Wednesday 25 June 2014

Packaging


Wednesday 11 June 2014

Product Analysis


Aesthetics

This is a De Stijl art movement slot together chair. It slots together with out the use of tools or screws. The main colours used on this chair are red, blue and yellow with black being the outline of each board. This is because it is made by the inspiration of the De Stijl art movement and in this style, only the primary colours are using (red, blue and yellow). I think the target audience is children aged 5-10 because the colours used are bright to attract children. The shapes that have been used are simply squares and rectangles for the wooden pieces. I think this is because it is slot together furniture and it is easy to use simple shapes to make it work. Also the target audience is children so it will be used at homes. Therefore there is no need to make it stylish like office furniture.  The material for the wooden pieces is MDF. This is because MDF is  soft wood which would be suitable for children. Also it is not a heavy material so this would be easier for the children to adjust the chair. For example it can be taken apart and slot it together again. The finishes to this product would be the different colour painting to the wooden pieces. The painting is the main feature that makes it appeal to the target audience because the different colours make it attractive to the children. This product`s size is just for the children so it is small enough for them to use. The function of this chair would be to use it by sitting on it. Also the slot together feature makes it unique because it could be taken apart for some reason and then created again at different place. So it doesn't take much space when moving it. 

Target Market

I think this chair is aimed at children aged 5-10 because the colours used are bright and varied. The designer has made this chair so it appeal to the children using the colours and the size. The colours used are mainly red, blue and yellow. These are  bright primary colours and it makes the chair stand out. Also children in general find colourful items attractive as they stand out. So the designer has used the bright colours to make the chair stand out and appeal to the children. Also the the size of it shows that it is aimed at the children. It might not be clear in the picture but the height that it is available in is 42 cm. When an audience approaches it, it would be clear that it is for children from the small height of it. This chair could be improved in many ways to make it better. For example the main problem is that it is uncomfortable as the blue board is slanted quite up down. This would make the user sit on the chair uncomfortably with the legs bent. Also i would amend the design have manufacture a cushion on the back piece and on the blue piece so the users can sit comfortably.  I would make  my design attract to adult by painting it with simple colour, like black and white, and make sure it looks professional at the same time. The product would be like a office furniture.

Materials and Manufacture:

This chair is made of MDF, medium density fiber-board, a type of wood. I think then it is painted with colour to make it a Destijl product. This product is renewable because the wood is made out of trees and they can be planted again. However the disadvantage is that growing a tree does take long time. I think this material is suitable for this product because a chair is suppose to be strong to take on the wait of a person. This chair does this because it is made of wood so i think would is suitable for this product. Another option would be to create this chair from plastic but in a different design, like a office chair. However plastic is non-renewable so this wouldn't be good for the environment. Also the art movement would not suit on a office chair. There is not much for to it other than the painting. I think the wood cutting and shaping is done through CAM and CAD. This means that first the computers are used for the design and then it is processed to a machine for the slots. The last step would be to paint the boards with different colours required with the edges being black. I think this is made by one off product. This is because it needs painting by individuals for the finish touch. Also this product is not sold on big store, like Ikea. So this shows that there is small production to create these and are individually made. 

Manufacture in School:

There would be similar steps to it but different ways to create this chair in school. For example 2D Design Tool would be the first step to create the design. This includes the measurements of the design and the shapes.  Then the CNC router would be used with painting being the final touch

Ergonomics:

The aimed user of this chair is the children and to make the product suitable to them, there would be some measurements to take. The main ergonomics would be to make back, base and the height of the chair accurate. The back piece is important to be correct so that the user can sit and rest its back comfortably. The height is also very important because this determines if the users legs are going to be curled up, which would be uncomfortable or just perfect so that the feet just touch the floor.  

Safety:

I think this product is safe for the target audience. This is because the the material that is made out of is MDF which is not hard or heavy. This is suitable for children because they wont get hurt much and they could amend it themselves. Also the edges are curved and not sharp to again make sure children don get hurt in case of a accident. If it was designed for a different target audience, the size would need to be changed with different material in use to make it strong enough.

Function:

The main function of this chair is to use it by sitting on it and relaxing. Another function could be to use it as a decoration because the De Stijl art movement is mainly for showing off and not much comfortable to physically use it.