This week was the third work shop session creating the final prototype. All the components created last week had dried and were ready to be sanded to shape.
Mainly using the rasp. handsaw, bandsaw and sander the form of the trolley began so show. Adding in the organic curved shape of the bag and defining the shape straight edges on the back and bottom folding components on the trolley. The wheels were sanded smaller as they proved too large for the scaled model and the handle was glued and added on to be finished in the last workshop session. The gluing hand left a slight gap in some of the pieces. To fill the gap 'Polyfilla' was used and to attach the handle Titebond glue was used. The components have been left to dry for the final workshop session in a few days time. After finalising my trolley design, I began building my prototype model. I used green foam to create the shape and glued pieces together to get the size prototype I wanted. As I had to wait for the glue to dry, I couldn't do much else to the main model. However I worked on smaller areas that I could create at that time such as the wheels. In the next session I hope to have the main shape finished so that I begin to paint the model.
As my trolley product will be sold as an addition to the car, rather than built in, I decided it to name the product and create a recognisable logo that the client can associate with the product. I decided to name the product 'CART'. My reasoning behind this was because it was because of its small size as trollies are often seen as much larger products and by naming the product after a smaller trolley like product I felt it reflected the product well. In addition to this I wanted to remind customers that this product is specifically for the car and by using the word 'CART' it has the word within it (CAR-T). I had lots of different concept logos as I wanted to mimic the shape of the trolley into the logo somewhere to bring the association of name and product together. The final design concept uses a sophisticated, capitalized font in bold, back so that it stands out clearly. The 'A' in CART has been replaced by a simplified silhouette of the cart/trolley design. The triangular shape of the body imitates the triangular shape in the letter 'A'. However, to show this is a silhouette of the trolley rather than just a triangle shape, the wheel has been added in a white colour so that it can be seen upon the black. This image is subtle and sleek much like the design of the trolley.
Last Monday, 24th November, I spoke to Mike about my final concept and we came to agreement on which way to go with my final design proposal. I was happy with most elements of the car trolley concept however a few elements still unclear to me including the handle. Initially I wanted to make the handle foldable too, then work this ability into how it would attach to the headrest. However, I was unsure about how this would impact the comfort of the passenger in the back seat so I felt I needed to make a rough and ready sketch model of this handle concept so that I could test the idea before making it a concrete proposal. The model was very simple. It included two shaped pieces of blue foam that were around the same shape and size that a full scale model of the handle would be (1x1 scale). I drilled two holes between the edges that joined together and used a wooden axis to allow the sketch model handle to rotate 90 degrees. When testing the model out in a car I found that it could interfere with the comfort of the passenger in the back seat because of the size it would need to be. Although the model was only made from blue foam, it would be even more uncomfortable for this passenger on the real concept as the handle would be much harder. Another issue I faced was attaching it to the back seat. It would need to slide in from the side of the headrest which conflicts with the way in which the trolley attaches to the back seat in the bottom as it is inserted and secured by lowing the trolley downwards vertically. Therefore in order to stick with this handle concept I would need to change the way it is secured at the bottom. Securing both ends from the side would mean lack of security as it could easily slide off while the car was in motion. Therefore I decided to leave this concept and find a simpler one that did not conflict with the second securing at the bottom. My final concept utilised the same method of attaching the bottom of the trolley using screw-in hooks that slot into the bottom 'jigsaw component' and allow the handle to hang onto the top hook. The handle is a very simple design that has a hole in the centre that makes use of the top hook. This will have a ergonomically suited centre that is comfortable to the user and surrounded in a soft, malleable material such as silicone.
Although the first concept was a potentially interesting idea, the final product needed to be functional and improve people's lives. By employing a handle concept that could cause discomfort to the user would not fit this specific brief and would not be enjoyed by the customer. Today, I pitched my idea to Mike and he gave me a few suggestions on how to finalise the concept. Key Features of Final Design:
Currently working on developing the handle concept to attach to part of the headrest including creating a rough sketch model to trial on the back of a car seat.
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