DR 2 Tessa & Emilia

Design Review 2

Emilia Tracy + Tessa Martin

After much consideration, we narrowed our ideas down to three prototypes

Our Prototypes

01

The Problem

The problem we are addressing, our definition, and why it is important

The Problem Statement

We will be working on the problem of sustainable clothing consumption. Clothing waste starts locally, with poor personal and community-wide sustainablility practices and as the economy and presense of consumerism continue to promote fast fashion and unsustainable practices. Unsustainable clothing habits end in extreme pollution of lower socioeconomic countries and pollution of our atmosphere.

The evolution of our defenition of the problem

Our definition of the problem changed from focusing on excessive amounts of clothing overflowing dumps in lower-socioeconomic countries to a more local view of substantial unsustainable habits within our community on a personal and local level.

Why...

Do we need an innovative soluction?

Are we motivated by this project?

Is this problem important?

This problem needs an innovative solution now because current solutions are not working. Even solutions on a small, local level will have an impact on this growing issue.

We are motivated by this topics because we feel responsibility as clothing consumers to make a positive impact in our community

The problem of clothing waste is important because it affects our environment and world in a negative way.

02

The Method

Strategies, assumptions, skills and processes, obstacles, etc.

Design Work Steps

User Problems

Focus

Brainstorm

Narrowing pt. 1

Narrowing pt. 2

We evaluated the focus of our problem and examined the problem on a local level

We identified problems that our users held and created HMW questions that involved both our problem and the needs of our users

We brainstormed over 80 ideas for local solutions

We discussed and decided what kind of prototype we wanted to create: something physical or hands-on, something unique, something new, and something that would be fun for us.

We then divided our ideas by type (physical product, service, community event, etc) and chose our top three ideas.

Prototype Strategies

Paper Modeling

Google Slides

We used pencil and paper to draw out each frame of our screens for our first button swap prototype

We used google slides that were navigateable by button to allow the user to experience a second interation of our button swap prototype.

Sketch

Physical

We created a physical low-res prototype of our rug using strips of fabric sewn together and braided.

For the first iteration of our shirt prototype, we sketched out various designs.

Prototyping Assumptions

Buttons

Rugs

Shirts

We assumed that people would take the time to upload pictures of buttons they have and search for what they are needing.

We assumed that people would not purchase unsustainably if they could purchase sustainably and be happy with their purchases. We back this assumption through our end user interviews, where users said that they wished they could buy sustainably but didn't know how or couldn't find something they liked.

We assumed that people would take time to learn an activity with family and friends and that people will create together. As we talked to our end users, we learned that they want something to connect them to the loved ones in their lives. Our prototype assumes that they will take the opportunity we provide to have a fun activity to do together.

Skills and Processes

Paper modeling

Prototype stages

Evolving ideas

Physical

Scraps

We went through the stages of ideation and prototype through our iterations of our prototypes.

We used skills of paper modeling for more complicated processes that we learned in Freshman year.

We made sure to write down everything that we thought of and never discount an idea. This allowed us to build on our prototypes and come up with new ideas.

We used physical protoyping strategies like making our prototype small and using materials we already had.

We used scrap materials to make sure that we didn't waste anything and keep true to our sustainability goals.

Obstacles

Impact vs. Information

Physical Prototyping

As we were creating our shirt prototype, we ran into the problem of our impact. We knew that the current iteration of the shirt prototype was more about raising awareness than solving the problem of clothing waste. We talked through this issue and came to the conclusion that the best way to make our prototype impactful was to include people in the creation of the designs. Although we didn't have time to persue a seondary prototype, we decided that an option could be hosting a screenprinting workshop where attendees could put our designs or their own onto old clothing to give it a new life.

While making our physical rug prototype, we encountered a lot of obstacles. We began with braids knotted together, but found that this left the final product too bulky. Instead, we sewed the shorter fabric strips together to make long strips and then tried to braid those. However, we found that it tangled and was unbraidable. we eventually found that if we wound the long strips up before braiding we could braid it without tangles. We will need to keep this method in mind as we move forward with pushing out our prototype.

03

The Deliverables

Our prototypes, prototyping plan, and brainstorming sessions

Ideation Assignments

Talking to outside parties

Natural idea generation

We talked and ideated with other groups, writing down all of the ideas that we came up with. This allowed us to have new ideas that we wouldn't have come up with on our own.

