Summary
For this project, we designed a product for a specific user. Our case owner suffers from neck pain due to neck trauma, that worsens with prolonged laptop use. Their main need was a laptop with an adjustable screen height to improve their neck posture. Through a design process, including research, ideation, conceptualization, prototyping, and testing, we developed a product that met her needs. The final product is a laptop with a hinge mechanism that allows the screen height to be easily adjusted in both height and angle, helping to reduce neck pain and improve comfort during use.
Conclusion
The final product/prototype successfully met most of the requirements we set. Using the prototype of our final design, we tested the hinge mechanism to ensure it worked effectively. The mechanism works as intended, allowing the screen height to be adjusted easily. However, we found that the elevation, which meets the 10 cm requirement, may not be significant enough to really improve posture or reduce neck pain. Still, the hinge mechanism itself was successful, showing potential for future development with greater height adjustment.
During the design process, we worked closely with the case owner. We conduct interviews, got to know her better, and held a co-design session. This way of working together helps us deeply understand her needs and preferences. These are also reflected successfully in the final design. The final product not only met her functional requirements but also included their personal style.
Reflection
Challenges of Working with a Case Owner
This was the first time for us to work with a specific case owner. This also came with some challenges. The project was very fast paced, which made it difficult to arrange meetings with our case owner. Our schedules often did not align, and as a result, it was hard to plan ahead and include them at important moments. One of the main consequences of this was that we were not able to conduct a proper co-testing session. Due to the time constraints, we did not get the chance to test the final prototype with the case owner before the final presentation. However, we did prepare an alternative testing plan, which still allowed us to evaluate the prototype and gather useful insights. As of right now, we are still planning on conducting a co-testing session after the final presentation, for additional knowledge.
Insights from Testing
The alternative evaluation of the prototype with a few strangers gave us some useful insights to consider. Their feedback helped us understand how intuitive and usable the prototype was to people who never used it before. Their feedback confirmed some of our concerns, like the limited screen height. They also gave us new points to consider, such as balance, heat dissipation, and aesthetics. Even though it was not a fully structured user test, this session still gave us valuable insights that can be used for possible future iterations.
Design Decisions
We learned that even if a design meets all its technical requirements, it may not fully address the user’s needs. The final prototype did meet the requirement that the screen should at least be elevated 10 cm. However, this did not result in a significant improvement of the posture and comfort for the user (assumption based on the fact that 10cm higher is still not very close to eye-level).
The main reason for this was also discussed in the reflection of the protoype. The total height of the laptop screen was meant to be 16 inches, but we included the hinge mechanism within that dimension. This caused the screen to become smaller, which limited how much it could be elevated. If we had designed the mechanism to be in addition to the 16-inch screen, the elevation would be much more than 10 cm. However, this would have required either a large component sticking out from the laptop, or an extended keyboard base. In both cases, the product would exceed the 16-inch size requirement. We felt that this would have negatively impacted the product’s appearance and usability. The product would be less functional and harder to carry.
In the end, we chose to follow the 16-inch requirement to create a cohesive design that balanced appearance and portability, Looking back, we realized the importance of prioritizing the main need of the user. This experience showed that we should have defined our design priorities earlier in the process and made decisions that align more closely with our case owner’s main problem. It also would have been great if we discussed this problem with the case owner before making the prototype, as her input could have helped coming up with a better solution. This is a important lesson that we will definitely remember in future projects.
Ultimately, we are happy and proud of what we were able to achieve with the case owner in just around 3 months. Although not everything always went according to plan, we managed to create a concept for the case owner that helps them with one of their challenges. During the process, we learned a lot of valuable lessons, which we will take with us and apply in future projects and life in general.