Backpack design project
In our STEAM class with Mr. Sevilla, we practiced the process of designing a product and working in groups. For this particular project, we were numbered off into groups and began thinking about the design of backpacks. Our first step was to empathize and understand what the purpose of backpacks are and how people use them. The second step we took was to define the problems and things we didn't like about our backpacks. We pulled from personal experiences and previous situations we've been in when the design of the backpack didn't work. We focused on all the things we did not like, which lead us into the next part, which was ideate. After we created a list of all the problems and concerns we had, we started to think about how we could solve those problems. One of the problems with our backpacks was the ethics of it. The patterns would get very boring when using it everyday so we decided to create us so it changed colors depending on the amount of sunlight on it. So if it was really sunny out, the backpack would have more of a rainbow pattern and if it was cloudy than it would be more purples and blues on it. In the picture on the left below, you can see all of our work through the ideation and defining phase. After the ideation phase, the next step is to test than revise. However, we were in a slight rush because we did this whole design process in 2 days which usually takes about 2 weeks. After you test and revise then you prototype and create a functioning model. For our project, we created a sketch of our backpack design that included all of it's features. Then each group went up in front of the class and presented their designs. There are images below to show our group's work.
Reflection
Overall, I really liked this process of design. I liked how Mr. Sevilla broke it up into specific phases and steps so it was easier to understand. My group worked really well together. We made sure everyones ideas were heard and contributed to the final design. One thing that didn't go very well for our group was the final sketch for our presentation. We spent a lot of time thinking about the design and the previous steps but when it came time to draw the actual model we struggled with showcasing all of the components we had in mind. We also didn't complete the drawing early so we were rushing to finish it. The visual representation could use improvement but other than that I thought we did very well. Doing this assignment really helped me gain a thorough understanding of what it takes to design a sustainable, quality product that solves problems as well.