We began conversations with eachother and other people in other groups and let the conversation, and, in turn, the ideas, flow naturally.

Writing

Building

As we came up with ideas, we made sure to hone in on each one individually and come up with more unique and targeted ideas. This allowed us to get very specific and generate lots of creative ideas.

We wrote down absolutely everything we thought of, from dog toys to activities with children to an app that allowed people to track their waste. No idea was too big or too small.

Prototyping Assignments

Evolution

3 prototypes

Interactive

Iterations

Wizard of Oz

We used our current prototypes to inspire even more ideas about directions that we could go.

After we made our paper button prototype, we realized that we wanted something more interactive so users could engage with our prototype more fully. We also created a physical prototype so users could feel and see the rugs in 3-d. Our next steps for our shirt prototype include making physical versions of our screenprint ideas.

We decided to persue multiple prototypes. This allowed us to not get too tied down or attached to any ideas, letting us change and adapt our prototypes as we went

We created many iterations of our protoypes even before we began making them. This allowed us to explore a wide range of ideas within our initial prototypes.

We used the Wizard of Oz technique on our button prototype. We know what slide they are going to go to no matter what button they choose, and thus we can have control over the prototype. This allows us to control our future testing to test our assumptions

04

Questions & Concerns

Biggest questions, feedback, next steps, and possible iterations

Next Steps: The Rug Prototype

How We're Measuring

We Hope to Achieve

Finding People

We hope to find out unbiased experiences of everyday use of the rugs.

In order to find people to test the prototype, we will send out a survey and ask people from different demographics to be testers.

To test the rug prototype, we will make a larger version of the one we have right now. We will ask the users to take them home and record their experience, as well as anyone that used the rug within their home.

Next Steps: The Button App Prototype

How We're Measuring

We Hope to Achieve

Finding People

We will collect feedback on different parts of the app, like the interface and the and navigation. We will ask them questions about the effectiveness of the app and their thoughts on its usefulness in their lives.

We hope to get feedback on using the interface for our prototype and the whole idea of a button app in order to improve the experience.

In order to find people to test the prototype, we will send out a survey and ask people from different demographics to be testers. We want to focus on people that sew or work with buttons often.

Next Steps: The Shirt Prototype

How We're Measuring

We Hope to Achieve

Finding People

We will make a test batch of shirts and hoodies and ask people to test wearing them. After, we will gather feedback on the designs and prototype in general. We will also ask the users about their personal opinions about the project.

We hope to get statistics on the likely hood of people continuing purchasing renewed/sustainable clothes that are available.

In order to find people to test the prototype, we will send out a survey and ask people from different demographics to be testers.

Possible Iterations

Button

Shirt

Rug

Possible iterations of our button prototype include making an app instead of a website, creating community boards within our website so sewing and button enthusiasts can connect, hosting button swaps or craft fairs where all the items are made of or with buttons.

Possible iterations of our shirt prototype include screenprinting, workshops, and sewing old scraps into quilt-like patterns on old shirt.

Possible iterations to our rug prototype include rug making kits, changing the idea from rugs to tapestries, writing a guide on how to make your own rugs, or hosting rug-making workshops

Biggest Questions Moving Forward

02

03

01

How can we move forward keeping sustainabiity in mind? As we continue with this project, we want to make sure that we live up to our goal of sustainability. This means sustainbly sourced materials, sustainble production, and sustainable distribution.

How can we make sure our users needs are still being met? We made a lot of decisions based on our end user profiles. Through testing, we need to make sure that we are still answering to the needs of our users.

Which prototype do we want to continue with? There are parts of each one that we love, are there ways to combine or mix ideas?

Our Next Steps

Pick

Brainstorm

Test

Interview

Revise

We need to brainstorm changes or adaptions to the prototype we pick. Is there a way to add parts of the other prototypes we liked?

We need to talk to users, have them identitify which prototype is best for their needs, and choose the best option

We need to test the prototype we pick

We need to interview our end users to understand whether their needs are being met and if we need to make changes to our prototypes

Using our feedback, we will need to revise our prototype and then test and interview until we and our end users are satisfied withe the product.

Thanks!