Product Redesign
From user research to heuristic analysis, concept designs to physical prototyping and research protocol ideation to a client pitch presentation, this project demonstrates the full process of redesigning a product.
Where did we start?
The goal of this project was to redesign a welcome gift for full stack development students at a coding boot camp. The client had previously been giving incoming students a simple water bottle as a welcome gift but found they wanted a new product design that would more closely align with the practical needs of the users as well as being a more meaningful gift to receive upon arrival at the program.
First Steps
The first step in this process was gathering user data. What kind of environment was our user immersed in day to day? What were their practical needs? How could we create something that would connect with them on a more meaningful level? To answer these questions I decided to perform user observations, observing them in their daily lives at school. Furthermore I performed a heuristic analysis of the current welcome gift. This research led to the following discoveries…
What Did The Research Show?
The research I conducted led to the following key observations.
Users spend an average of 6-8 hours a day at their desk concentrating or trying to focus on work.
Work hours frequently extend beyond class time and into their personal lives at home.
Phones are one of the biggest distractions for students as they are so readily available
Transforming User Data Into Meaningful Design
Once I had gathered enough data on my target user I set about to design a product that would be practical and meaningful. I sketched out rough plans for three products, a desk, a monitor and a box to lock away ones phone during productivity hours. After consulting with my team we narrowed down the best design to the Phone Coffin.
Low fidelity physical prototype
In order to determine qualitatively if the Phone Coffin would be a good product to pitch to my client I created a low fidelity physical prototype for further user testing. This prototype would serve as a non-functional representation or “proof of concept” for the actual design
Evaluation
Once the prototype was complete, I created a thorough research protocol to conduct directed storytelling and observational tests with target users. These tests gave me enough feedback to reiterate the design and confirm the viability of the product for its intended goals.
Client Pitch
The final stage of my involvement with this project was an official pitch to my client. This was done in person through a short presentation explaining the work I’d done and pitching the Phone Coffin as a replacement to the previous welcome gift.
View My Presentation Slides Below!
