I worked with Yehuda, a young boy with Microcephaly, along with his mother and therapists to create an insert for his current highchair that did not meet his needs.
YEAR
2018 (6 weeks)
PLATFORM/MATERIAL
Fusion 360/Cardboard, Vinyl Fabric, PLA
Yehuda has Microcephaly and Cortical Visual Impairment. As seen below in his original high chair, he is clearly too small for the chair, so he tends to slouch over and cannot keep his body upright. Over the course of this project, I went through four full-size prototypes (along with many smaller ones for various parts of the chair) as I met with the family every few days to offer my newest ideas and to gather the mother and therapists' feedback. I learned that the design process is not about designing a fancy product; it's about designing with and for the user to meet their needs.
I gained skills and learned about many design apsects throughout this project: sewing, 3D modeling and printing, user feedback, the iterative design process, and more.
before after
Mission
The final deliverable would assist Yehuda to comfortably sit upright in his chair. The challenge with this project was to create a flexible design that could grow with him so it could be used throughout his childhood.
First prototype: low fidelity
A basic prototype was created to show the mother how to hip inserts would work. A simple velcro system would allow the padding to be removed at any time.
second prototype: MEdium fidelity
This prototype allowed me to test various neck/head support options along with the leg support. Triple-ply cardboard is a great way to prototype in an easy, fast, and cheap way.
Third prototype: high fidelity
This final prototype with Yehuda in it allowed for final feature testing and sizing changes.
FInal product
