Evaluation

User study test plan  

the user study test plan was created to create a concept that could help its user in the best possible way. Our test plan can be divided into three stages that were executed at different moments during the design of the product. In the first test phase, the goal was to specify a specific concept direction and gain as much knowledge as possible about our user that can be used to improve the product, the second part of our study test is concept improvement and finding the right size and shape set up, the last phase is the testing of the developed final concept.  

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Phase one  

To prepare for the session with our co-designer 4 rough prototypes were created with the goal of finding what would work and what not. The wrist strap concept would test the possibility of using a strap that wraps around the hand of the user. The rubber finger grip and float grip test the positions in which the hand can be held. The fourth concept focused on a different problem is the motorcycle concept, this one was brought along to check the interest in and the feasibility of this concept. Furthermore, some materials were gathered to check what the co-designer liked and what could result in possible problems.  

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Phase one results  

The first session with our co-designer brought a lot of useful feedback. From the wrist strap concept was concluded that anything that uses a strap or a connection to the wrist or hand will be very difficult to use and make due to the brace of our user. Designing for one specific brace would also be non-ideal since the braces will be changed over time which would make the design useless. From the float grip and rubber grip concept, a combination was made, using a thumb hole would be a good solution, and combining that with a gripping point could result in a functional and comfortable design. The motorcycle concept was deemed possible to make but due to the greater possibilities and more interest in the other design, it was chosen to not further develop this concept. Different shown materials gave us simple feedback, hard plastic would result in pain in the hands when used for an extended amount of time. Velcro is a good solution to fix things together however it has the disadvantage of destroying being very hard on clothes and possibly destroying them. And finally, rubber and leather would both be a good material to touch.   

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Phase two  

With the feedback gained from phase one, the development of a more specific concept was started. From the first phase we found the direction in which we should work and what grip we should use. In this second phase multiple prototypes were designed that incorporated this type of gripping and by varying in size angle and shape different options were made using rapid prototyping. This phase gave us the feedback to have the correct sizes and shapes for the final prototype.  

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Phase 3 

In phase three, the final prototype is created using the feedback from previous sessions and prototypes. The goal was to make a final working prototype and to check whether the prototype has been correctly designed for our user. This will be done by letting the user test the prototype for its intended use, painting.