Background
I was given one month to conduct research for the design of a hand tool that utilizes a "smart" technology.
Project Vision
After observing and interviewing the teeth-cleaning routine of many people, I chose to design a smart water flossing device that utilizes quantitative light-induced fluorescence.
User Journey
Many observations and interviews enabled me to find commonalities in the typical user's journey and highlight the pain-points of various teeth-cleaning routines.
Form Ideation
User Testing
By making a series of foam models, I was able to test a number of different forms for the device. The user feedback guided my future form iterations.
Final Form
Takeaways
This assignment was my first project that had a design research component. While it was a weak first research attempt, it helped me discover my passion for ethnography and design research. Now, I get to conduct design research as a team lead for Georgia Tech's Design Bloc, a Vertically Integrated Project program.