A1: Model Prototyping a Handheld Device

Alida Muongchan

Task

During this week, I created my first prototype for a shower control interface for a high-end, multi-feature valve and temperature control. We were tasked to design a handheld device incorporating sensors, and digital UI. The inspiration comes from the basis of the brand OXO known for universal and well-designed tools for cooking, food preparation, bathroom and more. This challenge was to create a 3D lo-fi prototype with available materials where the requirements should include:

Requirements

Product controls and interface/display that must fit within the dimensions of approximately 4 x 4 x 2 in volume
Product weight to be approximately .75 pounds, and should be able to be mounted on a wall
Digital display will show settings such as temperature, water flow volume, valves (this could be used to control whether water comes out of the tub spout, the shower head, a handheld wand)
Physical affordances and controls must be easy to use when visibility and dexterity are challenged by soapy hands, steamy showers, and absence of corrective lenses

Design

Inspiration

Because the challenge of the project was to be based on OXO products, I conducted quick research on their brands and products to gain familiarity and feel for the design and ergonomic uses of types of the variety of tools. After viewing any product related to showers (Figure 1), I noticed that there were more products for cleaning & organization than actual devices for showers. However, I did notice that there seemed to be a trend of the clean and minimalist approach in colors, use, and designs. With this observation in mind, I moved on to the sketching board.

Figure 1: OXO Shower Organization products

Sketches & Iterations

This was the first time I've done this many iterations on a single item with a total of 10 sketches. Initially, I thought this would be a repetitive bore but I was pleasantly surprised by the creative aspect and how fun this would be! Seeing the evolution of the sketches and adding more thoughts to the designs was exciting and rewarding (Figure 2).

Figure 3: Evolution of Sketches

In the beginning, I imagined a modern-day feel with a high-tech digital interface. For ease of physical affordances and dexterity, the size of images, numbers, and buttons should take a majority of the interface because it should be seen clearly. Ideally, the material of the digital technology should be highly waterproof and has advanced touch technology that it could withstand soapy hands. The design should be lightweight, compact, and easy to install with the use of a powerful suction cup.

After brainstorming, I began to add the constraints to the designs, opting for a product that fits within the 4 x 4 x 2 requirement, and worked from there. I played around with the organic shape of circles along with the physical and digital components. The top pop up buttons are meant to select where the water will be running. the digital aspect controls the water pressure, water temperature, as well as be able to utilize bluetooth and music functions. Towards the final iteration, the small and portable shape forms to have curved edges for safety precaution.

Figure 4: Evolution of Sketches

Prototyping

Preliminary Prototyping

Figure 5: Final sketch

After having a final sketch, I had to utilize materials from home which was not ideal. With the pandemic going on and having limited to almost no resources, the closest I could get to the correct measurement was with a box from a deck of cards and a sticky note. The crushed-up sticky note on the side represented physical buttons that could be used and pressed. Though it seems simple and there are no interactive components, it did give a sense of the real-life size and weight of the product. It was quite smaller than I had expected which shifted my perspective on how many things could actually fit onto a quaint interface (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Preliminary prototype of shower interface

Final Prototyping

When I was able to gather more materials around, I began to create and implement a more refined 3D prototype. While assembling the buttons for the selection of water, I realized I was missing one of the three types of water valves which should be handheld, tub spout, and water head for the variety, and so I added a third button. I wanted to keep the digital interface super simple, intuitive, and straightforward. On the left, there is a slideable bar to control water pressure. The use of icons comes into play for quick recognization. The largest and main display shows the temperature of the water. The temperature is able to be manipulated by a large slide bar and two buttons for a more precise change. On the bottom of the interface, there are two dots that indicate a sliding motion revealing a place to play music and be able to adjust it from the shower. Finally, on the right side of the box, there is a gear that acts as a timer. This gives an extra feature and flexibility for how long showers can be. On this gear is a smart tracker that shows the number of gallons used per shower to help users be conscientious of volumes of water.

Figure 7: Final Prototype

Testing

Task List:

1: Turn on the water head.

2. Adjust the water pressure.

3. Adjust the temperature of the water.

4. Turn on a 10-minute timer for the shower.

5. Play the music.

6. Adjust the volume level.

7. Where can you find the number of gallons you used in the shower.

8. Turn off the water.

Take Aways

What Worked Well

clarity of the buttons
icons of water pressure

Critiques

Side circle of wheel felt weird and instead could have been used for top half
On/off button wasn't clear enough
Label behind cogwheel timer wasn't visible from front or side
+ and - sign for water temperature wasn't intuitive and should be flipped backwards from + on top and - to bottom
Visual for actual time could have been included
Switches can be use instead of buttons
No visual count down for timer

Reflections and Improvements

Though the temperature is the main attention, the more important numbers such as gallons used, temperature, timer should be included on the main page
Though there was thought for celsius and kelvin, there wasn't a clear way to change between the too
There was a suggestion for a soap dispensary
There should be a different icon for using water pressure to indicate that it is able to turn off
More controls for music like scrubbing and heart feature
Tick marks and actual time

Overall, this was a great experience! I had lots of feedback which I was happy about. Having to physically make the objects gave a different perspective of thinking. There was more attention to detail but having to think about everything was definitely a challenge. There is much to improve on and I can't imagine how many iterations it takes for bigger objects and important companies like Apple.