User-Centered Design for Glassblowers
Overview
In the spring of 2013 I took a class called User Oriented Collaborative Design (UOCD). The goal of the class was to learn to approach design from a user-perspective. In other words, what do users want? What product or service has the potential to make non-incremental positive change in their life?. We were taught to evaluate the question: "Are you making the right thing?" as the fundamental guide in the design process. Teams of 5 were assigned a user group to study and design with.
My team designed a product for glassblowers. Over the course of this semester-long project we spent many hours meeting and staging co-designs with glassblowers all over the Boston area. From many user interactions, we were able to get a sense of our users' needs, values and experiences in order to design a product or service that would improve their lives.
The Problem
Glassblowing is an expensive trade due to the cost of the main furnace running 24/7. One of the main income streams glassblowers enjoy is teaching classes. Unfortunately, they struggle during demonstrations, as the maneuvers are difficult to demonstrate and students cannot touch the glass or physically engage in the demonstration.
The Product
To address the challenges associated with teaching glassblowings, we designed a projector system with a laser "smart-pen" that would allow glassblowers to essentially mark up hot glass to point out techniques and increase communication between partners working together. It would also allow the artists to plan out their next moves and create more detailed pieces.
You can view our final posters here and here.
In the spring of 2013 I took a class called User Oriented Collaborative Design (UOCD). The goal of the class was to learn to approach design from a user-perspective. In other words, what do users want? What product or service has the potential to make non-incremental positive change in their life?. We were taught to evaluate the question: "Are you making the right thing?" as the fundamental guide in the design process. Teams of 5 were assigned a user group to study and design with.
My team designed a product for glassblowers. Over the course of this semester-long project we spent many hours meeting and staging co-designs with glassblowers all over the Boston area. From many user interactions, we were able to get a sense of our users' needs, values and experiences in order to design a product or service that would improve their lives.
The Problem
Glassblowing is an expensive trade due to the cost of the main furnace running 24/7. One of the main income streams glassblowers enjoy is teaching classes. Unfortunately, they struggle during demonstrations, as the maneuvers are difficult to demonstrate and students cannot touch the glass or physically engage in the demonstration.
The Product
To address the challenges associated with teaching glassblowings, we designed a projector system with a laser "smart-pen" that would allow glassblowers to essentially mark up hot glass to point out techniques and increase communication between partners working together. It would also allow the artists to plan out their next moves and create more detailed pieces.
You can view our final posters here and here.