lifecycle analysis

Greenfly: Design greener products

• This video encourages us to think about environment considerations rather than just simply 'design'
• Using graphs and visual tools, it really highlights how alternative resources and materials could affect the life cycle selection of our designs
• The information given to us in our Environmental Declaration Report is very thorough, and definitely makes us think twice about wastage and energy consumption, all leading to global warming.

Therefore eco-design should always be on our minds when we design. We should be designing for a more sustainable environment to benefit not only us, but future generations.

Autodesk: Whole system and lifecycle thinking

• Improving performance and decreasing costs shouldn't be conflicting, because we should take a few steps to look at the whole 'system' of what we're designing for first
• It is important to do in depth research to figure out insights and thoughts of consumers before jumping straight into simply designing something
• We must also set our priorities, so we know where to fit in environmental goals to increase sustainability and decrease wastage

I gathered that no design process is 'linear' but there are rough guidelines we should all follow in our thinking. Doing this will ensure we get the best out of our work.

Autodesk: Improving product lifetime

• As designers we should always plan out exactly how products can be used to improve product lifetime
• We need to make things durable for reuse, despite it being "bad business" 
• The ideal product lifecycle is one of a closed loop, leaving no material for creating landfill, however this is very difficult and can be quite costly to achieve.

Not everything should be built to last forever, or else this could cause a catastrophe. Things should be designed to have a 'good end of life' to be recycled, or to be used in another environment.

Autodesk: Lightweighting

• Designing something to be lightweight can save on lots of resources and material
• The energy used to make materials are very large, so as designers we should always be conscious of sustainability
• Geometry and structure can be a strategy for sustainability - this includes hollows/ribs/decreasing wall thicknesses/using trusts

Making a design 'lightweight' is not always the way to go. There are consequences, such as the product may not be as robust, or may lead to a shorter lifecycle, which defeats the purpose of 'saving material' as in the long run, you'd be using more.

Autodesk: Green materials selection

• A good material can be determined by being abundant and non-toxic
• A doesn't require a lot energy and other resources to make it
• A good material it has the right physical properties for its functions

A good material must be balanced off by their trade-offs in uses and functions

Autodesk: Energy efficient design

• The first stage of energy is actually the mining and transport of coal
• Environmental impacts of energy may vary depending on the source of energy and its use
• If there is less sources of energy at the beginning of the 'energy stream', there is less energy used at the end, and therefore a lower cost

The more we know about energy, the more efficient our designs can be as designers.

Studio Week 3

In this class of studio we talked to peers and our tutors to further our designs. I have chosen to go with medicinal packaging of ibuprofen, and wanted to make it more arthritic friendly. I wore snow gloves (thickest gloves i owned) and tried to open existing pain killer medication. It proved extremely difficult as i could not get the grip i was looking for, and couldn't muster the 'push and turn' mechanism. With that in mind, my
design as changed quite a bit from the previous week.

Feedback From Peers:
I spoke to Christina Le about my concept development this week, and she liked the form of the rounded container and said it was easy to grip. However she asked whether the capsules would stick together, but that should be unlikely as Advil capsules do not in their plastic container. Daniel liked the design of the second container too, and said it suited the "medical standard" of packaging, yet the form was interesting enough that it should stand out on supermarket shelves.

Feedback from tutor:
I talked to mar again this week, and he made a very important point that i need to concentrate on making the packaging more inviting to users. This would mean less harsh edges, possibly more rounded corners, and just concentrate on the visual language cues. He also suggested i think about space issues/shipping issues and supermarket shelving displays. We looked up the existing packaging of Advil liquid capsules, and it seems that most of their packaging is not childproof, so mar suggested that i may not need to put a childproof feature in my design.

Other Tutor Session:
I listened to scott talk to a couple of students and listened to his suggestions of doing further research into specific mechanisms. He compared sponge applicators to things such as shoe polish