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PINEHURST PLANTER

3 MONTHS / INDIVIDUAL RIT

DESIGN STATEMENT: Work to develop a product with a focus on balance aimed at encouraging elderly people to stay active mentally and physically 

Customer Profile

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Ideation Feedback pt. 1

After an initial meeting with the Pinehurst individuals, I worked refining three top concepts for our next meeting

Bird Feeder 

  • Adjustable height for accessibility 

  • Accessible through the side for individuals with a limited range of motion

  • Small and light to make it easy to cary

  • Limited feed storage requiring frequent filling for increased engagement

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Public Planter 

  • Accessible by wheelchair including the ability to comfortably turn all the way around when in the interior of the planter 

  • Arranged in groups, it can create a community garden space

  • Elevated planting beds provide safer and easier access for individuals that have issues related to balance

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Bright Box

  • Positioned on a desk, it creates a mini indoor vertical garden

  • Creates an opportunity for individuals to plant from a seated position rather than kneeling

  • Ensures plant growth with embedded lights Allows for personalization by offering different the product in different sizes

  • Provides soft ambient lighting in an otherwise dark room

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Feedback pt. 2

Once I had decided on which concept to take forward based on feedback from the client, peers, and various mentors I worked to further develop and refine the planter for the next round of feedback

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  • Conceptualize how the planter would be arranged on a pathway so as to be most easily accessed

 

  • Pitch the angle of the outer edge so that the planter is more easily accessible for individuals with walkers or other forms of mobile assistance from the outside

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  • Explore methods of watering the planter

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  • Develop a system that would allow for the planter to be utilized in the colder months

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  • Research what kinds of tools can be used with a focus on grip strength and range of motion

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  • Determine the depth of planters for easiest accessibility from both sides

 

  •  Arrange the bed depth to best utilize the allotted space

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  • Look into what material will be best for the base of the planter for stability

Final Design

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Reflections

Talking to the target market early is critical and can have a huge impact on the direction of the design 

 

Receiving multiple rounds of feedback with the client and target market not only assists in the design process by giving you direct feedback but also increases engagement overall as the more the individuals are involved the more invested they become in the outcome of the project

 

Listening closely to the target market’s personal experiences and your intuition to guide the process will often do more to identify the true underlying problem than asking them to state the problem directly 

 

Allowing some prolonged silence on your part in an interview typically begets an increase of anecdotes from the target market individual that can be used to guide and justify your later design choices

 

Identifying the problem they most need to be solved is not an easy task, so be willing to dig deeper before accepting the first issue they present to you as it may not be the core issue

 

Meetings in different geographic locations can lead to different stories being told or feedback being given

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