Step 1: Ergonomic Analysis
We began by drawing free-body diagrams for the hair straightener and analyzing the forces acting on the hand. This gave us some guidelines to begin developing new ideas that addressed some of the problem areas.
Redesigning the Hair Straightener
Step 2: Design Space and Concept Exploration
Once we had developed a strong understanding of the constraints on the design of the straightener, we began ideating. We each sketched over ten different concepts for redesign.
Step 3: Foam Models and User Testing
After our design space exploration, we picked two concepts and built low fidelity prototypes using foam core. Then, we tested them with users. We decided on four subjective measures to test for with each prototype using a structured questionnaire.
Step 4: Determine Best Prototype
Based on the feedback from our user testing, we determined that our ‘unicorn’ model was the strongest prototype design.
Step 5: Design the CAD
Finally, we each mocked up a CAD version of the ‘unicorn’ in using Fusion360.
