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!